By Nayim Mohammed
Nixon and the Vietnam War: The
Failures of Foreign-Policy
The Vietnam War was a conflict that began in 1955 and
continued for two-decades until the fall of Saigon in April
1975. The war oversaw five different presidents, a series of
failed policies, and eventual defeat – the first and only defeat
in American history. Richard Nixon, sworn in 1969, was the
fourth president to deal with the crisis, and introduced a policy
of “Vietnamization”. This article assesses the shortcomings of
this, along with other policies, during the perilous conflict
from 1969-1975.
Richard Nixon meets with American soldiers in South Vietnam, 1972
After becoming President in 1969, Nixon’s policies towards Vietnam were
based on two principles: 1) the policy of Vietnamization as an alternative
policy to Johnson’s military containment. 2) In the run up to his elections,
he promised to secure ‘peace with honour’, meaning to secure a
respectable settlement for the United States and put an end to the war.
Although there are the counter arguments that Vietnam was an
‘unwinnable war’ for the US, and importance had turned to the ‘Great
Game’, the two policies that Nixon set out with in 1969 both
Nixon and the Vietnam War: The
Failures of Foreign-Policy
The Vietnam War was a conflict that began in 1955 and
continued for two-decades until the fall of Saigon in April
1975. The war oversaw five different presidents, a series of
failed policies, and eventual defeat – the first and only defeat
in American history. Richard Nixon, sworn in 1969, was the
fourth president to deal with the crisis, and introduced a policy
of “Vietnamization”. This article assesses the shortcomings of
this, along with other policies, during the perilous conflict
from 1969-1975.
Richard Nixon meets with American soldiers in South Vietnam, 1972
After becoming President in 1969, Nixon’s policies towards Vietnam were
based on two principles: 1) the policy of Vietnamization as an alternative
policy to Johnson’s military containment. 2) In the run up to his elections,
he promised to secure ‘peace with honour’, meaning to secure a
respectable settlement for the United States and put an end to the war.
Although there are the counter arguments that Vietnam was an
‘unwinnable war’ for the US, and importance had turned to the ‘Great
Game’, the two policies that Nixon set out with in 1969 both
