The Nixon Doctrine
On July 25, 1969 (52 years ago today), President Richard Nixon declared what became known as "the Nixon Doctrine". He made the pronouncement at a press conference while in Guam. Nixon would later spell this out in greater detail in a speech he gave on the subject of "Vietnamization" of the Vietnam War on November 3, 1969. Simply stated, Nixon declared that "the United States would assist in the defense and developments of allies and friends", but would not "undertake all the defense of the free nations of the world." He said that each ally nation was responsible for its own security in general, but the United States would act as a sort of nuclear umbrella when requested. The Nixon Doctrine also called for peace through a partnership with American allies.
When Nixon was elected president and first inaugurated, the United States had been engaged in combat in Vietnam for almost four years, with no end in sight. By then over 30,000 Americans had been killed in the war and several hundred thousand Vietnamese citizens had also been killed. By January of 1969 when Nixon was sworn in as President, public opinion in the nation had moved decisively to favoring ending the Vietnam War. This opinion persisted early into Nixon's Presidency. For example, a Gallup poll taken in May of 1969 showed that 56% of those polled believed that sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake. Of those over 50 years old, 61% expressed that belief, compared to 49% of those between ages 21 and 29. Even knowing that this might ultimately lead to a complete Communist takeover of South Vietnam and an unwillingness to hold to the nation's treaty requirements, a majority of Americans polled were still opposed to continuing the war. Nixon had campaigned for "Peace with Honor" in Vietnam during the 1968 presidential campaign, and ending the war there became an important priority for him.
In July of 1969, Nixon made a stopover on the United States territory of Guam during an international tour and it was there that Nixon formally announced his Doctrine. Nixon declared the United States would honor all of its treaty commitments in Asia, but "as far as the problems of international security are concerned, the United States is going to encourage and has a right to expect that this problem will increasingly be handled by, and the responsibility for it taken by, the Asian nations themselves."
Several months later, on November 3, 1969, speaking from the Oval Office in an address to the nation on the War in Vietnam, Nixon presented the nation with a list of his intentions. He said:
"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."
One of Nixon's goals was to reduce the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and mainland China, in order to pursue his policy of détente. But the policy was not limited to southeast Asia. In the middle east, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran used Nixon's remarks to justify his request for the United States to sell him arms without limitations. Nixon agreed with this and considered Saudi Arabia and Iran as what he called the "twin pillars" of regional stability. Arms sales to that region were funded by increases in the price of oil in 1970 and 1971 to fund both states with their military expansion. Arms transfers from the United States to Iran increased from $103.6 million in 1970 to $552.7 million in 1972. Sales of arms to Saudi Arabia increased from $15.8 million in 1970 to $312.4 million in 1972. The United States limited its involvement in the region to a small naval force of three ships in the Gulf, which had been stationed there since World War II in Bahrain.
The Nixon Doctrine was also motivated by economic factors. The Vietnam War had proven to be very expensive, as Nixon's predecessor Lyndon Johnson had learned. The cost of the war severely curtailed Johnson's "Great Society" initiatives and his "War on Poverty." Nixon also reduced troop numbers in South Korea with nearly of third of the 61,000 US troops previously stationed being withdrawn by June 1971.
Although Nixon instituted phased U.S. troop withdrawals, he also authorized incursions into Laos and Cambodia, in order to interrupt the "Ho Chi Minh trail", which was used to supply North Vietnamese forces. Nixon announced the ground invasion of Cambodia to the American public on April 30, 1970. This led to further protests over what many Americans saw as an expansion of the conflict. Unrest escalated to violence won May 4, 1970 when Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed students. Appearing frazzled, Nixon made an impromptu, early morning meeting with protesters at the Lincoln Memorial on May 9, 1970. Nixon was accused of having a credibility gap because on the one hand he promised to reduce US involvement in the war, while at the same time escalating the bombing there. Somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 people were killed during the bombing of Cambodia between 1970 and 1973.
In 1971, excerpts from the "Pentagon Papers" were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg and published by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Nixon was persuaded by Henry Kissinger that the Papers were more harmful than they appeared, and Nixon tried to prevent publication, but the US Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of the newspapers.
U.S. troop withdrawals continued and the draft was reduced and finally ended in 1973 with the armed forces becoming all-volunteer. The Paris Peace Accords were signed at the beginning of 1973, implementing a cease fire and allowing for the withdrawal of remaining American troops without requiring the 160,000 North Vietnam Army regulars located in the South to withdraw. After American combat support ended, there was a brief truce, but fighting soon broke out again. North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam in 1975. By then Nixon had resigned as President.
When Nixon was elected president and first inaugurated, the United States had been engaged in combat in Vietnam for almost four years, with no end in sight. By then over 30,000 Americans had been killed in the war and several hundred thousand Vietnamese citizens had also been killed. By January of 1969 when Nixon was sworn in as President, public opinion in the nation had moved decisively to favoring ending the Vietnam War. This opinion persisted early into Nixon's Presidency. For example, a Gallup poll taken in May of 1969 showed that 56% of those polled believed that sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake. Of those over 50 years old, 61% expressed that belief, compared to 49% of those between ages 21 and 29. Even knowing that this might ultimately lead to a complete Communist takeover of South Vietnam and an unwillingness to hold to the nation's treaty requirements, a majority of Americans polled were still opposed to continuing the war. Nixon had campaigned for "Peace with Honor" in Vietnam during the 1968 presidential campaign, and ending the war there became an important priority for him.
In July of 1969, Nixon made a stopover on the United States territory of Guam during an international tour and it was there that Nixon formally announced his Doctrine. Nixon declared the United States would honor all of its treaty commitments in Asia, but "as far as the problems of international security are concerned, the United States is going to encourage and has a right to expect that this problem will increasingly be handled by, and the responsibility for it taken by, the Asian nations themselves."
Several months later, on November 3, 1969, speaking from the Oval Office in an address to the nation on the War in Vietnam, Nixon presented the nation with a list of his intentions. He said:
"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."
One of Nixon's goals was to reduce the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and mainland China, in order to pursue his policy of détente. But the policy was not limited to southeast Asia. In the middle east, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran used Nixon's remarks to justify his request for the United States to sell him arms without limitations. Nixon agreed with this and considered Saudi Arabia and Iran as what he called the "twin pillars" of regional stability. Arms sales to that region were funded by increases in the price of oil in 1970 and 1971 to fund both states with their military expansion. Arms transfers from the United States to Iran increased from $103.6 million in 1970 to $552.7 million in 1972. Sales of arms to Saudi Arabia increased from $15.8 million in 1970 to $312.4 million in 1972. The United States limited its involvement in the region to a small naval force of three ships in the Gulf, which had been stationed there since World War II in Bahrain.
The Nixon Doctrine was also motivated by economic factors. The Vietnam War had proven to be very expensive, as Nixon's predecessor Lyndon Johnson had learned. The cost of the war severely curtailed Johnson's "Great Society" initiatives and his "War on Poverty." Nixon also reduced troop numbers in South Korea with nearly of third of the 61,000 US troops previously stationed being withdrawn by June 1971.
Although Nixon instituted phased U.S. troop withdrawals, he also authorized incursions into Laos and Cambodia, in order to interrupt the "Ho Chi Minh trail", which was used to supply North Vietnamese forces. Nixon announced the ground invasion of Cambodia to the American public on April 30, 1970. This led to further protests over what many Americans saw as an expansion of the conflict. Unrest escalated to violence won May 4, 1970 when Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed students. Appearing frazzled, Nixon made an impromptu, early morning meeting with protesters at the Lincoln Memorial on May 9, 1970. Nixon was accused of having a credibility gap because on the one hand he promised to reduce US involvement in the war, while at the same time escalating the bombing there. Somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 people were killed during the bombing of Cambodia between 1970 and 1973.
In 1971, excerpts from the "Pentagon Papers" were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg and published by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Nixon was persuaded by Henry Kissinger that the Papers were more harmful than they appeared, and Nixon tried to prevent publication, but the US Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of the newspapers.
U.S. troop withdrawals continued and the draft was reduced and finally ended in 1973 with the armed forces becoming all-volunteer. The Paris Peace Accords were signed at the beginning of 1973, implementing a cease fire and allowing for the withdrawal of remaining American troops without requiring the 160,000 North Vietnam Army regulars located in the South to withdraw. After American combat support ended, there was a brief truce, but fighting soon broke out again. North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam in 1975. By then Nixon had resigned as President.