In Matters of War and Socialism, Anthony Barnett Would Shame and Honor Kampuchea Too Much by Laura Summers, delivers a powerful critique of Western leftist narratives that justify Vietnam’s invasion of Kampuchea. Summers dismantles Barnett’s argument that Kampuchea was the primary aggressor, exposing his reliance on Western intelligence sources and selective reporting. She highlights how Democratic Kampuchea’s struggle for national sovereignty clashed with Vietnam’s hegemonic ambitions, demonstrating that Hanoi’s ‘liberation’ was, in reality, a war of annexation. By examining the ideological and geopolitical distortions in leftist discourse, this article underscores the necessity of defending Kampuchea’s right to self-determination against both imperialist and revisionist forces.