fire protection would suffer first. SenatornSam Nunn of the Armed Services Committeensaid essentially the same thing onna television news program. When a participantnasked him about cutting thenhuge military budget, Nunn replied:n”We’ll probably cut the wrong things.”nNunn went on to admit that members ofnCongress have their “obligations” to certainnindustries in their own districts.nCommitments are as strong as the politicalnsupport behind them, and they arenprime factors that every Congressmannconsiders when legislating defense billsnand programs. IMciency, safety, economyncome second or last.nPassengers unravels the machinationsnof a huge aircraft corporation to covernup a deadly flaw in its latest passengernjumbo and in its military fighter planenrather than ground the planes and repairnthe weakness. Billions of dollars are atnstake, as well as the leading position ofnthe corporation. Aiding in the cover-upnare movers and shakers of industry, government,nand safety-regulation agencies,nand hired assassins. Even as he is aboutnto be exposed, the head of the corporationngoes with supreme cynicism tonCongress to ask for a huge loan—^in thenname of patriotism. When the Lightn36inChronicles of CultttrenBrigade charged into disaster, it was becausenof upper-echelon stupidity; whennthe huge jetliner crashed, it was becausenof upper-echelon greed.nin The Angkor Massacre fact and fictionnare skillfially entwined. It is the factnof Cambodia, however, not the fiction,nwhich deeply concerns the United Statesnright now. Durand, a French author,nlived in Cambodia for several years. Henwas able to scrutinize the political andncultural realities without losing his objectivitynas a trained observer. Of course,nhe makes the expected GaUic jabs at thenCIA covert and not-so-covert participationnin the development of the tragedy,nbut he doesn’t lay the blame for it at ourndoorstep. He concedes that trouble innIndochina did not begin with our entryninto that area after the fall of Dien BiennPhu.nThe roots of conflict in Southeast Asiango deep, touching legendary Funan andnChampa. The first Americans in Vietnamnin the mid-1950’s found the natives tonbe a gentle, courteous, almost obsequiousnpeople. Not one American out of anhundred arriving in Vietnam had a solidnunderstanding of the culmre dictatingnthis facade of peacefulness. Actually,nnnIndochina comprises a large number ofndifferent peoples, most of them claimingnto be “the” true indigenes, and nearly aUnof them extremely warlike, as later eventsnproved. A close look at the history ofnAsia would have forewarned Americansnof this fact. The Moi (a Vietnamese wordnmeaning “savage” or “barbarian”) wandernfirom Vietnam to Cambodia (nownKampuchea) disdaining national boundaries,npracticing primitive slash-andburnnagriculture in the mountain areas.nLike the American Indians, the Moi comprisendifferent tribes. Many of themnaided the American troops during then60’s and early 70’s. Naturally, the communistnforces now in command in Vietnamnshow them no mercy. Remnants ofnother ancient cultures, such as thenCham, stiU inhabit Indochina, harboringnfiragments of racial memories and hatreds.nThe Chinese maintain claims. Into thisntime-seasoned bouillabaisse the Frenchncolonials were only a recent ingredient,nand the Americans barely a condiment.nBut we hurt ourselves badly in our relativelynbrief intervention; we may yet benhurt even more.nWe are always enjoined to learn fromnhistory. But what are we to learn? Onlynnow are our veterans of the VietnamnWar being given the respect that oncenwent automatically to American veterans.nOnly now are some of the early vocalncritics of our Vietnam adventure beginningnto admit that perhaps the wholenthing wasn’t a gigantic con game perpetratednby the military-industrial complex,nthat perhaps communist-besieged SouthnVietnam truly deserved our aid. Morenimportant, the much-derided dominontheory is still being substantiated. NorthnVietnam, supported by Russia, has nownconquered South Vietnam, Laos, andnmost of Cambodia. As of mid-1983, thenborders of Thailand were being violated,nand the U.S. has had to increase arms deliveriesnto that country.nSince 1970, well over four millionnpeople have been killed in Cambodia. Innsome respects it is like mobsters fightingnamong themselves. However, if it weren