222. Editorial Note
On November 16, the Operations Coordinating Board approved a paper entitled “Analysis of the Internal Security Situation in Cambodia and Recommended Action.” The major conclusion of the paper was that the primary threat to Cambodia lay in its long unprotected border with South Vietnam. If South Vietnam fell to communism, Cambodia would be endangered. The paper also contained an assessment of the threat of bandits and dissidents, such as Son Ngoc Than, as potential targets for “Communist exploitation”, and of the “left wing” of the Democratic Party—described as mostly Cambodian students of “high social status” newly returned from Paris. In this “left wing” of the Democrats a potential for Communist control in Cambodia by legal political means was seen as a long-range threat. The paper contained a list of recommendations for improvements in efficiency in the police and security forces, in the armed forces, and in the process of alerting Cambodian officials to the perceived threat of Communist subversion. (Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430, Cambodia)