“Spare you is not profit, destroying you is not loss.” Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, once made this truly terrifying statement (Cambodian Genocide 1). It is no wonder that he went on to orchestrate the killing of over two million innocent Cambodians. At the time of the massacres in Cambodia, the Vietnam War was raging. It is possible that the Vietnam War masked the true horrors of what was happening in Cambodia. The terrible events left emotional scars and traumatized countless people. In the 1960s, a group called the Khmer Rouge emerged, but it had only a few members. They were led by Pol Pot, a man who would soon bring terror to all Cambodians. Their goal was to bring Cambodia to a primordial state, where everyone would work as laborers. When the 1970s arrived, Cambodia found itself in the midst of the Vietnam War and soon its country was facing a civil war (Genocide in Cambodia 1). The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, wanted to overthrow the anti-communist government of Lon Nol. Ultimately, the Khmer Rouge managed to defeat Lon Nol's government in 1975. Soon after, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge embarked on a deadly mission to make Cambodia a communist country, just like Mao's China, which Pol Pot admired. The Khmer Rouge put all Cambodians to work as farm laborers. Anyone who refused to work or opposed their opinions was killed. The camps in which Cambodians were forced to work were labeled the killing fields of Cambodia. The people the Khmer Rouge saw as a possible threat were educated people, monks, religious enthusiasts, Buddhists and Christians. The Khmer Rouge were cruel and heartless with what they did. They even interrogated their own members for treason and often executed them. Since the Khmer ...... middle of paper ......living-genocide-30694.html>.de Walque, Damien. "The long-term legacy of the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia". eLibrary. Np, nd Web. 2 April 2014. “Genocide in Cambodia.” Holocaust Museum Houston. NP Rete. 2 April 2014. "Accusation in Cambodia: when does the massacre become genocide?" The economist. NP Network. 8 April 2014. .Luca, W.. Np. Network. 2 April 2014. .. Np. Network. 2 April 2014. .. Np. Network. April 2, 2014. .Szumski, Bonnie, Scott Barbour, Brenda Stalcup, and William Dudley. Genocide. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 2002. Print.