Notes
Vietnamization, 1969
- Anti-war demonstrations became very popular in the U.S.
- President Nixon was elected in 1968 on a peace platform (Tricky Dicky)
- Nixon wanted to find a way out honorably
- Developed Vietnamization with help of Henry Kissinger and Henry Cabot-Lodge
- The plan had a two track formula
- 1.) Make the south well trained enough militarily that they could withstand the north on their own
- 2.) Strengthen the south’s government to attract a broader base
- American’s began to make their first withdrawals in Aug. 1969
- The air war increased
- B-52s dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than during all of WWII
- 1971 almost entirely an air war
- 1972 200,000 troops
- Jan. 1973 a cease fire is signed (Americans got their POWs back after 20 years of fighting)
- Aug. 1973 all U.S. forces out of Vietnam
- Spring 1975 all of south Vietnam falls to the north and becomes Communist
- Costs the U.S. 150 billion dollars
- 57, 939 men killed
- Loss of a country to Communism
- Limitations brought in on the President’s powers to wage war (Vietnam never declared a war)
- Made the U.S. look bad worldwide
- Conscription was ended in U.S.
- The Pathet Lao (Communist) worked with Viet Cong
- Power struggle between two princes in Laos (one supported by communist countries and other by the USA)
- Remains communist until 1991 when a western-style constitution is brought in
- The Cambodians were led by the Communist Khmer Rouge
- Led by an absolute dictator (Pol Pot)
- Massacred about 1 million people in 4 years and removed in 1979 by the Vietnamese (renamed Kampuchea for 10 years)
- U.N. moved in to help maintain order
- Becomes democratic in 1990’s
- As Nixon was about to run for the 1972 election the Republicans were accused of a crime
- 5 men were caught trying to break into the Watergate hotel (headquarters for the Democrats) to place bugs
- The investigation led to much more corruptness and also implicated Nixon in the cover up
- Nixon resigned before he could be impeached
Summary
President Nixon developed Vietnamization, and was the man who 'honorably' removed the USA from the war. American carpet bombed all of North Vietnam attempting to destruct everything. By 1973, the USA pulled out, and by 1975 North Vietnam took over the south -- could not contain communism. Due to this loss, America was seen much less than they were before; as a result, conscription was ended in the US.
Quote
"The Cold War isn't thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat. Communism isn't sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting." - Richard Nixon
Subjunctive Question
What would of happened to the USA or Vietnam if the US did not pull out of the war?