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Nixon DoctrineThe Nixon Doctrine was put forth in a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 by Richard Nixon. He stated that the United States henceforth expected its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This was the start of the "Vietnamization" of the Vietnam War. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies. In Nixon's own words (Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam November 3, 1969) -
- First, the United States will keep all of its treaty commitments.
- Second, we shall provide a shield if a nuclear power threatens the freedom of a nation allied with us or of a nation whose survival we consider vital to our security.
- Third, in cases involving other types of aggression, we shall furnish military and economic assistance when requested in accordance with our treaty commitments. But we shall look to the nation directly threatened to assume the primary responsibility of providing the manpower for its defense.
External links With every governmental administration typically comes a new twist on American foreign policy. Today, it is the Bush Doctrine dictation of preemption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was the Nixon Doctrine and the theory of dtente. This doctrine changed the face of not just the Vietnam War, but the Cold War in general, and should be seen as one of the most influential turns in American foreign policy in the last half of a century. From the beginning of the Cold War and up until 1969, the Americans had been dealing with the Cold War through a system of containment. Through containment, the mission of the American government was to stop the spread of communism and to keep the Soviets at bay. This policy explains American entry into several proxy wars with the Soviets, such as the Korean War, and the greatest example, the Vietnam War. When Richard Nixon won the federal election in 1968, he realized that things would have to change. An American win in Vietnam was no longer a goal, and definitely not a reality. Nixon realized that the Americans were going to lose this war not just militarily, but also economically, politically, and morally. Thus, Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger outlined three premises toward Vietnam: Firstly, a total military victory was not possible. Secondly, the American government had to act on conscience as to what was possible. This war had already taken millions of lives, and that number had to be kept from growing. Thirdly, Nixon and Kissinger declared that the war must end as quickly and as easily as possible. Yet at the same time, Nixon still stood with a strong anti-communist posture. He portrayed the Soviets to the American people as a global communist threat, and defined his view of American interests in terms of this. Therefore, Nixon had to come up with a plan that would on the one hand portray his desire to get America out of the war in Vietnam, yet at the same time maintain the fact that communism was a global threat. The resulting merger of these two ideas was the Nixon Dotrine. Put forth in a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969, the Nixon Doctrine stated that the United States henceforth expected its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This was the start of the "Vietnamization" of the Vietnam War. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies. The Doctrine outlined three major points: First, the United States would keep all of its treaty commitments. Second, the United States would provide a shielf of a nuclear power threated the freedom of a nation allied with the United States or of a nation that the United States viewed as vital to American security. Third, in cases involving other types of aggression, the Unites States would furnish military and economic assistance when requested in accordance with treaty commitments. With that in mind, from now on the nation being threatened would be looked upon as the one primarily responsible for providing the manpower for its defense. Through the Nixon Doctrine, the president was able to establish a means through which to draw the United Staes out of the Vietnam War, yet still leave the USs Asian friends confident that America would be there in their times of need. Nixon and Kissinger set out on a search to find a policy that would serve as a more constructive relationship with the Soviet Union that would act moreso as an approach and not as an end. Dtente served this purpose, and transformed American foreign policy from one that seeks confrontati to one that merely aims to oppose an enemy.
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