The Most BOMBED Country in History

[@yeehawboy1410]

Thank you for covering this. I’m Cambodian American and no one knows shit about any of this including my younger relatives (16-30) its wild. I’ve heard so many stories from my dad and grandparents and they deserve to be known

[@brainwashsleeping]

As a Cambodian Canadian I second this. This history needs to be told. Thank you for this video!

[@donaldduck9884]

Cambodia was even worst state, not only Cambodia had crazy dictator Pol Pot with genocide reforms, they were as well attacked by USA. Yes I have been in around Cambodia and around SEA countries... The tourist attraction is death field, todays movie the death fields, jungle full of bombs and mines. Seen U.S.A was independent, they have been non stop wars as their first agenda was purge out the native indians from their own areas too starvation, tears and deaths... * As well all chemical warfare with Agent- class as Agent orange. You could still see effect of genetic transfer deformed skin

[@Nightman01]

^

[@amihart9269]

Why is it that we can condemn what the US did to these countries, but the moment we actually express sympathies for the people who fought against the US and helped liberate their homeland, we're called a "tankie"?

[@someesingh2827]

@@amihart9269 answer is very simple.... U cn blame the bad stuff on "US" or "Americans" or individual Presidents or CIA or US military or anything else. Meanwhile communists and anti imperialists challenge imperialism in its roots. 'Tankies' challenge capitalism.

[@AfroAsiaticLanguages]

This is so powerful. If there was a Nuremberg trial for things the US gov has done, it would be the largest, gravest trial in history.

[@Michael45007]

Nah. China and Russia still takes the spot. USA is bad but no where as worse as these two countries where over 50 millions died under Russian and CCP flag.

[@Paches92-]

Should include murderous communist governments too

[@plainText384]

Bigger than the actual Nürnberg trials?

[@AfroAsiaticLanguages]

@@plainText384 Very likely so. Since it lasted many decades longer than the Nazi regime.

[@angryyordle4640]

@@plainText384 yes, the period of US war crimes was much longer than the Nazi one. The Nazis were defeated after 12 years. The US war crimes have been going on for roughly 70 years now. They started around 1950 and are still going on today.

[@christopherantonio3612]

None of the depraved people who caused this have been held accountable. What a shame

[@AfroAsiaticLanguages]

Henry Kissinger is still alive and is often consulted on global affairs. He has written books and is living well. It's infuriating.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Well, he resigned in disgrace. Wasn't this mostly Nixon's doing? But I hear you. In a perfect world people wouldn't be ignored just because they live somewhere remote and everyone would be held accountable.

[@knightlypoleaxe2501]

@@PaulTheSkeptic he should've resigned from life itself.

[@saurabhmahajan7159]

On top of that they have an audacity to give lecture to other countries on Human right.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

@@knightlypoleaxe2501 Lol. Yeah well, you can blame Ford for that. He pardoned him. He seemed to have marked a precedent. Right now there's another former president I'd like to see held accountable for his actions.

[@scrollingonthiswebsite]

america's actions in the 60's and 70's have had long-lasting negative effects on southeast asia. after nixon launched the cambodia campaign, cambodia's life expectancy dropped all the way down to 19 YEARS at one point in the mid 70's.

[@PanozGTR2]

Surely that had more to do with the genocide?

[@someonenew439]

Yeah the Cambodian genocide by the communist party was far more detrimental to Cambodia then the United States. Fuck communism.

[@StephySon]

@@PanozGTR2 yes but the reason the Khmer Rouge rose to power was precisely because of American interference

[@moosesandmeese969]

@@StephySon True, the Khmer Rouge was backed by the US during the Cambodian-Vietnamese war

[@StephySon]

@@moosesandmeese969 no, it’s because there continuous bombing of civilians turned numerous formally neutral civilians to back Pol Pot over Lon Non

[@abdhbfdhdfhf]

Anthony Bourdain was right about Henry Kissinger and why are men like Kissinger and John Bolton are still alive and not in prison for crimes against mankind

[@SharienGaming]

because the US doesnt punish warcriminals - they reward them

[@captainwin6333]

Because of one thing and one thing only - their nationality. They're Americans.

[@Michael45007]

It's not just Americans. There are many Chinese and Russians who does the same thing.

[@grmpEqweer]

@@Michael45007 War is mass murder. However you want to dress it up.

[@Michael45007]

@@grmpEqweer Just like every nations in the world. USA isn't a saint but they're still miles better than China or Russia. War is inevitable part of human nature. Look at Ukraine war. No one would have thought this would happen 9 months ago but here we are.

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

Thank you Gravel Institute for bringing History that was buried into the light. So people can finally start to understand America isn't picture of perfection they think it is.

[@thewildcardperson]

oh yeah America so bad who do want replacing us China Russia eruope get clue we have saved the world get to off the internet if you think we're so bad

[@rcmrcm3370]

@Arron it's not buried, it's the Americans who shove their heads up their own backsides and wonder why its dark, smells and they can only hear themselves.

[@allrounderal2958]

never was a perfect pictures. its all the media people just consume

[@Derederi]

Guess what is happening in Ukraine. Its definitely not another CIA war to murder innocents. Its not like they did it 20 times already. Guess who blew up NordStream2.

[@peter58peter]

What did 'institute' bring, exactly?

[@cemmvids]

Something to note regarding the ethnic minorities mentioned in the video that the US used as a secret army against Laos is that it took serious pressure and lobbying to even convince the US to take those ethnic minorities in as refugees, and to this day those groups face some of the highest rates of poverty and discrimination of any Asian American groups in the US. The lesson to learn is there's not even anything to gain in being the US's ally in its unjust imperialist campaigns.

[@rcmrcm3370]

They didn't even take most of them, just enough that if they ever wanted to reseed an insurgency they could have agents to fly back in.

[@nathanielibrahim3492]

If you're an oppressed ethnic minority, America will help you fight against the majority. But the second it serves America's interests, they'll screw you over. Just look at America's policies towards Kurdish people in different times and places.

[@madsceptictrooper6803]

The same thing happened with Kurds. Even though Kurds have fought against Saddam Hussein, ISIS and many other enemies of US in the Middle East. One of the reasons why US doesn't really support Kurds is because Turkey, the biggest oppressor of Kurds, is part of NATO and an ally of US.

[@NawidN]

"Unjust imperialist campaigns" is an oxymoron. All imperialist campaigns are unjust.

[@jonangorman6341]

Now they using them as propaganda subject to demonize laos, and they also encourage those hiding in forest, to kill lao citizen on sight. Those that are outside especially in USA, supporting the propaganda.

[@PutXi_Whipped]

Not only that but the US backed Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge government which committed genocide against Cambodia.

[@seanpol9863]

This is also backed by the article Who Supported the Khmer Rouge? by Gregory Elich (read length approx. 22 minutes) For Further Reading: Michael Haas: Genocide by Proxy: Cambodian Pawn on a Superpower Chessboard. Praeger, 1991. Michael Haas: Cambodia, Pol Pot, and the United States: The Faustian Pact. Praeger, 1991. Michael Haas: Modern Cambodia’s Emergence from the Killing Fields: What Happened in the Critical Years? Publishing for Scholars, 2012. Ben Kiernan: The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79. Yale University Press, 1996. Ben Kiernan, editor: Genocide and Democracy in Cambodia. Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 1993. E.V. Kobelev, editor: Kampuchea: From Tragedy to Rebirth. Progress Publishers, 1979..

[@PutXi_Whipped]

@@seanpol9863 Thanks for the sources.

[@EH-mh4it]

@@seanpol9863 I read that article, good read thanks. Of the book suggestions, which two would you recommend the most? I will try read them.

[@seanpol9863]

@@EH-mh4it To be honest I haven't read any, apart from the article you read. They were recommended recently and haven't got round to reading them. I guess they will be just as of interest as the article.

[@ItsOgre]

After about 1970, the US/western Imperialist Cold War policy was mainly focused on supporting basically the Legion of Doom. Listen at these groups and tell me WE were the good guys: Apartheid South Africa, The Mujahideen in Afghanistan which primarily focused on the most extreme groups (Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda and the Taliban), Saddam Hussein, Israel as it carried out a brutal invasion of Lebanon (supporting fascist Christian militias who carried out atrocities) and continued brutality and occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Pol Pot, brutal military dictators in South America from Mexico to the cone, including Efrain Rios Montt who’s Christian fascist dictatorship carried out a wide spread genocide of indigenous peoples in Guatemala (likely 300,000 dead), death squads in Latin America which carried out executions of nuns and priests. How about crack dealers and narco traffickers as we supported, financed, assisted and facilitated the traffic into and sale of drugs in the US and the west in order to finance paramilitary groups leaving a bloody trail through Latin America and South Asia while Nancy Reagan went on TV and told people to “just say no.”

[@laraibkhan14]

My heart goes out to the people of Laos. No country has suffered as much as them.

[@mephistopheles6806]

In recent times or much older? 300 million Natives were genocided in America.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Well, let's not start begin to compare which countries suffered more than others as that's just a bit distasteful. Let's just say that the people of Laos have suffered far more than any country should have to.

[@mephistopheles6806]

@@PaulTheSkeptic the bombing of Dresden after WW2? Nagasaki and Hiroshima?

[@anongeneralpublic]

a lot of counties have suffered from the US campaigns for freedom and democracy. Vietnam, Korea, Philippines, Greece, Iran, Yugoslavia, Mexico all of countries of South America, most of countries in Africa are the ones that come to mind.

[@auliamate]

@@mephistopheles6806 hence why we shouldnt play the "who suffered the most game", that shit is too volatile, and in the end, everyone loses anyway.

[@theodoremcg7175]

Gravel institute continues to make banger after banger, and this is no exception

[@ajiththomas2465]

Well, except their utterly shitty vixeo about Ukraine which was basically Kremlin propaganda, lol.

[@AlOlexy]

@@ajiththomas2465 no, it wasn’t.

[@phoneticalballsack]

@@AlOlexy Yes it was...

[@m_ridae]

@@AlOlexy Yeah it was, and they deleted it because it was so bad.

[@TheCureEnjoyer]

@@m_ridae they deleted it because the Western left can't accept the fact they were brainwashed, once again

[@pencilpauli9442]

America: We sell drugs to wage a war abroad. Also America: We shall wage a war on drugs at home.

[@PutXi_Whipped]

See: Southeast Asia, Central America

[@rickb3650]

Sounds like a capitalist's wet dream.

[@mephistopheles6806]

Rest assured that most drugs get imported by US government people not mules.

[@josephsaleh7433]

Oliver north CIA cocaine import Agency

[@jonangorman6341]

lol, americans will deny it.

[@wnklee6878]

Bombing, invading, destroying...nobody does it better. It is called American exceptionalism.

[@mephistopheles6806]

Bingo!

[@vihailevagi]

They shouldn’t have been communism and try to help evil North Vietnam.

[@youamazing41]

@@vihailevagi Go back to sleep you typical American.....

[@thienthien7765]

@@vihailevagievil you say? What did we do compared to your “free and democratic” the “greatest” country on earth? What did we do? Fight for our freedom, oh that’s evil. Like American killed milions vietnamese people is not evil at all, i see

[@HeadsetHatGuy]

@@vihailevagi 🤡

[@jackvac1918]

Such a great documentary. When I was in Xieng Khouang province in Laos several years ago where the Plain of Jars are it was still only safe to stick to the popular tourist locations and well-worn trails because unexploded bombs still littered the countryside. It was common to find houses that used old bomb casings and drop tanks as pillars or flowerpots, and there was even a cottage industry of artisan blacksmiths that turned scrap metal from the bombs into farm tools or utensils. The cluster bombs, nicknamed as 'bombies', were particularly insidious because there were literally millions of them that were dropped that failed to detonate on impact because of their shitty fuses, and are small and so are difficult to spot. An average of 1 person a day is killed or maimed by these bombs the last time I checked, and those that survive have only crude prosthetics and only their families for support because the social care system is far too poor to support them. These bombs will stay there for a long time, even in Europe bombs dating back to WWI are still occasionally being discovered that still pose a threat to people's lives. Of course the typical American will never hear about this, and most of those that do will forget about it when the tv or their Twitter feeds pull their attention to a nonsense outrage, just like they do with the atrocities their country is committing and abbetting RIGHT NOW. The only reason Obama gave even a fraction of a shit about Laos during his visit there is because of political posturing with China. The money USA aid organisations have contributed to cleaning up the bombs the USA has dropped on Laos is literally thousands of times less that what the USA spent trying to level the place in the first place. The Lao people still do not hold anything against Americans, the war is in the past and they want to focus on building a better future for themselves. That still doesn't excuse the profound ignorance and self-centeredness that Americans have about their country's "adventures".

[@jurgentreue1200]

I lived in Laos 2007-2015, a beautiful country with wonderful people. I travelled down parts of the Ho Chi Minh trails between the Bolaven Plateau and the Vietnamese border in southern Laos. There are still areas that are impacted today. Areas that are no go zones and areas that can't be farmed due to UXOs still littering the countryside. This is keeping people poor because what was once farmland can no longer be farmed. A couple of fun facts. The USA spent more money daily bombing Laos than it spends yearly cleaning up their mess. At the current rate of clean up, it will take 180 years to rid Laos of every single UXO.

[@SuperMikado282]

Very well said my friend. 👍

[@jamesl.o.h.6000]

Obama was a false hope esp to his own race, but alas, he's not a true black man. Bloody sweet talk was all he's got.

[@GoreSpattered]

generational trauma at unfathomable levels. i went to visit cambodia and visited a landmine museum and it was the saddest fucking place i've ever been in my life. as an australian we were also complicit in atrocities committed during the brutal campaign of violence carried out on the vietnamese, cambodian and laotian people. nothing could ever pay these countries back for how much they have suffered. may the day come when oglicharcal western powers no longer hold the world and it's poorest citizens to ransom.

[@Derederi]

Guess what is happening in Ukraine. Surely the USA just became holy from one day to the other and hence he pits brothers against each other.

[@lukasfrykas7188]

I'm ashamed I didn't know about this before. Thank you For the video that was wonderfully produced

[@rickb3650]

Don't feel bad, it was a secret war after all. Do remember that this was a secret war that was discovered and ask yourself how many others are there that we haven't discovered? This is how empire works.

[@severdislike4222]

Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam were all aggressively targeted by the US during the Vietnamese revolution with the former two being turned into minefields, bomb littered wastelands, or chemical agent testing fields... Laos got hit by the worst of the campaigns. Cambodia's utter desolation was also horrific.

[@mephistopheles6806]

Everyone blames the Commie rebels but I think they're correct.

[@vietocschos6389]

@@mephistopheles6806 Rebels only happens when there's a breaking point.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@vietocschos6389 Not always for a good reason and in this case subverted by the North.

[@nahoj.2569]

It is disturbing how the only reason i already knew about Laos' existence was because i had read about US military interventions in other countries, including mine.

[@christiana5453]

If you dont mind, which country are from?

[@nahoj.2569]

@@christiana5453 Colombia, they did all sorts of stuff here, including right wing death squads.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

I like geography so I imagine I'd probably be able to otherwise find Laos on a map but mainly, the reason I know about it is because I think that King of the Hill joke is really funny. Bill, (who's not too bright if you don't know) was asking Kahn where he's from. "Are you Chinese or Japanese?" He responds "I'm Laotian." "You're from the ocean? Which ocean?" "No I'm from Laos stupid. It's a landlocked country in southeast Asia." "Oh. ... But are you Chinese or Japanese?" 🤣That always made me laugh.

[@rakkatytam]

King of the Hill for me

[@christiana5453]

@@nahoj.2569 Im sorry to hear that, Ive read somewhat about the CIA involvement there but from the little I’ve read it is mortifying

[@nahoj.2569]

US citizens need to learn their country's crimes

[@someonenew439]

We know. Most of what people call war crimes aren’t even war crimes. The U.S did a good job in Southeast Asia containing communism. Many died. But the alternative of communist rule is far worse. You should thank the U.S for being the only consistent power that defeats communist and fascist across the globe. Thank the U.S

[@ccdsds3221]

@@someonenew439 yeah, because he communists definitely didn’t win at the end...

[@someonenew439]

@@ccdsds3221 for the Cold War the U.S won. But for Vietnam the U.S fought to a draw then left. Then when the U.S left the communist broke the peace treaty and invaded. So the United States actually won since we fought to a peace treaty. It’s just the north broke the treaty. And you can make the argument we stopped the domino effect.

[@user-bx2jq8yv4v]

@@someonenew439 Except that peace treaty wasn't ratified by the US Senate, rendering the treaty null and void. And it only ended direct US military involvement, not the war itself, in fact the treaty only stopped the fighting for less than a day.

[@rickb3650]

How can anyone learn history when 99% of what is taught in school is total fiction and 1/3 of the people are too dumb to care?

[@nathanmcbow158]

A history like this is why I shake my head each time the U.S. has the stomach to call out other nations on war crimes. THEY HAVE STILL not taken responsibility for their own nations crimes!

[@orjikerock875]

Because they're world leader

[@EmmaBeaver333]

my boyfriend’s dad grew up in Laos and was a child soldier there for the US…thank you for sharing this and spreading awareness!

[@AceOfTheWorld72]

I was there, I didn't see your boyfriend's dad there... quit lying.

[@jamesl.o.h.6000]

What on earth can be more cruel than this? Killing innocent men, women & children without a blink of an eye!

[@gotoastal]

I've been to the caves at Vang Vieng and the stories the tour tells puts so many things into perspective. I've been to the Plain of Jars in Phonsovan and basically nobody lives there still. And it's still unsafe to go to much of the countryside which are some of the most beautiful.

[@jurgentreue1200]

There's a cave in Xieng Khouang province called Tham Piew. It has the unenviable reputation of the most civilians killed in a single incident during the Second Indochina War. Around 400 Lao, mainly refugees, were hiding in a cave from the US bombing, when a USAF plane shot a rocket into the cave killing nearly all, instantly. The My Lai massacre, around 500 civilians were killed in a number of days.

[@severdislike4222]

Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, every single 'intervention' in South America, all of this seems to prove that the US needs its own version of the ww II era concentration camp reels to show every genocide it's been part of, every ethnic cleansing it participated in, and every horror it's brought upon this world and to have that shown to everyone in the country. The US population need to be forced to see what the US has done to the world, no excuses, and no turning away.

[@mappingshaman5280]

If americans were shown what their country does, they would excuse it, not attempt to prosecute their leaders.

[@tortellinifettuccine]

@@mappingshaman5280 that's what happens when you isolate all your civilians in a vast island inside a cardboard box they call suburban homes next to other identical suburban boxes and if you're a child you'll be stuck home until 16 and you're able to actually drive or go out without getting kidnapped or shot. The usa is one massive isolated prison for its people, but no matter how bad it is, no one will consider their home a prison if they lived there long enough, and 70% of Americans don't even step foot outside the usa, 27% don't even step foot outside their state.

[@ammanite]

They were also involved in Indonesia and Soharto's murdering of 1-2 million people there. The Jakarta Method is an important book that ties the threads between these events.

[@andreamarino6010]

Probably it's one of the main things many just skip, but hear me out: when was the last war in which continental USA was damaged? The civil war maybe. If you ask to any other country except for like Canada, there are always stories about fighting at "home". Americans never had them, probably leading to this superiority complex that they're untouchable, but oh boy, just think about 11/9 but for all the US. That's gonna leave a mark

[@OnionIlan]

They did some shady stuff in Iran and Indonesia too

[@user-bx2jq8yv4v]

@The Gravel Institute Please make a video that debunks Prageru's lies about the Iraq War. Of all the channels calling PragerU out on their blatant lies you guys are doing the best job at it.

[@bourneblue.]

Thank you for covering this, more people need to know

[@Lucifer-kh7dh]

2.7 million tons were also dropped in Cambodia, many still unfound.

[@laralebeu36]

The exposure of these atrocities is so needed.

[@LeonidasArg2021]

"I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal. Fortunately, we were on the winning side" - Curtis LeMay, U.S Air Force General This quote refers to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WW2

[@DarkKnightTrinity]

Indeed. It's a fact that Japan was almost ready to surrender without the nuclear bombs. They just wanted to test them like the evil monsters they are.

[@nathanielibrahim3492]

@@DarkKnightTrinity Not just test them, but use them as psychological warfare to terrorize the Japanese into being a better client, threaten the rest of the world into following America's lead, and threaten the USSR and other American enemies. Global American empire really begins at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@anongeneralpublic]

us armed forces didnt even give their own personnel proper protection during atomic bomb test on Bikini island, most of personal had no protection. that part of the world is still contaminated. many locals are now subject to multitude of different radiation caused disease.

[@drugilbert2447]

@@DarkKnightTrinity Almost?

[@frequentlycynical642]

@@DarkKnightTrinity That "fact" has been widely debated among historians. Russia declaring war on Japan in the last days of the war was nudging things, but there were no indications diplomatically or militarily that Japan was considering surrender. "Evil monsters?" The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved millions of lives, both Japanese and Allied forces. Mostly Japanese. My father was one of those spared. Onboard the Attack Transport Carrier Salmon P. Chase.

[@LibertarianLeninistRants]

truly despicable what the US did

[@camelopardalis84]

Is doing and has been doing since before its inception. And will continue to do for as long as it exists.

[@tortellinifettuccine]

@@camelopardalis84 exactly. There's quite more understanding of the usa's crimes today than ever before I think, but still more needs to be done, and some people still have this idea that the usa doing this is a relatively new thing. The usa has been a wannabe abusive superpower since the day of its existence. The usa was seen as a great place to go if you're rich, as in the usa if you are rich and white and a man and own land, you may vote, otherwise you don't get a word in anything. This continued for a while, until the usa was one of the slowest to outlaw slavery, to legalize abortion, to legalize and standardize an actual pension, something France and the rest of the world did in 1860, and the slowest to allow women freedom of speech and voting. The usa has always been focused on the money, and they found war makes big money, wars that your people don't know about so you can milk them as long as possible without backlash.

[@jonangorman6341]

@@camelopardalis84 USA enjoy it. It will never stop.

[@camelopardalis84]

@@jonangorman6341 They could be stopped forcibly, but that would require the political will of a lot of parties (mostly countries) that simply isn't there.

[@vihailevagi]

@@camelopardalis84 You don’t know what you’re talking about lol. That’s the only time the US have done that and it wasn’t really directly by the US.

[@guapodesperado2822]

The US, as a whole, had better hope that Karma is not a real thing, or start an urgent campaign to make amends for our atrocities, though that may be close to impossible at this point.

[@anongeneralpublic]

a lot of people have a rightful grudge against US government. Most of the world actually by my account.

[@Tomsom2008]

That's why I don't believe in Karma. If it's real, the USA would be in ruined long time ago.

[@ad_astra468]

@Trump lost, move on Yep it was called WW1 and WW2 after which western Europe was so weakened it lost all colonies and became a US puppet. Karma for the US will probably be WW3, I just hope my country can manage to leave NATO before it starts so we can sit WW3 out.

[@rais1953]

Not Karma but the consequence is that they have a mass shooting every day. Of course their rich and powerful citizens are seldom impacted by this.

[@jonangorman6341]

If karma is real Why so long?

[@thisoptimism]

I really appreciate the work you are doing. I wish to educate myself further on each topic. May I suggest that you post a "reading list" of material that we may look at to further educate ourselves in the video's description. I know it may seem lazy to ask you to provide me with all the information but I figured you have already been reading deeply about the material. Maybe just keep a list of all the material and then post it in the description. Thanks again for all that you are doing.

[@EH-mh4it]

I’m not too sure how much is covered about Laos, but if you look up Wilfred Burchett, he was a war reporter during the 50/60/70’s and wrote a lot about Viet Nam and Cambodia. He was Australian, but had respect and sympathy for the victims of US American war policy. As such, he had many opportunities to interview the leaders and regular people who were resisting colonialism and imperialism. I think his book “The Furtive war” covers Laos quite a bit. His books were written at the time and are based on eye witness accounts and interviews, so not written in hindsight. The books can be quite difficult to find in person as they are all out of print, but “open library” has many for free. If you want a better understanding of how the USA conducted itself during the period, accounts from Viet Nam are the easiest to find. I would recommend the book “Kill everything that moves” by Nick Turse. Written in hindsight and by a US American, but without the close minded nationalist/imperialist/anti communist/conservative view that is unfortunately the default for most US American writers about the topic. (Audio version is available, but easy to find this book).

[@jamesmichaeljean7840]

What is it that you want? More about the cia's war on loas or the American military industry complex?

[@thisoptimism]

@@EH-mh4it Thank you so very much friend!

[@thisoptimism]

@@jamesmichaeljean7840 The CIA's war on Loas would be interesting to read more about. Thank you for replying and connecting.

[@jamesmichaeljean7840]

@@thisoptimism are you a hmong? kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHTZY5ZnhpyGm8U

[@StephySon]

All that bombing and yet they failed. Millions spent, countless lives lost, generations of psychological and mental health scarring and for what?

[@rickb3650]

To make a lot of billionaires.

[@StephySon]

@@rickb3650 Raytheon and Boeing and Lockheed made lots of money, fuckers

[@gabrielj1644]

Freedom

[@simoncangguajila7743]

$

[@deidresable]

Democrazy

[@grapentine739]

Obama was like Hold my beer. He dropped 26,000 bombs in his last year in office let alone all the other bombings he did his whole administration.

[@SharienGaming]

thats about 5 months in laos you folks really need to rethink your attitude towards weapons... this kind of shit will keep happening as long as people worship tools of destruction

[@Michael45007]

Only to be exceeded by Trump which was 3xs worse under him. At least Biden almost stopped all of the bombings when he became president.

[@Diskurswerfer]

For example Aleppo, oh wait that was Russia

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

@@Diskurswerfer Russia use artileri

[@Gustav_Kuriga]

Hold my beer? Not excusing a single bomb, but that would have been a drop in the bucket compared to Laos.

[@andalilbitqueer]

Are yall gonnna do a video on the philippine-american war? the war where, in one island, an american military officer ordered his men to kill every male above the age of 14? the war where the american government gathered native filipinos into concentration camps to reeducate them? the war that massacred hundreds of thousands of Filipino civilians? the war of which the US has, so far refused to recognize?

[@koenstrobbe8101]

Exactly.

[@osiris2u]

So why are the filipinos still so pro-US?

[@TheHeinrichSymposium]

There is a film on Australia's SBS ON Demand channel: 'General Luna'.

[@jeremyxu8155]

Why do the Pinays love the Americans so much till today?

[@andalilbitqueer]

@@jeremyxu8155 concentration camps and reeducation then after independence, CIA interference (this isn't a conspiracy theory, Ramon Magsaysay, widely considered to be tr Philippines' best leader had a literal CIA handler.) We're also the most online people on the planet so we consume a lot of american content.

[@bengallup9321]

Laos is a great case study in how different countries exert their influence around the world. The US devastated the country with bombs. China, on the other hand, built extensive rail infrastructure which will benefit the local population.

[@ekramkhanshafi]

China with millions of Uyghur muslims in concentration camp. That's geeat benefit for their local I guess!?

[@sexmansex4776]

@@ekramkhanshafi yeah china sucks and i hope their goverments fail, the USA is on a whole other level, though, i mean they deleted entire villages and make a whole country become a danger zone.

[@davidegaruti2582]

@@ekramkhanshafi where are the camps ? I see no camps in xinjiang

[@youbelonginamuseum0]

@@ekramkhanshafi Could be true, but indigenous genocide in North America is a fact, and doesn't get as half of attention on media worldwide being a massive extermination

[@leighfoulkes7297]

We are stuck between Samos and Icaria. Get too close to the US and they will screw you over but get too close China and the same thing will happen (US has been so bad that China looks innocent in comparison). Imperialism is evil no matter what country engages in it.

[@tinnyty]

Nobody does it like the Gravel Institute 🙌fantastic piece.

[@Derbnage]

Absolutely sickening. Americans have a lot to answer for.

[@JohnSavant]

This is why I always say to right wingers who think that they're being clever with the used quip "when did communism ever succeed?" ... "how many countries have been bombed or invaded to make sure communism never succeeds?"

[@GenerationX1984]

I know people who have visited Vietnam and were surprised that it had a higher standard of living than say Mexico. And Vietnamese people are happy and friendly. Vietnam is a good example of a successful communist nation with a rapidly emerging economy. This freaks the anti-communist people out!

[@LordKnightcon]

@@GenerationX1984 My favorite part is American veterans who fought in the Vietnam War going to live in Vietnam to day because they can't get the healthcare they need from the VA.

[@DarkKnightTrinity]

@@GenerationX1984 Vietnam, Cuba, etc ... seems like communism works pretty well. Imagine that.

[@EH-mh4it]

@@GenerationX1984 and their success today is DESPITE almost a century of colonialism by France, invasions/wars by France, Japan, USA, Cambodia (USA backed), China, not to mention that after the USA left Viet Nam the USA imposed economic sanctions (economic warfare) for decades. To state the obvious, they also fought the worlds biggest, most powerful, most technologically advanced, most funded military in the world!

[@mephistopheles6806]

Exactly because it does and will if left alone. Why did they bomb Yugoslavia?

[@Giorgio825]

Thank you guys

[@DK-mq9zf]

Man. I'm American but this is just shameful. America is turning into a sh**hole these days and I plan to leave here.

[@jurgentreue1200]

I lived in Laos 2007-2015. Beautiful country with wonderful people. What this video failed to mention, the US military began bombing northern Laos three months before the Gulf of Tonkin incident. The Plain of Jars region in Xieng Khouang province in the north of Laos, was were the Pathet Lao had set up bases and were firmly entrenched. It was the USA's aim to drive the Pathet Lao off the Plain of Jars. In effect, the USA was involving itself in a civil war of a sovereign country.

[@renatocorvaro6924]

Thanks as always for the information.

[@Sporting1210]

Considering the scale of systemic racism in the US towards all sorts of minorities and the indigenous people of north america on all levels of society and administration and how they teach their history even in progressive schools, and considering that the US are running on a war economy since WW II, and considering the level of social inequalizty implemented and kept at a steady level with instruments like health and social insurance, and considering the down right "who the fuck cares" attitude towards the inviroment , one may come to the conclusion, that it is NOT about democracy and NOT about freedom and NOT about human rights, but only about white supremacy and economic motivations/ consumerism/total self-indulgence for whoever can afford it and it does NOT matter whether it is a democratic or conservative president, because both parties are equally corrupt.

[@koenstrobbe8101]

One might add, considering the US governments lies to it's own people, it's not that surprising.

[@dotjason8087]

I like what they did with the title and the thumbnail: it's a perfect framing that feels clickbait but actually isn't and it's good for attracting clicks from people who don't know about US foreign involvement to get them to know about it.

[@PowersOfDarkness]

hello fellow homestuck leftist

[@atticstattic]

"There will be no happiness for anyone until the Unites States is defeated." - as true now as it was then...

[@atticstattic]

@vihailevagi _We had to bomb the city 'cause it wouldn't agree, that 'things go better with democracy'_

[@vihailevagi]

@@atticstattic I don’t think you know how bad communism is, and we bomb things in the city? Countries make mistakes, but that doesn’t make the US is some evil country. On which the US did apologize for it.

[@atticstattic]

@vihailevagi "Something else is worse" is NO counterargument for what is wrong with the US - so you can stop with the communism crap.

[@ВашеДоверие]

@@vihailevagi 'i don't think you know how bad communism is' It was good, and it would be magnificent to see it return.

[@vihailevagi]

@@ВашеДоверие Nooooooooooo

[@spacemanrob96]

Please make a video about the US backed coup in Guatemala in the 1950's. I think more people need to know about it as well as the lasting impact that it has across Latin America to this day.

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

He did not just say "Universal Human Rights" with a straight face. 😑

[@juresichj]

Obama was such a heart-breaking disappointment, in virtually every way.

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

@@juresichj Honestly Every President after LBJ has.

[@thomas45081]

Excellent video, Thank You! I knew a 'little' about this, being that I had to sign up for the draft, and some others that I knew that came back and served over there, were telling me stories about it when I was young, back around 1970-1972.

[@MidnightMechanic]

Obama: *clears Laos of bombs* Also Obama: *commits record amount of drone strikes*

[@TheCureEnjoyer]

He did not clear Laos of bombs...

[@nickl5658]

Obama just acknowledge that the US bombed Laos. Nothing more.

[@ericwong4213]

he's just one of many string puppets. the world doesn't care who American presidents are, their purpose is just to deliver scripted messages on tv, like reporters.

[@90skidcultist]

Ordering drone strikes while playing golf.🥶🥶🥶🥶

[@Ianpact]

Thank you, TGI crew.

[@Eduxplainer]

Kissinger was trending on Twitter a few days ago, and I feel sorry for anybody who thought he died then. 😠😠😠😠😠😠 IF (not when) he ever dies, I am taking that day off and will cut class and spend the whole day inviting every person from Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Timor, Vietnam, and Chile to drive to his funeral and taunt him :).

[@grmpEqweer]

What a ghoul.

[@Eduxplainer]

@@grmpEqweer my teacher loves henry kissinger and i am challenging her to a debate when i go back to school soon :)

[@grmpEqweer]

@@Eduxplainer Ooh. You better come prepared as all get out.

[@nortonnewmann3711]

Poke a stick in his eye to make sure the bastard is really dead...

[@S367-u8x]

@W1erdThOughts tell us how it goes

[@Sylvestrethecat12312]

amazing video as always Gravel Institute

[@theheadshot45]

Yanks got BTFO'd by peasant farmers with Kalashnikovs multiple times in the 20th century and that slaps.

[@h.dahling]

more terrible important truths. thank you again, gravel.

[@lukegardner6917]

If this doesn't make your skin crawl then you're probably a sociopath

[@kapatidtomas]

Gravel Institute, I wish you could make a video about the brutal Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, it is a very interesting and usually underrated topic not often spoken in Western Media.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

It was in the media last year (2023) I think when his son was elected President. It should be noted the Americans did not try to keep him in power. The opposition, led by the Church in many cases, was not communist and the Ronald Wilson Reagan administration, whilst committed to anti-communist allies, felt they had to acquiesce to democratic revolutions. Thus the Republic of Korea, through the June Struggle for Democracy (1987) and the Philippines became democratic and yet remain American allies.

[@shuadubya5709]

Wow it's almost like America isn't a force for good in the world at all. It almost seems like we're actually a bunch of jerks. Wild.

[@Bhupinder550]

A bunch of Criminals

[@9tankie]

Common Gravel W! 💯 Solidarity with Laotian comrades! ♥

[@worshipthecomedygodseoeunk4010]

i already knew about this, but not in this much detail. you guys should've named the major ethnic group in laos that fought for the cia in that war, the hmong people. there was a mass migration after the war across the mekong river and many died on that treacherous journey, to the thai refugee camps. the irony that kills me is the amount of refugees that had to flee to the very country that destroyed their homeland in order to escape that persecution. i live in a state where probably majority of the asian population, which isnt much, are refugees from these u.s proxy wars in southeast asia. hmong, lao, karen, and vietnamese are the highest populations. many live in poverty, and are the farthest away from "model minority" you can get. they basically forced them to believe in capitalism, to come here, to put all their sacrifices into it, at the threat of their own lives. this is a HUGE reason why i became so anti capitalist. my closest friends, boyfriend, his friends, and the students i work with all were affected by these death campaigns. the consequences are so vast, they themselves dont even see how far reaching they are. it was all intentional, the u.s brought them here to continue being poor, to continue depending on them, to be used as fodder for their agenda. american capitalism sure as hell didnt work for them, even as so many still believe in it. as a korean adoptee, koreans argue that point until it dies, that american capitalism saved them and brought them immense economic success, but what about these refugees? i ask my bf, who is hmong, how can you still believe so much in this country when it treated your own people, mothers, children, and babies like target practice? he said "its how it is. america is fked." unfortunately, many of these refugees still place their hearts in this fake american dream, unknowing to the fact that its swallowing them whole, that working to the death for a meritocratic myth is not going to give them the freedom they so deserve.

[@RashidHjahmad]

Gravel , this is a good documentary.I hope more& more ppl will looked into it.

[@ynerrad9291]

To me, the fact that the people of Laos still have to deal with undetonated weapons in 2022 is genocidal behaviour by America, who are the architects of this campaign. An egregious use of force. In my view, the only winners are those who create these explosives, created to inflict harm on mass to make a profit. Also, that $90 million committed to dealing with the undetonated explosives is not enough. Should be talking billions. May the people of Laos one day, experience their land as it once was, before this all this destruction.

[@new9039]

US involvement in the Thai coups and the monarchy's grip on politics ever since the cold war is pretty interesting. Maybe a vid on that some day, Gravel team. We're still struggling really hard to resist the US installed power today.

[@Lumi_VR]

its quite funny how hypocritical how people in the US are saying that Russia is commiting war crimes, when the bombing of Laos isn't even the end of America's war crimes

[@Chris_MarMar]

To be fair I don’t think our war crimes have ever stopped. Even now.

[@mappingshaman5280]

USA: We must invade iraq to topple saddam hussein Russia: We must invade ukraine to "denazify" it. USA: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@PowersOfDarkness]

Russia is doing some war crimes, I have no doubt of that, just as war crimes were also done by Ukraine during the last 8 years. But none of that compares to the actions of the United States in the 20th century.

[@obedirect5491]

Thank you for all your work & dedication to educate us and honor the work & memory of the mighty Mike Gravel. I miss you & trust you're well and keeping it moving---FORWARD.

[@mephistopheles6806]

Only the most evil could do these things.

[@jaisoofi5513]

Thank u for covering this❤

[@Eduxplainer]

I lost all my respect for my AP US History Teacher when she showed me her copy of a book by HENRY KISSINGER SIGNED BY HIIM!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

[@StephySon]

I would’ve spit on it and happily taken whatever consequences there were

[@Eduxplainer]

@@StephySon i will debate her on her respect for kissinger when i go back to school soon :) and i'm taking the day off school or work and partying forever IF he ever dies

[@gabrielj1644]

@@Eduxplainer same bro

[@abstractness]

@@Eduxplainerunfortunately henry kissinger isn't dead yet

[@PutXi_Whipped]

Thankfully China is helping Laos rebuild its economy and infrastructure. The US neoliberal neocon empire project is incapable of such benevolent partnership.

[@jurgentreue1200]

China will be Laos' nemesis with its Belt and Road Initiative.

[@PutXi_Whipped]

@@jurgentreue1200 LMAO cope harder NATOady

[@JustThatGuy95]

foolish of you to not mention "bombaclat"

[@spitmanthesnodayplayer3592]

Word vro ☹️

[@Will9c]

I lean right politically, but have become increasingly anti-war in recent years. Thank you for this video, I am really interested by foreign policy but had never even heard of this. History truly is written by the victors. Keep up the good work.

[@TheCureEnjoyer]

Becoming anti-war is the pathway towards becoming a leftist my friend!

[@Ottmar555]

I've found learning about recent history to be quite radicalizing.

[@elephantman2112]

You should read some of Noam Chomsky's stuff. Especially Understanding Power. He explains a lot about America's secret wars.

[@TheCureEnjoyer]

@@elephantman2112 Michael Parenti's work is much better imo

[@elephantman2112]

@@TheCureEnjoyer Yeah, I like Parenti. But if someone's right-leaning (like OP), I've found that Chomsky is generally more their speed. Plenty of time to read Parenti later on haha.

[@cjinpa5713]

It’s beyond frustrating and embarrassing as a citizen for what the country I live in refuses to do for its citizens while terrorizing countless countries around the world for their own person profits. Even when we think we’ve put individuals in government to fight against it they just end up capitulating to power and accept their own kind of benefits. Apathy is the only word that’s comes to mind. Seems micheal Parenti was correct. They want it all. All the money, resources and of course power and they’ve accomplished it all. We get nothing for our vote. Ever.

[@Blue_Prixel]

I’m from Laos and my grandma and grandpa and I’m happy to see they survived

[@guilhermeteodosio40]

🇺🇸US: "you're being rescue, please do not resist" 🇱🇦Laos: "STFU💀"

[@zsewqthewolf1194]

i thank you for talking about this, being from a family tree from there am glad more people are talking about this

[@Dr_Larken]

As an American, there’s a lot of history they don’t go into detail about while your in school within this country, has someone that loves history, it seems to be a pattern with the American government it’s almost in the cry of “communism“ is literally the ideal excuse to mobilize military in invade! As you can see from Vietnam, when British Petroleum was losing access to oil and Iran they caught up on America And said communist were taking over so we intervened, so on and so forth!

[@paulallen8109]

I thought it was the *French* who lost control over Vietnam and other parts of what was "French Indochina". But if you wee talking about Iran then sure it enough it was the British who lost control there. The USA basically took over the role of the old colonial powers like the British and French since those had lost their influence following the devastation of WWI and WWII. There's a great historical irony in this because the USA itself had been founded on the idea of being free from empires and allowing colonies to govern themselves. Alas it wasn't unexpected. The USA fought alongside all the colonial powers in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and general (later president) Ulysses S. Grant wrote in his memoirs (published after his death in 1885): ""For myself," Grant wrote later about the United States war against Mexico, "I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." (source: By Sherman Fleek, USMA HistorianJanuary 31, 2019) What's disturbing is how the public so easily buys into media's portrayal of who the "good guy" and "bad guy" is in different conflicts in the world. It seems most people have a really short memory since it's clear to anybody who has been following it over time how fickle this good guy/bad guy is. In the end the fault is the public's. They blame their government but forget who brought said government to power, who is oblivious to the goings of said government and who is too pre-occupied by "more important things" (like sport and entertainment) to see what the government is up to. In a democracy the ultimate responsibility always rests with the people.

[@Dr_Larken]

@@paulallen8109 my guy: excellent comment I was quite shocked when I seen the effort put into it! But you are correct it was the French that lost control of their territory! Same thing with Iran the British lost control over the oil reserves so they called America when the new president was elected hated communist so they use that to their advantage Telling them that communist took over the oil wells or something to that effect but in the case of Iran it was the CIA that overthrew “I forget the guys name” just wanted to reply! I feel like it’s rare to meet anybody that knows history!

[@thelegalsystem]

The legacy of Curtis LeMay's indiscriminate bombing strategies

[@Yes_Fantasy_419]

Fun Fact: Ukraine's genocide of 360,000 innocent Polish civilians was so brutal that even the Nazis and Germans were disgusted and horrified by the Urk's brutality. The Urks did things that not even the Soviets and Axis Powers had ever done. As a reward for this genocide and collaborating with the Nazis and helping them massacre over a million Jews, the Urks lost over 8 million people and were occupied by the Soviets after the war which is a lot less than what they actually deserved. And the fact Urk Nationalist veterans and Urk war criminals and genocidal monsters are still celebrated in Ukraine today is beyond horrifying and disgraceful in the eyes of the civilized world. The Urks did not learn from their history and they are DOOMED to repeat it. Germany, Italy, and Japan: WE must make sure these tragedies never happens again! Ukraine: WE will make sure these atrocities and genocides happen again! Slava Ukraini!

[@jeremyxu8155]

If this was so, WHY do the Poles still support Ukraine in fighting with Russia now?

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

The bombing in Laos looks like Dresden, Tokyo, N Korea, Hanoi, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Beirut, Gaza… Do you condemn Hamas? Remember it’s a well-oiled global war machine. Swiss banks are doing fine, thanks for asking.

[@PKS02]

Vietnam owes a blood debt to Laos that can never be paid back, we are forever grateful and sorrowful for what happened in Laos.

[@alpacario336]

Vietnam and Laos still have great relations from what I hear. Vietnam let's Laos use it's trade ports and is helping to build important infrastructure.

[@PKS02]

@@alpacario336 Vietnam and Laos are each other's closest ally, even compared to other 'anti-Western' bloc allies. Laos even supported Vietnam througg the Cambodia split which was opposed by N.Korea and China.

[@philippepeltier142]

For the Military Industrial Complex : 💰💰💰

[@Covert_Arrangements]

This video is right up my alley. 😁

[@ashoka9306]

i knew more about the laotian rock rat than about the bombing campaign

[@ironknightgaming5706]

this was very good. subbed.

[@Dr_Larken]

It still amazes me to this day, how a lot of people could not point out specific locations on a global map! I honestly thought everybody could do this! I’m the kind of person whereas if I can do it “literally” anybody can do it! Some people actually think it’s hilariously funny that a lot of people can’t point out specific places on a global map, I however Think that’s really sad!

[@EdwardMDL]

Great video

[@Kamorok01]

FUUUUUUCCCK The american government

[@GenerationX1984]

I'm actually glad the U.S. government is more divided among party lines than ever. I figure the more infighting among themselves happens the less they screw with other countries since they're too busy trying to destroy each other to care about anything else.

[@Kamorok01]

@@GenerationX1984 Wrong as fuck my dude

[@ltstar9612]

The only default take that everyone sane person should have

[@kevinsysyn4487]

My disgust with this mass murder for which no one was brought to justice is just boundless. LBJ in his speech about freedom reminds me of Charlie Manson who a few years later "freed" people by murdering them. At least Manson and his family died in prison. LBJ, Nixon Kissinger and Co got awards, libraries and honorariums.

[@eggzzdee]

Daily reminder that Henry Kissinger is still alive and is 99 years old.

[@grayfox6930]

It takes a lot to make me cry but this just about did it.

[@BruceWaynesaysLandBack]

Reparations. Disarming all bombs. Medical care. Education grants. Restitution. As the BEGINNING OF A START

[@jimj2405]

So innocent people did nothing to deserve …. , do you determine who deserves because you think you are entitled ? The problem is the indebted indentured labor culture you come from, your criminal based heritage that defines your attitude and mentality.

[@JXiong-zo8ig]

YES YES YES WE NEED TO TALK MORE ABOUT "LAOS" AND THE FORGOTTEN WAR "THE SECRET WAR"

[@prathapkoththigoda9471]

Thanks

[@Ireallywouldrathernot]

Jesus... when I was at school we had a sister school in Laos and guess what? After the initial thing we never did anything to do with that again. I never knew any of this about Laos. I never knew anything about that sister school. It's absolutely disgusting that people just pretend to do something in solidarity and it never manifests into anything.

[@nickl5658]

It is the American way. The US also promises alot of aid for the news headlines. But once the headlines are over, that aid rarely arrives. Most US aid that does arrive is military aid, US weapons given to groups that the US supports to overthrow the local governments that are not pro-American.

[@lancesay]

Great piece...

[@colonelweird]

Another video where I have to stop watching two minutes in because I'm just too angry.

[@infinitedonuts]

For the algorithm!

[@ultraviolet7838]

And now we have John Bolton admitting he overthrew foreign gov’ts.

[@wiledman2430]

My wife is Laotian. She wouldn't be here without this part of history.

[@PowersOfDarkness]

You see the disregard US citizens have for the criminal actions of their government, you see it exemplified in the new Stranger Things season where the cop guy admits to taking part in agent orange chemical warfare, and the whole things is supposed to make us sorry for him because he and those he served with were affected. But not even a mention of the millions of innocents that this was directed at, its the same way in any discussion of the subject, its about the veterans who get PTSD from the things they have been part of, who suffer in health from something that happened while they were working for the machine, but not about the people on the other sides, not a shred of conscience for the people of Vietnam, Laos, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan or wherever else the empire has been active in living memory.

[@nickl5658]

There was more than agent orange. There was agent blue, pink, green. purple, white.. different chemicals. For example agent Blue was arsenic compound, where the arsenic is attached to organic ligands to improve biological uptake. The US poured 4 million gallons of 65.6% organic arsenic solution on Vietnam. If the US a global super power, its actions would be considered chemical warfare, a war crime in the eyes of the Geneva convention. To this date Vietnam has high level of arsenic in their water, with ground water of contaminated region going as high as an average of 430ug/L