Nixon and Vietnam Flashcards
How has Nixon and the war been viewed so far?
He must come up with a plan as the pressure is intensifying on him. The war has come back home and Americans are perceiving it badly.
Why was Cambodia a perception problem for America?
We have been to Cambodia before, so that was normal, but when people found out we went into Cambodia, then anger arose.
What was Nixon’s plan for the Vietnam War?
Peace with Honor
What were the two parts Nixon used to carry out Peace With Honor?
- The Madman Theory
- Vietnamization
What was the Madman Theory?
A game of Good Cop bad Cop
Who was the Good Cop?
Henry Kissinger
Who was the Bad Cop?
Nixon
Whose side is the Good Cop really on?
The bad cop’s side, but wants to seem nice to the person convicted
Who was Henry Kissinger?
Nixon’s National Security Advisor in 1st term, becomes Secretary of State in 2nd term, very smart man, expert in foreign policy and diplomacy.
Why was it natural for Nixon to be the Bad Cop?
- Presidential power
- political career
How did Nixon’s Presidential power help him be the Bad Cop?
He is President because he can do whatever, he has authority to take all necessary steps under Gulf of Tonkin.
How did Nixon’s political experience help him be the Bad Cop?
He has become the popular American anti-Communist face.
What events in Nixon’s political background helped him become the Anti-Communist face of America?
- Kitchen Debate with Khrushchev
- Pumpkin Papers with Alger Hiss
- Interviewing Castro in Cuba
Who is the person Nixon and Kissinger want to play as the criminal in Vietnam?
Le Duc Tho
Who is Le Duc Tho?
North Vietnamese negotiator
Where did we negotiate with Tho?
Paris
Why is it ironic that we negotiate in Paris with Tho?
We got in the war because of French’s loss at Dien Bien Phu and we get out of war in France.
What does a good cop do?
He comes in, apologizes for bad cop and cares and calmly counsels with him and discusses the issue, he is “best friend” but is still in favor with the bad cop
What does a bad cop do?
He comes in and gives aggressive harshness to criminal
What did Nixon hope Vietnamization would help him do?
appease some of the pressure on him from the American people
What was the plan for Vietnamization?
To turn our ground combat over to the ARVN to fight the north themselves.
What did Nixon think of Vietnamization of the war?
What the war should have been from day one, as our arrogance got the best of us, we should have let it be their war.
How was the US the “bad parent” during the Vietnam War?
We are doing all the work for the South Vietnamese and they have not learned anything during the war, and we lose it for them anyways.
How did Nixon carry out Vietnamization?
Under Johnson, we increased our troops, Nixon will slowly decrease our troops there, as we slowly remove our troops from Vietnam.
Why did Nixon want Vietnamization?
We are losing and our arrogance got the best of us. Also, the ARVN should fight for their own country and be responsible for their own country.
What was the initial problem with Vietnamization?
How do you negotiate from strength when everyone knows you are quitting?
Why was negotiations and strength a problem with us leaving the war?
All sides of the war know we are leaving and we are not showing strength to negotiate by backing out.
What is the answer to the lack of negotiation strength for us?
Operation Menu
What were the names of the sub-operations for Operation Menu?
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, etc.
What was the goal of Operation Menu?
Consistently bombing North Vietnam to show them our strength and to possibly strike up negotiations.
What time frame did we carry out Operation Menu?
1969-1973
How many tons of bombs did we drop in 1969?
659 tons
How many tons of bombs did we drop in 1970?
832 tons
How many tons of bombs did we drop in 1971?
1842 tons
How many tons of bombs did we drop in 1972?
218, 561 tons
How did we carry out Operation Menu?
We kept bombing them, and he bombing is annoying them, so we ask for what we want and threaten to keep annoyingly bombing them if they say no, we keep bombing until we get the deal we want. NVA wants us out, so they may have to appease.
How long did we bomb Vietnam in 1973?
27 days
After the 27 days in 1973 of bombing, what happens?
We get a cease-fire agreement