| Chapter 1: | History and Consequence |
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FIGURE 1.1. UXO Ordnance Contamination in Cambodia.
Notes. The United States now admits to 115,273 bombing missions between October 4, 1965 and August 15,1973. The tactical concentration of bombing on the eastern portion of Cambodia is critical to point out for the purpose of later discussion.
(1975–1979). Consequent to the rapid pace at which the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh following the bombing campaigns, no clear-cut estimation of bombing-related deaths can be separated from the brutality occurring throughout the Khmer Rouge period. Best-guess estimates of civilian deaths related to US bombing campaigns in Cambodia range from 50,000 to more than 1,000,000.
In spite of the abundance of bombing-related deaths, not all of the ordnance dropped on Cambodia exploded on impact. Estimates of ordnance failure rates range from 20% to 60%.12 Ordnance that fails to explode on