Commentary on Cambodia, by James Fenton

Commentary on Cambodia, by James Fenton James Fenton, the poet of 'Cambodia' spent several years in Asia, touring countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indochina and became distressed and exceedingly more and more incensed by the atrocious war crimes being committed by those in authority. He wrote most of his poems upon his return to America, but 'Cambodia' was written while he was visiting Southern Asia. Cambodia was a country devastated by war, and over 2 million civilians died in the various conflicts. The conflict he is referring to here is when American troops conducted illegal bombing raids under the guise of killing Viet-Cong they thought were fleeing into Cambodia. These bombing raids cost 750,000 innocent civilians their lives. Cambodia was then ruled by Pol Pot, who killed up to two million civilians in his reign. James Fenton was particularly disillusioned with those who had the power to stop the war, and became a fervent anti-war supporter.United States