“It’s a controversial story I’m about to tell you and I want you to know how I am telling it. I am a witness as well as a journalist. I saw, wrote, felt, lived through a lot of this,” said Elizabeth Becker, award-winning author and journalist, during her presentation on Monday.

The presentation, “Cambodia and American Intervention: Lessons from History” was held in Lang Hall Auditorium where students, faculty, staff and community members came to hear the story of Cambodia and the conflicts that the country has faced over the years.

Becker outlined what she saw as the mistakes that the United States had made during our intervention and how it affected Cambodia over time.

Becker described how the United States made its first mistake when it objected to Cambodia gaining independence from France because of its fear of communism spreading further. She said the intervention was well intentioned, but false because Vietnamese communists did not have a plan to take over South East Asia.

Cambodia was the only country in the region that tried to be neutral during the Vietnam War. Back in the United States, many people were angry and upset about the war.

“It turned the name ‘Cambodia’ into a rally cry. It stood for tragedy, it stood for protest, it stood for confusion, anger, frustration,” Becker said.

Becker also described how the Vietnamese helped a small army called the Khmer Rouge, which was an army of Cambodian Communists, in order to make sure that Cambodia was supported after the Vietnamese withdrew from the country.

This group began to cause major problems in the country, and the United States launched a bombing campaign to stop the Khmer Rouge in order for the Americans to withdraw – this is where Becker came into the story.

“I was leaving graduate school to cover the war in Cambodia,” Becker said. “I became a Washington Post contract reporter and my first stories were trying to cover this bombing, which was impossible.”

Becker, along with another journalist, was able to interview Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge.

Pol Pot was given the questions in advance, as the interview was quite staged; he almost exclusively spoke about the Vietnamese. However, he was very charismatic and self-assured. She was relieved to get out of the country the next day, but later that evening the house that she and her colleagues were staying in was attacked.

“A Cambodian gunman came in, pointed the pistol at me, I ran away into my room,” Becker said. She said that the gunman murdered one of her colleagues that night and that the Vietnamese had invaded. The next day Becker was able to get out of the country.

After witnessing the devastation in Cambodia, Becker wished that the United States would not have gotten into the Vietnam War.

Becker said the experience has made her aware of what exactly the United States’ national interests are whenever the country intervenes with another country.

Brittanie Kochheiser, junior health promotion major, attended the event.

“It was really interesting, it was very deep,” Kochheiser said. “We weren’t really sure coming in what we were going to hear about…I have never really heard too much about it…It was intense to hear what was going on.”

After the presentation, Becker held a question and answer session with the audience.

Audience members raised questions and comments that ranged from concerns about the Middle East, the nature of news coverage, the value of knowing what is going on in the world, more personal experiences as a journalist in Cambodia and talking to students about how college and the “real world” are different.

Becker made a comment to students who are making the transition from college to a career.

“I don’t believe that you find yourselves or anything like that,” Becker said. “But you do find a way to pursue whatever you are looking for.”

Amy Jo Hasselquist, senior public relations major, also attended after already sitting in on a Q & A session with Becker at a PRSSA meeting.

“I wanted to find out more,” Hasselquist said. “I have heard of the war in Cambodia, but I didn’t know the details about it. I think she has a really cool career.”

Becker summarized her experiences in Cambodia, saying, “I came away … with great respect for the problems we have and a great respect for the history that we leave behind.”