1969 - Beginning in March, the US begins secret bombing raids on Vietnamese communist sanctuaries and supply routes inside Cambodia (dubbed the 'Menu Series'). Authorised by the newly installed US President, Richard M. Nixon , and directed by his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger , the raids are illegal, as the US has not officially declared war on Cambodia. In 14 months, 110,000 tons of bombs are dropped. When news of the raids is leaked, Kissinger orders surveillance and phone tapping of suspects to uncover the source.
US bombing raids into Cambodia will continue until 1973. All told, 539,129 tons of ordinance will be dropped on the country, much of it in indiscriminate B-52 carpet-bombing raids. The tonnage is about three and a half times more than that (153,000 tons) dropped on Japan during the Second World War.
Up to 600,000 Cambodians die but the raids are militarily ineffective. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that the bombing raids are serving to increase the popularity of the Khmer Rouge among the affected Cambodian population.