Ideology

Ideology played an important role in the genocide. Pol Pot was influenced by Marxism�"Leninism and he wanted to transform Cambodia into an entirely self-sufficient agrarian socialist society that would be free from foreign influences. Stalin's work has been described as a "crucial formative influence" on his thought. Also heavily influential was Mao's work, particularly On New Democracy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of his favorite authors, according to historian David Chandler (1992, p. 32). In the mid-1960s, Pol Pot reformulated his ideas about Marxism�"Leninism to suit the Cambodian situation with goals such as bringing Cambodia back to an alleged mythic past of the powerful Khmer Empire, eradicating corrupting influences, such as foreign aid and Western culture, and restoring Cambodia's agrarian society.

Pol Pot's strong belief that Cambodia needed to be transformed into an agrarian utopia stemmed from his experience in Cambodia's rural northeast�"where he developed an affinity for the agrarian self-sufficiency of the area's isolated tribes�"while the Khmer Rouge gained power. Attempts to implement these goals (formed upon the observations of small, rural communes) into a larger society were key factors in the ensuing genocide. One Khmer Rouge leader said that the killings were meant for the "purification of the populace." The Khmer Rouge virtually forced Cambodia's entire population to divide itself into mobile work teams. Michael Hunt has written that it was "an experiment in social mobilization unmatched in twentieth-century revolutions." The Khmer Rouge used an inhumane forced labor regime, starvation, forced resettlement, land collectivization, and state terror to keep the population in line. The Khmer Rouge's economic plan was aptly named the "Maha Lout Ploh", a direct allusion to the "Great Leap Forward" of China that caused tens of millions of deaths in the Great Chinese Famine.

Lunette: (pronounced loo-net) A fortification shaped roughly like a half-moon. It presented two or three sides to the enemy but the rear was open to friendly lines.

Revetment: A structure built to hold either natural or man-made embankments in position. Revetments could be made of items such as sandbags, fascines, gabions, brick, stone, and so on.

Dysentery: (pronounced DISS-ehn-terr-ee) Intestinal disease causing severe diarrhea. Dysentery was a leading cause of deaths by disease.

Cartridge: Roll of thin paper which held a small amount of gun powder in the bottom and a ball or bullet in the top. A soldier needed to tear off the top of the cartridge in order to fire his weapon - part of the nine steps to fire a muzzle loading gun (or five to fire a breech loading gun).

Mortar: An unrifled artillery gun which was designed to launch shells over walls and enemy fortifications. The most famous Civil War mortar is the "Dictator" -- a mortar which was mounted on a railroad car and used during the siege of Petersburg. With its 13 inch bore it was capable of launching two hundred pound shells.