Nixon's Foreign Policies

Question 1

What was Nixon’s ‘Madman Theory’?

Answer 1

• talked of a ‘secret plan’ to end the war in Vietnam during his election campaign
• initially tried to settle the war on favourable terms to the US but Kissinger warned in secret negotiations that if major progress was not made by 1969 there would be great consequences

Question 2

How did Nixon attempt to make the ‘Madman Theory’ more realistic?

Answer 2

• bombed Cambodia
• talked about bombing the dikes that protected North Vietnam’s agricultural lowlands, an action which may have drowned over a million people
• however, North Vietnamese did not yield

Question 3

What was Vietnamisation?

Answer 3

• policy of building up and training the South Vietnamese, enabling a drawdown of American troops
• Nixon knew this would be politically popular and achieve peace with honour

Question 4

What was the result of a coup d’etat in Cambodia?

Answer 4

• replaced increasingly anti-American leader with a pro-American military government led by General Lon Nol

Question 5

How did Nixon take advantage of the Cambodian change in alliegance?

Answer 5

• ordered an incursion into Cambodia by American troops to attack the Vietcong and destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail, thus cutting off supplies
• in 1970, Nixon carpet bombed North Vietnamese anti-aircraft bases and sent 30,000 American and South Vietnamese soldiers into Cambodia
• 50% of Americans approved the offensive however Congress threatened to cut off Nixon’s money for the war in Southeast Asia

Question 6

What was Lam Son 719?

Answer 6

• offensive against the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia
• considered a test of the success of Vietnamisation - 5000 elite South Vietnamese troops sent

Question 7

What was the result of Lam Son?

Answer 7

• Nixon announced the success of Vietnamisation in an April 1971 TV speech
• however, was a failure: despite the huge amount of air support the South Vietnamese Army had received, they had been unable to do more than delay the use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail for more than a few weeks
• meanwhile, Vietcong’s guerilla tactics continued to inflict heavy casualties on US troops

Question 8

What ultimatum did Nixon give the South Vietnamese President after the election?

Answer 8

• if he did not agree to the settlement, Congress would end aid to his government
• however, the US would retaliate military if the North violated the agreement

Question 9

What brought an end to the participation of US forces in the Vietnam War?

Answer 9

• 1973 Paris Peace Accords
• recognised the independence of Vietnam as per the 1954 Geneva Agreements
• provided a ceasefire as well as a prisoner of war exchange

Question 10

What influence did Kissinger have on foreign policy?

Answer 10

• emphasised the effective use of American power for the defence of national interests by negotiating directly with the major powers of the USSR and CHina
• believed in realpolitik (emphasising national interest)
• him and Nixon both sought detente

Question 11

How did Nixinger improve relations with China?

Answer 11

• since the death of Stalin there had been a deterioration in Sino-Soviet relations
• saw an opportunity to divide the two communist powers and enhance trade links
• US ping pong team went to matches in Beijing, Kissinger took a secret trip
• 1972: Nixon became the first US President to visit communist China

Question 12

What impact did improved US China relations have on US Soviet relations?

Answer 12

• USSR feared being isolated by the other two powers
• Nixon became first President to visit Moscow three months after leaving China
• agreed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 1) and an Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty

Question 13

How did Nixon respond after Allende, a socialist leaning President, was elected in Chile?

Answer 13

• Nixon authorised the CIA to obstruct his government and explore the possibility of removing him, granting them $10million
• imposed economic santions, stopping all aid and bank loans to Chile
• led to coup d’etat bringing General Pinochet to power as a dictator - Allende apparently killed himself

Question 14

What was Operation Condor?

Answer 14

• Chilean Initiative launched by right wing dictators in Latin America to try and remove socialist influence
• Pinochet used Condor to kill or terrorise political opponents
• by the time it ended in 1983, had been responsible for around 50,000 deaths, large scale tortue and the disappearance of thousands
• Kissinger not only knew about it but covertly encouraged it