Nixon's policies in Vietnam

• Richard Nixon (1913 - 94)

  Nov 1968, Nixon won the presidential election. Strong anti - communist stance possibly helped to win trust of Americans at the time when the Vietnam war was affecting them
• Richard Nixon (1913 - 94)

  1972, together with Kissinger he developed a detente with the Soviet Union and China. Severely criticised for extending the war in Indochina and then taking so long to end the war in Vietnam

  1974, he was forced to resign because of the watergate scandal
• Henry Kissinger (born 1923)

  1969, appointed National security advisor to Nixon. He was given considerable power. Role in developing detente with Soviet Union and opening to China and peace in Vietnam led to his being seen as effective diplomat
• Henry Kissinger (born 1923)

  1973, became secretary of state. Collapse of Vietnam in 1975 and moral doubts about his secret diplomatic activities undermined respect for him
• Introduction

  Nixon implied in his campaign speeches that he had a 'secret plan' to end the war in Vietnam. Approach more pragmatic then any previous presidents. January 1969, commissioned a thorough study of the situation in Vietnam
• Introduction

  Various agencies contributed to the National security study memorandum 1: Departments of

  • state and defence
  • joint chiefs of staff
  • CIA
  • US ambassador in Saigon
  • US military command in Vietnam
• Introduction

  All agreed the South Vietnamese army could not alone contain the threat from the North, nor could the US continue to increase the number of troops in Vietnam without seriously undermining commitments in others parts of the world including, West Germany
• Introduction

  Appeared to be no strategy that would give US a military victory or allow US to withdraw and leave the South Vietnamese in a position to defend themselves
• Introduction

  After constant criticism of Johnson for not fighting hard enough. Nixon realised he could not escalate the war and had to seek negotiated settlement.
• Introduction

  Determined to leave Nguyen van Thieu at the head of a friendly government in South Vietnam. Nixon sought ways to preserve South Vietnam and at the same time reducing military commitments
• Three strategies that Nixon and his National security Adviser Kissinger took in order to secure peace in South Vietnam were:

  • Vietnamisation
  • Escalation of denial bombing and the extension of the war onto Cambodia and Loas
  • Diplomatic intiatives including detente
• 1968 May = Preliminary peace talks begin in Paris
• 1969 March = Operation Menu is activated in Cambodia
• 1969 July = The Nixon Doctrine is announced
• 1969 Nov = Vietnamisation is announced to the US public
• 1970 April = ARVN and US ground forces invade Cambodia
• 1971 Feb = Nixon backs the ARVN's invasion of Laos
• 1972 June = Lowest number of US troops in Vietnam since 1965
• 1972 April = Henry Kissinger secretly visits Moscow
• 1972 Oct = Paris Peace Talks reach a significant stage of agreement
• 1973 Jan = Paris Peace Agreement is finalised
• 1973 March = Last US troops withdraw from Vietnam
• 1973 Aug = US stops bombing Cambodia
• 1974 = Richard Nixon resigns as US president, succeeded by Gerald Ford
• 1975 April = The USA closes its embassy and leaves Vietnam; Vietnam is finally reunited as a single independent state
• Motivations for the shift (why) - USA

  • Nixon and Kissinger recognised the advantages open to USA through improved Sino - American relations
  • 1968, Nixon said US should seek opportunities to talk with China and actively seek to make changes
  • Nixon realised China was a developing nuclear power and a major political and strategic force in Asia
• Motivations for the shift (why) - USA

  • Communist power that was independence on Soviet Union
  • Gradual peeling off restrictions layer by layer
  • Diplomatic contracts, aim to use their diplomatic connections with China to promote idea of a US willingness to work towards improving Sino - Americans relations
• Nature of the shift (efforts made) - USA

  • July 1969, USA removed some trade controls and relaxed travel restrictions
  • Nixon managed number of diplomatic contacts through France, Romania and Pakistan
  • Early 1970s, some initial diplomatic connections between China and USA had been established in Warsaw
• Evaluation (success for that power) - USA

  • American military action in Cambodia in May 1970 and subsequently action in Feb 1971
  • Did not have a fundamental impact as the USA had already begun a policy of troops withdrawals from Vietnam
  • July 1971, Kissinger visited Beijing. Agreement to established a presidential visit and Sino - American summit in early 1972
• Evaluation (success for that power) - USA

  • October 1957, Kissinger made a second trip to Beijing in preparation for the Nixon visit
  • Despite his efforts, Kissinger failed to persuade China to pressurise North Vietnam into engaging in a peace process
• Motivations for the shift (why) - China

  • Chinese came to realise that self - imposed international isolation was of no advantage to them
  • Shift not publicly acknowledged until 1972
  • Mao's realisation on that there was a changing balance of power between China, USA and Soviet Union
• Motivations for the shift (why) - China

  • Mao did not reject the USA as a threat to China, saw Soviet Union as the greater and immediate threat
  • Made sense to form an alliance with USA in order to address, short term, immediate threat from Soviet Union
• Nature of the shift (efforts made) - China

  • August - September 1970 when Zhou Enlai, China's prime minister, achieved a major victory, over those opposed to China opening improved relations with USA
• Evaluation (success for that power) - China

  • Further barrier to a thaw in Sino - American relations were removed with unexpected death of Mao's designated successor and opponent of Sino - American relations Lin Biao, Sep 1972
  • Strengthened Mao's and Zhou's ability to improved relations with the USA
• Reasons for Escalation (Why) - Cambodia

  March 1969, Nixon instigated a military offensive in Cambodia. Operation new bombing offensive designed to target those parts of Cambodia regarded as safe by the North Vietnamese army and Vietcong - in hopes of

  • Sever the supply lines on the Ho Chi Minh trail
  • Pressurise North Vietnam into agreeing to an acceptance peace settlement
  • Compensate for the planned Vietnamisation programme and retain the confidence to South Vietnam
• Reasons for Escalation (why) - Cambodia

  • March 1970, Cambodia's head of state, Prince Noiodom Sihanouk, was overthrown by pro - US General Lon Nol
  • Nixon feared the possibility of a communist regime being established in Cambodia
  • Communist controls of Cambodia would undermine Nixon's Vietnamisation strategy because US forces would be needed to counter any pro - North Vietnamese assault on South Vietnam from Cambodia
• Nature of escalation (How) - Cambodia

  • North Vietnam increased its presence in Cambodia by backing anti - Nol communist movement
  • Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot
  • Khmer rouge, and its North Vietnamese and Vietcong allies, pushed towards the capital, Phnom Penh during March 1970
• Nature of escalation (How) - Cambodia

  • Resulted in South Vietnamese forces, with US air support, carrying out border raids into Cambodia
  • April 1970, USA committed 20,000 ground troops to Cambodia. Show of support was negated by an announcement by Nixon later than month
  • Said 150,000 US troops would be withdrawn from South Vietnam for one year
• Impact and evaluation (success ) - Cambodia

  • Ability of the Vietcong to operate in Cambodia was seriously undermined as large areas of jungle were destroyed
  • Large amounts of Vietcong's supplies and equipment were either captured or destroyed
  • No strategic gains were achieved by the US from the incursion into Cambodia
• Impact and evaluation (Success) - Cambodia

  • Any possibility of a major North Vietnamese offensive against the South Vietnamese was seriously undermined due to the losses faced by the North Vietnamese in Cambodia
  • North Vietnamese moved deeper into Cambodia. Strengthened support for Khmer Rouge
  • Opposition to the war at home increased press led the opposition to what Nixon described as an 'incursion' into Cambodia