Nixon’s War

The Wider Context in 1969

The international and national scene facing Nixon when he became President in 1969 was VERY different from that facing Eisenhower when he first started propping up South Vietnam, and even Johnson when he decided to go to war in 1964. 

In short – as you will realise as you read on – there had not since WWII been a greater need and better opportunity for peace:

1.   America no longer had world military dominance.  Soviet Russia had many more conventional forces.  China was now a nuclear superpower, and it was generally recognised that actually using nuclear weapons was ‘MAD’ (mutually assured destruction). 

2.   China and the USSR were at war.  America no longer faced a united communist bloc. 

3.   America’s economy was in trouble.  There was ‘stagflation’ (stagnant economic growth PLUS a high rate of inflation) PLUS a world oil crisis. 

Meanwhile:

4.   The cost of the Vietnam War had become unsustainable and was preventing all other government initiatives. 

5.   The protest/opposition to the war was destabilising US government and society. 

6.   Nixon had been elected on a promise to ’bring the boys home’. 

Going Deeper

The following links will help you widen your knowledge:

Basic accounts from BBC Bitesize and Clever Lili

Verdicts on Nixon - Los Angeles Times

YouTube

Nixon explains Vietnamisation - 3 Nov 1969

Vietnamisation - Mr Cloke

Nixon's Policies

Nixon therefore embarked on the following policies:

1.   Détente

   •   Nixon wanted to be remembered in history as someone who brought peace to the United States and the world.  He visited both Russia and China. 

   •   In April 1971 a US table-tennis team visited China (the so-called ‘Ping-pong diplomacy’) and in 1972 the Shanghai Communique recognised China”, and affirmed the two countries’ desire for “the relaxation of tension in Asia and the world”. 

   •   In 1972 USA and the USSR agreed the ‘Basic Principles of Relations’ Treaty and signed the SALT1 arms limitations agreement. 

2.   The Nixon Doctrine

   •   On 3 November 1969 Nixon announced that, from then on, it was to be up to each country to defend itself against communism. 

   •   In terms of Vietnam, this meant a policy of ‘Vietnamisation’ – gradually pulling US forces out of Vietnam whilst building up the ARVN to resist the NVA-VC. 

3.   Peace Negotiations

   •   Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s National Security Advisor, pursued peace talks; the sticking point was that the North Vietnamese were insisting on a united Vietnam with a communist presence. 

Source A

An American cartoon published in 1972.  The title of the cartoon was ‘Where it stops, nobody knows!’

4.   The 'Madman Theory'

        ie the belief that, if the North Vietnamese thought he was ready to do anything (even use the nuclear bomb), he could frighten Hanoi into a negotiated agreement. 

        Ironically, this meant that – whilst saying he wanted to end US involvement in the war – Nixon significantly escalated it:

   a.  Operation Menu (1970)

     ◦  The NVA – at the invitation of the Cambodian government – used bases in Cambodia to assemble their forces. 

     ◦  The US had been ‘secretly’ bombing Cambodia since 1969.  Then, in 1970, 100,000 US and South Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia to attack the NVA-VC presence in the country.  The operation captured huge amounts of NVA weapons and supplies. 

   b.  Operation Lam Son (1971)

     ◦  In nearby Laos, Communist forces (the ‘Pathet Lao’) were trying to take over the country, supported by the NVA, who used Pathet Lao-controlled areas to store supplies. 

     ◦  In 1971 the ARVN invaded Laos, supported by a massive US bombing campaign against NVA stockpiles and the Ho Chu Minh trail.  The ARVN were defeated and driven out, but the operation forestalled a VC attack. 

   c.  Operation Linebacker (1972)

     ◦  In March 1972, with only 10,000 US troops left in Vietnam, the NVA launched their Easter Offensive, driving back the ARVN. 

     ◦  Nixon ordered a massive bombing campaign (28,000 sorties April-June 1972) against the NVA forces and supply lines, including bombing Hanoi and Haiphong, and mined North Vietnamese harbours.  The Easter Offensive was defeated. 

Source B

An anti-war cartoon published in America in 1972 commenting on the widening of the Vietnam War. 
The figures represent the Head of the Army and President Nixon.  The gravestones represent the thousands of people who had already died in Vietnam. 
The Head of the Army is advising the President, “We need to go into Cambodia because if it falls to the Communists then Laos will fall”. 

5.   The War At Home

   a.  There were more than half a million US troops in Vietnam when Nixon took office.  In June 1969 he announced that he was bringing home 25,000 troops.  By 1970, the number of US troops in Vietnam had dropped to 334,600; to 156,800 by 1971; and to 24,200 by the beginning of 1972. 

   b.  Nixon sought to get the public onside.  He:

     ◦  introduced in 1969 a lottery for the draft (to try to make if fairer) and in 1973 abolished it altogether;

     ◦  appealed to the ‘silent majority’;

     ◦  sponsored pro-government ‘astroturf’ groups which pretended to be speaking for ordinary people;

     ◦  (illegally) used the FBI’s COINTELPRO resources and the White House Special Investigations Unit to surveil and discredit anti-war activists.  (He was found out in 1975 – the Watergate Scandal – and was forced to resign.)

   c.  Nixon believed that the President should be an unquestioned dictator in matters of foreign policy, citing the powers given to President Johnson in 1964 to “take all necessary measures” to promote the security of the USA. 

     ◦  This caused conflict with Congress, which in 1973 passed the War Powers Resolution that the President can send US forces overseas only after resolution of Congress.  Nixon vetoed the Bill, but Congress forced it through. 

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