1. Difficult Struggles in SE Asia  After WWII, growing nationalistic feelings spread through Indochina and other parts of SE Asia  SE Asians fought against foreign imperialist powers to gain their freedom  They also fought against themselves in bloody civil wars

2.  Vietnam  Vietnam had been ruled by the French since the mid-1800s  During WWII, the Vietminh, an alliance of nationalist and communist groups, fought the occupying Japanese  After the war the French hoped to regain Vietnam  Instead, Ho Chi Minh, the Vietminh leader, declared Vietnam free  Defeated by the Vietminh, the French abandoned Vietnam  1954, conference in Geneva led to division of Vietnam into communist north and a noncommunist south

3.  The Vietnam War  Elections were suppose to be held in 1956 to unite Vietnam  Ho Chi Minh, leader of Communist N Vietnam, supported the Vietcong-group of communist rebels who were trying to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnam)  The US sent troops to support S. Vietnamese gov led by Diem.  The war lasted from 1959-1975  The South Vietnam forces couldn ’ t defeat the communist forces  Growing anti-war sentiment in the US forced Pres. Nixon to w/draw American forces  1975, Saigon, the capital of the South fell  The country was reunited under communist control

4.  Cambodia  Served as a supply route for the Vietcong/ N Vietnamese forces  1969, American forces destroyed that route  After the Americans left, Cambodian communist known as the Khmer Rouge, took control  Pol Pot, leader of Khmer Rouge, began a reign of terror to remove all western influences from Cambodia  More than a million Cambodians were slaughtered in the “ Killing Fields ”  1979, Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia and occupied the country  In the early 1990s, a settlement was negotiated to end the civil war

5.  Myanmar (Formally known as Burma)  Was a British possession in the 1800s  In the mid-1900s, it gained independence, but it was plagued w/ ethnic tensions and ruled by a repressive military  Very poor country and living conditions, to this day, have not improved  Opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won an electorial victory  The military rejected the elections results and put Suu Kyi under house arrest  2011, a new President, U Thein Sein freed her and she soon won a 2012 parliamentary election  Foreign policy changes have allowed improved relations w/ US and other countries