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Ending America's Vietnam War: Vietnamization's Domestic Origins and International Ramifications, 1968-1970

Prentice, David L.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1384512056

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
America's exit from Vietnam was as contingent, complicated, and agonizing as its decision to pursue war in Indochina, and this dissertation focuses on the critical period—1968-1970. Based on research at eight domestic and foreign archives, I argue that the perception of a crumbling home front drove U.S. policymaking and that America's allies and enemies appreciated and reacted to this domestic context and decision-making. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson concluded he had little choice but to cap U.S. troop strength, stop bombing North Vietnam, and begin negotiations, but he drew the line at unilateral withdrawals and kept military escalation on the table. Hence, the battle over America's exit strategy occurred during Richard Nixon's first year in office. During 1969, three individuals—Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Melvin Laird—plotted, schemed, and wrangled over Nixon's Vietnam strategy. The allure of victory remained strong as Nixon and Kissinger devised an elaborate plan to threaten and then launch a savage bombing campaign against North Vietnam to compel its capitulation before time ran out at home. Secretary of Defense Laird argued the domestic front would not tolerate such a mad scheme. Instead, Laird developed what became America's exit strategy, Vietnamization—the strategy of improving South Vietnamese military capabilities while withdrawing American troops. Though overlooked by historians, Laird's Vietnamization defeated Kissinger's militant strategy to halt U.S. troop reductions and escalate the war. By the end of 1969, Nixon sided with Laird, hoping that Vietnamization could win the war at home and abroad. Vietnamization's domestic origins reflect only part of the story, and this dissertation establishes its international context as well. Foreign officials understood U.S. policymakers had changed course to abate pressure at home. Whereas both the North and (surprisingly) South Vietnamese greeted Vietnamization with confidence, Australia and Great Britain worried it could be an early symptom of a global American retreat. They feared humiliation in Vietnam would create an isolationist lobby that would curtail U.S. commitments worldwide. Nevertheless, they judged Nixon's resolve and Vietnamization positively. The Nixon administration was holding the line in the United States and South Vietnam, but all understood that Vietnamization marked the beginning of the end of America's Vietnam War.
Chester Pach (Advisor)
Paul Milazzo (Committee Member)
Ingo Trauschweizer (Committee Member)
Patrick Washburn (Committee Member)
496 p.
American History; European History; History; International Relations; Military History; World History
Vietnamization; Melvin Laird; Vietnam War; exit strategy; Nixon; Kissinger; Ending the Vietnam War; Clark Clifford; de-Americanization; Lyndon Johnson; North Vietnam; South Vietnam; troop withdrawal; Australia and Vietnam; Britain and Vietnam; Thieu

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Prentice, D. L. (2013). Ending America's Vietnam War: Vietnamization's Domestic Origins and International Ramifications, 1968-1970 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1384512056

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Prentice, David. Ending America's Vietnam War: Vietnamization's Domestic Origins and International Ramifications, 1968-1970. 2013. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1384512056.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Prentice, David. "Ending America's Vietnam War: Vietnamization's Domestic Origins and International Ramifications, 1968-1970." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1384512056

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1384512056
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.