Cambodia: This Day in History

9th February, 1969

The commander of U.S. armed forces in Vietnam, General Creighton Abrams, made the first request to the White House for permission to bomb Vietcong base camps within neutral Cambodia's border.

"Usually reliable sources report that COSVN* and COSVN-associated elements consistently remain in the general area along the border. All our information, generally confirmed by imagery interpretation, provides us with a firm basis for targeting COSVN HQs."

* Central Office for South Vietnam. The name given by the Americans to the command structure of communist forces within South Vietnam.