Richard Nixon: The Foreign Affairs President
Richard Nixon was a very good Vice-President and might have been a very good President, if he hadn't lost the Presidency in 1960 and had the added humiliation of losing the race for Governor of California in 1962. His belief that the 1960 election had been stolen from him and that the media and the wealthy and elite classes were against him made him become bitter and jaded, ultimately leading to his downfall.
It was an unfortunate turn of events, because if his moral compass had stayed true, Nixon may well have been one of the greatest presidents in history. One area where his brilliance shone was in his dealings with the two other great powers in the world, China and Russia. At a time when the Cold War was ongoing and the US was concerned with containment of communism around the world, Nixon used diplomacy to keep the peace between the three great powers.
China: In the movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the character Spock (Captain Spock in the film) tells his old friend James T. Kirk, "There is the old Vulcan proverb: only Nixon could go to China." The phrase is a reference to the 1972 visit by President Richard Nixon to the People's Republic of China in a monumental diplomatic initiative that marked the first time that a U.S. president had visited there.
At that time China considered the U.S. one of its foes, for for many Americans, the feeling was mutual. For 25 years, there had been a separation between the two sides, something that Nixon saw as not in the best interests of his nation. Even before being elected president, Richard Nixon had talked of the need for better relations with the People's Republic of China. The U.S. did not maintain diplomatic relations with Communist China, because it had recognized the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan as the government of China. Early on in his first term, Nixon and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger began sending subtle overtures to the Communist Chinese government about opening up diplomatic relations. After a series of these overtures by both countries, Kissinger went on secret diplomatic missions to Beijing, where he met with Premier Zhou. On July 15, 1971, Nixon announced that he would visit the People's Republic of China the following year.
Nixon visited China from February 21 to 28, 1972. His visit allowed the American public to view images of China for the first time in over two decades. Throughout the week the President and his most senior advisers engaged in substantive discussions with the Communist government, including a meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong. First Lady Pat Nixon toured schools, factories and hospitals in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou with the large American press corps in tow. Nixon dubbed the visit "the week that changed the world."
The visit had tremendous results. A significant shift in the Cold War balance resulted. "Nixon going to China" has since become a metaphor for an unexpected or uncharacteristic action by a politician. Nixon said that there were three objectives for his trip: (1) to enter into negotiations with the People's Republic of China to discuss the peaceful settlement of Taiwan,(2) to work towards a peaceful settlement of the Vietnam War and (3) deterrence of the Soviet Union's sphere of Communist influence after the Sino-Soviet Split. Nixon's critics said that Nixon's diplomacy failed on all three accounts. Taiwan remained threatened by the People's Republic of China, Vietnam was soon captured by the PRC-aided North Vietnam Communists and the collapse of Soviet Union was mainly due to internal domestic economic causes of its unproductive economic system.
But many now recognize Nixon's visit as opening the door to vastly improved Sino-American foreign relations. It paved the way to the strong economic ties that bind the two countries today. It took place because Nixon was willing to set aside his previous anti-communist prejudices in favor of a more realistic and pragmatic approach that put the best interests of his nation ahead of any personal antagonism.
The Soviet Union: When Nixon became President on January 21, 1969, in the midst of a shooting war in Vietnam, and the Cold War as well, it was a time that called for strong international leadership, during a sustained period of geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union that had been ongoing since the end of the Second World War. The United States and the Soviet Union had been the leaders of the competing groups in the Cold War, but the global calculus was changing. U.S. allies in Western Europe and East Asia had recovered economically from the war, and while they remained allied with United States, they were also becoming more independent when it came to their own foreign policies. Something similar was happening among Communist states, as the split between the Soviet Union and China escalated into a border conflict in 1969. The United States and the Soviet Union continued to wage a battle of capitalism vs. communism, but tensions had eased considerably since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Nixon relied heavily on Henry Kissinger, who later became his Secretary of State, and together they sought to establish peaceful relations with both the Soviet Union and China. Nixon hoped to forge closer relations with China and the Soviet Union as part of his overall strategy to end the Vietnam War. He hoped that building a good relationship with the two leading Communist powers would pressure North Vietnam into accepting a favorable peace settlement.
With the Soviets, Nixon pursued a policy of détente, the easing of tensions with the Soviet Union. It was one of his top priorities on the international stage. Through his policy of détente, he hoped, in his words, to "minimize confrontation in marginal areas and provide, at least, alternative possibilities in the major ones." He was not alone in this approach to the Soviets. West Germany was also pursuing closer relations with the Soviet Union in a policy known as "Ostpolitik." Nixon believed that expanding trade with the Soviet Union would help the U.S. economy and could allow both countries to devote fewer resources to defense spending. Nixon felt that his timing for this was right because the Soviets were experiencing a struggling economy and because they were also in the midst of hostilities with China.
After taking office, Nixon used his first press conference, he stated that the United States would be content with nuclear parity, rather than nuclear superiority, with the Soviets. Henry Kissinger worked behind the scenes with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin over arms control negotiations and to seek potential Soviet assistance in negotiations with North Vietnam. Wanting to bargain from a position of strength, Nixon funded development of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle missiles (MIRVs), ballistic missiles containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. These were not easily countered by existing anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. After over a year of negotiations with the Soviets, both sides agreed to the outlines of two treaties, one of which was to focus on ABM systems, while the other was to focus on limiting nuclear arsenals.
In May 1972, Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other leading Soviet officials at the 1972 Moscow Summit. The two sides reached the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (SALT I), which set upper limits on the number of offensive missiles and ballistic missile submarines that each county could maintain. A separate agreement, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, stipulated that each country could only field two anti-ballistic missile systems. The United States also agreed to the creation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two nations also agreed to an October 1972 trade agreement, one which vastly increased trade between the two countries. Nixon suffered a setback however when Congress would not approve of Nixon's proposal to extend most favored nation status to the Soviet Union.
Brezhnev visited the United States in 1973 and Nixon made a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974, meeting with Brezhnev in Yalta. The two leaders discussed a proposed mutual defense pact and other issues, but there were no significant breakthroughs in the negotiations. Brezhnev knew that Nixon was in a weaker political position than he had been during their first meeting.
During Nixon's final year in office, Congress worked against Nixon's détente policies when it passed the Jackson–Vanik amendment. Senator Henry M. Jackson, an opponent of détente, introduced the amendment in response to a Soviet tax that curbed the flow of Jewish emigrants, many of whom wanted to immigrate to Israel. This angered the Soviets, and they canceled the 1972 trade agreement and reduced the number of Jews who were permitted to emigrate. Détente proved to be unpopular with many on the left due to humanitarian concerns, and with many on the right due to concerns about being overly accommodating to the Soviets. Through the lens of historical hindsight, Nixon's policies helped to significantly lower Cold War tensions with the Soviets.
Other Nations: Nixon made fifteen international trips to 30 different countries during his presidency. His international policies were not always successful or praiseworthy. Relations with India hit an all-time low under the Nixon administration in the early 1970s. as Nixon shifted away from the neutral stance which his predecessors had taken towards India-Pakistan hostilities and established a very close relationship with Pakistan, aiding it militarily and economically. India, now under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, was leaning towards Soviet Union and Nixon considered Pakistan as a very important ally to counter Soviet influence in the Indian subcontinent. In 1974 India would conduct its first nuclear test.
Nixon was determined to prevent the rise of another Soviet-aligned state in Latin America. When Marxist candidate Salvador Allende was victorious in the 1970 Chilean presidential election, Nixon supported a vigorous campaign of covert resistance to Allende, including CIA support for a failed coup d'état. The Nixon administration drastically cut economic aid to Chile and convinced World Bank leaders to block aid to Chile. In September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet assumed power in a violent coup d'état. During the coup, Allende died under disputed circumstances, and there were allegations of American involvement. The Nixon administration has been criticized for its support of the very cruel and corrupt Pinochet government.
Nixon was also unsuccessful in his pursuit of peace in the Middle East. His administration developed a peace plan in which Israel would withdraw from the territories it conquered in the Six-Day War, but when the Soviet Union upped arms shipments to Egypt in mid-1970, Nixon moved closer to Israel. In October 1973, after Israel declined Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's offer of negotiations over the lands it had won control of in the Six-Day War, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel. When Egypt and Syria experienced early successes in what became known as the Yom Kippur War, the United States began to supply massive amounts of military aid to Israel. After Israel turned the tide in the war and advanced into Egypt and Syria, Kissinger and Brezhnev organized a cease fire.
Nixon was also thwarted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who forced oil companies in Libya to agree to a price increase, causing other countries to follow suit. U.S. policy analysts did not attempt to block these price increases, because they wrongly believed that higher prices would help increase domestic production of oil. When the increased production failed to materialize, an energy crisis was in the making. In 1973, in response to the U.S. support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War, OPEC countries cut oil production, raised prices, and initiated an embargo targeted against the United States and other countries that had supported Israel. The embargo caused gasoline shortages and rationing in the United States in late 1973, but was eventually ended by the oil-producing nations as the Yom Kippur War peace took hold.
It was an unfortunate turn of events, because if his moral compass had stayed true, Nixon may well have been one of the greatest presidents in history. One area where his brilliance shone was in his dealings with the two other great powers in the world, China and Russia. At a time when the Cold War was ongoing and the US was concerned with containment of communism around the world, Nixon used diplomacy to keep the peace between the three great powers.
China: In the movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the character Spock (Captain Spock in the film) tells his old friend James T. Kirk, "There is the old Vulcan proverb: only Nixon could go to China." The phrase is a reference to the 1972 visit by President Richard Nixon to the People's Republic of China in a monumental diplomatic initiative that marked the first time that a U.S. president had visited there.
At that time China considered the U.S. one of its foes, for for many Americans, the feeling was mutual. For 25 years, there had been a separation between the two sides, something that Nixon saw as not in the best interests of his nation. Even before being elected president, Richard Nixon had talked of the need for better relations with the People's Republic of China. The U.S. did not maintain diplomatic relations with Communist China, because it had recognized the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan as the government of China. Early on in his first term, Nixon and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger began sending subtle overtures to the Communist Chinese government about opening up diplomatic relations. After a series of these overtures by both countries, Kissinger went on secret diplomatic missions to Beijing, where he met with Premier Zhou. On July 15, 1971, Nixon announced that he would visit the People's Republic of China the following year.
Nixon visited China from February 21 to 28, 1972. His visit allowed the American public to view images of China for the first time in over two decades. Throughout the week the President and his most senior advisers engaged in substantive discussions with the Communist government, including a meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong. First Lady Pat Nixon toured schools, factories and hospitals in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou with the large American press corps in tow. Nixon dubbed the visit "the week that changed the world."
The visit had tremendous results. A significant shift in the Cold War balance resulted. "Nixon going to China" has since become a metaphor for an unexpected or uncharacteristic action by a politician. Nixon said that there were three objectives for his trip: (1) to enter into negotiations with the People's Republic of China to discuss the peaceful settlement of Taiwan,(2) to work towards a peaceful settlement of the Vietnam War and (3) deterrence of the Soviet Union's sphere of Communist influence after the Sino-Soviet Split. Nixon's critics said that Nixon's diplomacy failed on all three accounts. Taiwan remained threatened by the People's Republic of China, Vietnam was soon captured by the PRC-aided North Vietnam Communists and the collapse of Soviet Union was mainly due to internal domestic economic causes of its unproductive economic system.
But many now recognize Nixon's visit as opening the door to vastly improved Sino-American foreign relations. It paved the way to the strong economic ties that bind the two countries today. It took place because Nixon was willing to set aside his previous anti-communist prejudices in favor of a more realistic and pragmatic approach that put the best interests of his nation ahead of any personal antagonism.
The Soviet Union: When Nixon became President on January 21, 1969, in the midst of a shooting war in Vietnam, and the Cold War as well, it was a time that called for strong international leadership, during a sustained period of geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union that had been ongoing since the end of the Second World War. The United States and the Soviet Union had been the leaders of the competing groups in the Cold War, but the global calculus was changing. U.S. allies in Western Europe and East Asia had recovered economically from the war, and while they remained allied with United States, they were also becoming more independent when it came to their own foreign policies. Something similar was happening among Communist states, as the split between the Soviet Union and China escalated into a border conflict in 1969. The United States and the Soviet Union continued to wage a battle of capitalism vs. communism, but tensions had eased considerably since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Nixon relied heavily on Henry Kissinger, who later became his Secretary of State, and together they sought to establish peaceful relations with both the Soviet Union and China. Nixon hoped to forge closer relations with China and the Soviet Union as part of his overall strategy to end the Vietnam War. He hoped that building a good relationship with the two leading Communist powers would pressure North Vietnam into accepting a favorable peace settlement.
With the Soviets, Nixon pursued a policy of détente, the easing of tensions with the Soviet Union. It was one of his top priorities on the international stage. Through his policy of détente, he hoped, in his words, to "minimize confrontation in marginal areas and provide, at least, alternative possibilities in the major ones." He was not alone in this approach to the Soviets. West Germany was also pursuing closer relations with the Soviet Union in a policy known as "Ostpolitik." Nixon believed that expanding trade with the Soviet Union would help the U.S. economy and could allow both countries to devote fewer resources to defense spending. Nixon felt that his timing for this was right because the Soviets were experiencing a struggling economy and because they were also in the midst of hostilities with China.
After taking office, Nixon used his first press conference, he stated that the United States would be content with nuclear parity, rather than nuclear superiority, with the Soviets. Henry Kissinger worked behind the scenes with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin over arms control negotiations and to seek potential Soviet assistance in negotiations with North Vietnam. Wanting to bargain from a position of strength, Nixon funded development of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle missiles (MIRVs), ballistic missiles containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. These were not easily countered by existing anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. After over a year of negotiations with the Soviets, both sides agreed to the outlines of two treaties, one of which was to focus on ABM systems, while the other was to focus on limiting nuclear arsenals.
In May 1972, Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other leading Soviet officials at the 1972 Moscow Summit. The two sides reached the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (SALT I), which set upper limits on the number of offensive missiles and ballistic missile submarines that each county could maintain. A separate agreement, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, stipulated that each country could only field two anti-ballistic missile systems. The United States also agreed to the creation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two nations also agreed to an October 1972 trade agreement, one which vastly increased trade between the two countries. Nixon suffered a setback however when Congress would not approve of Nixon's proposal to extend most favored nation status to the Soviet Union.
Brezhnev visited the United States in 1973 and Nixon made a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974, meeting with Brezhnev in Yalta. The two leaders discussed a proposed mutual defense pact and other issues, but there were no significant breakthroughs in the negotiations. Brezhnev knew that Nixon was in a weaker political position than he had been during their first meeting.
During Nixon's final year in office, Congress worked against Nixon's détente policies when it passed the Jackson–Vanik amendment. Senator Henry M. Jackson, an opponent of détente, introduced the amendment in response to a Soviet tax that curbed the flow of Jewish emigrants, many of whom wanted to immigrate to Israel. This angered the Soviets, and they canceled the 1972 trade agreement and reduced the number of Jews who were permitted to emigrate. Détente proved to be unpopular with many on the left due to humanitarian concerns, and with many on the right due to concerns about being overly accommodating to the Soviets. Through the lens of historical hindsight, Nixon's policies helped to significantly lower Cold War tensions with the Soviets.
Other Nations: Nixon made fifteen international trips to 30 different countries during his presidency. His international policies were not always successful or praiseworthy. Relations with India hit an all-time low under the Nixon administration in the early 1970s. as Nixon shifted away from the neutral stance which his predecessors had taken towards India-Pakistan hostilities and established a very close relationship with Pakistan, aiding it militarily and economically. India, now under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, was leaning towards Soviet Union and Nixon considered Pakistan as a very important ally to counter Soviet influence in the Indian subcontinent. In 1974 India would conduct its first nuclear test.
Nixon was determined to prevent the rise of another Soviet-aligned state in Latin America. When Marxist candidate Salvador Allende was victorious in the 1970 Chilean presidential election, Nixon supported a vigorous campaign of covert resistance to Allende, including CIA support for a failed coup d'état. The Nixon administration drastically cut economic aid to Chile and convinced World Bank leaders to block aid to Chile. In September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet assumed power in a violent coup d'état. During the coup, Allende died under disputed circumstances, and there were allegations of American involvement. The Nixon administration has been criticized for its support of the very cruel and corrupt Pinochet government.
Nixon was also unsuccessful in his pursuit of peace in the Middle East. His administration developed a peace plan in which Israel would withdraw from the territories it conquered in the Six-Day War, but when the Soviet Union upped arms shipments to Egypt in mid-1970, Nixon moved closer to Israel. In October 1973, after Israel declined Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's offer of negotiations over the lands it had won control of in the Six-Day War, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel. When Egypt and Syria experienced early successes in what became known as the Yom Kippur War, the United States began to supply massive amounts of military aid to Israel. After Israel turned the tide in the war and advanced into Egypt and Syria, Kissinger and Brezhnev organized a cease fire.
Nixon was also thwarted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who forced oil companies in Libya to agree to a price increase, causing other countries to follow suit. U.S. policy analysts did not attempt to block these price increases, because they wrongly believed that higher prices would help increase domestic production of oil. When the increased production failed to materialize, an energy crisis was in the making. In 1973, in response to the U.S. support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War, OPEC countries cut oil production, raised prices, and initiated an embargo targeted against the United States and other countries that had supported Israel. The embargo caused gasoline shortages and rationing in the United States in late 1973, but was eventually ended by the oil-producing nations as the Yom Kippur War peace took hold.