President Nixon's Secret Bombing of Cambodia

2404 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Vietnam War-Quizlet

In the 1960s and 1970s, the most controversial war the United States had ever been involved in during its rich two-hundred year history would engulf the country, ultimately leading to the collapse of a president, and the division of a nation. The Vietnam War was a military struggle fought in Vietnam and neighboring countries from 1959-1975 involving the North Vietnamese and NLF (National Liberation Front) versus the United States and the South Vietnamese ("The Vietnam..."). In 1969, newly elected President Richard M. Nixon, aiming to achieve "peace with honor" in Vietnam, began to put his "Vietnamization" policy into place -- removing the number of American military personnel in the country and transferring combat roles to the South Vietnamese ("Speeches..."). But at the same time, Nixon resumed the secret bombing of North Vietnam and launched B-52 bombing raids over Cambodia, intending to wipe out NLF and North Vietnamese base camps along the border. The intensive secret bombing, codenamed Operation Menu, lasted for four years and was intentionally concealed from the American public; meanwhile, Nixon ordered the invasion of Cambodia by United States troops, arguing that it was necessary to protect the security of American units. This invasion into an allegedly neutral country was cause for much protest in the States, especially on college campuses such as Kent State University, where students rioted and held walk-outs. Ultimately, the secret bombing of neutral Cambodia was deliberately conducted without the consent of Congress, violating the articles outlined in the United States Constitution, and would have been grounds for impeachment had Nixon not resigned under the cloud of the Watergate scandal in August of 1974 ("Richard M....

... middle of paper ...

...ple Mystified as Direct U.S. Role Ends At a Time of Military Adversity. New York Times 15 August 1973.

Public Broadcasting System (PBS). The American Experience: Vietnam. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/109ts.html> Accessed 5 March 2001.

Richard M. Nixon: Foreign Affairs. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. <http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/3/0,5716,57373+6+55968,00.html> Accessed 3 March 2001.

Speeches by Richard M. Nixon: Vietnamization. Texas A&M University. <http://www.tamu.edu/scom/pres/speeches/rmnvietnam.html> Accessed 4 March 2001.

The Vietnam War. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. <http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,77300+1+75317,00.html> Accessed 3 March 2001.

Vassar College. President Nixons Speech on Cambodia: April 30, 1970. <http://students.vassar.edu/~vietnam/doc15.html> Accessed 28 February 2001.

Show More
Related

  • Protests Against the Vietnam War

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of life that it was famously named the Anti-War Movement. When the Vietnam War ended, The United States did not have a real concrete reason why; there were a bunch of theories about why the war ended. Through negative media attention and rebellious youth culture, the Anti-War Movement made a monumental impact in the ending of the Vietnam War.

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

    2185 Words  | 5 Pages

    Richard Nixon was in one of the most controversial issues that the United States has ever seen. The Watergate Scandal is now well known throughout history today. This issue led to Nixon resigning only 2 years in his 2nd term. Did President Nixon make the right decisions? Can anyone really trust the government after a situation like this? Some Historians believe that this changed the course of history, and that we can never truly trust the government again. While others believe that Nixon didn’t make the right decisions; however, this should not change the way the people look at our government. The government and the people need to keep a strong trust.

    Read More

  • Kent State Shootings

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    The day after his Cambodia speech Nixon told a crowd at the Pentagon:"You see these bums, you know, blowing up campuses. Listen, the boys that are on the college campuses today are the luckiest people in th...

    Read More

  • Kent State University Shooting Essay

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    On April 30, 1970, when Nixon gave a speech announcing his invasion of Cambodia, anti-war factions rose up across the United States. In the speech he stated that, “If, when the chips are down…the world’s most powerful nation, the United States of America, acts like a pitiful, helpless giant, the forces of totalitarianism and anarchy will threaten free nations and institutions around the world. I would rather be a one term president and do what I believe is right than to be a two term president at the cost of seeing America become a second rate power.” Students did not agree with Nixon and protests cropped up on university campuses in the days that followed his speech. Amongst these protesters were students of Kent State University, “The Cambodian invasion defined a watershed in the attitude of Kent students toward American policy in the Indochina War.” At this point, the first two days of May, the students were protesting Nixon’s actions. While the cou...

    Read More

  • War Powers Resolution

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    Grimmett, Richard F.“The War Powers Resolution: After 30 Years.” CRS Report for Congress. March 11, 2004. https://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL32267.html.

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon Impeachment

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...mbodia was intentionally carried out without the consent of Congress, which also violated the articles outlined in the United States Constitution. The charged that he faced for that was Unlawful Refusal to Contempt with Congress. After all, having kept the bombing of Cambodia a secret was not a success for President Nixon, carrying out the plan wasn’t successful either. It did not stop Communism from spreading. The media would find out about the bombing and the only person to blame for all of the consequences would be the corrupted President Nixon. His own poor egotistical actions led to his downfalls including the downfall of the great Watergate Scandal. He had put this burden upon himself because he carried out actions so freely without having the issue discussed with the Congress and taking advantage of the power of the presidency and going beyond the boundary.

    Read More

  • Lupa Romana Mother of Rome

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sculpture, Capitoline Wolf with Romulus and Remus, depicts a female wolf with twin infant boys suckling from her. The bronze sculpture depict...

    Read More

  • You’ve Seen One, You’ve Seen Them All: "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, in Robert Ebert’s movie review, he admires the acting, but describes the film as being unbelievable and silly. When The Last Song comes to mind, one draws their attention to the main character, Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus plays a rebellious teenager named Ronnie, who has pure hatred for her father, played by Greg Kinnear. Although this is her first movie not acting as Hanna Montana, “she does a good job of making her character Ronnie engaging and lovable” (1). She acts as an alienated teen by being distant from her father and the world, showing no emotional features toward situations that face her, including the “Meet Cute” between her and Will.

    Read More

  • The Origin, Etiology and Treatment of Syphilis

    5683 Words  | 12 Pages

    Syphilis, the third most common sexually transmitted disease, affects 12 million new people each year and is the leading cause of stillbirths and deaths among newborns in many developing countries. 3 The causative agent of venereal syphilis is Treponema pallidum, under the Family Spirochaetaceae of the Order Spirochaetales. It is a spirochete, a helical to sinusoidal bacterium ranging from 5 to 15 microns in length. 2 T. pallidum multiplies by binary transverse fission and enter the body through mucous membranes (squamous or columnar epithelium cells) or minor breaks or abrasions in the skin. From there, it migrates to every corner of the body through the blood and lymphatic circulatory system, infecting virtually every bodily organ, including the nervous system. Infections can even reach the womb, infecting the newborn known as congenital syphilis .4

    Read More

  • Syphilis

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    The primary stage of syphilis is characterized by a small lesion, called a chancre, which resembles a pimple, blister or

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    There were many events that lead up the Vietnam War, it started in 1945 with the hostilities between the French and Vietminh. “Geopolitical Strategy, economics, domestic US politics, and cultural arrogance shaped the growing American involvement in Vietnam” (Anderson 1). As a matter of fact, the Vietnam War was several wars, but it was not until 1962 that America had their first combat mission, however, Americans were killed during ambushes by the Vietnamese before the first combat mission. There is much controversy over the reasons for the Vietnam War, supported by the several different books and articles written about the war. “The most famous atrocity occurred in a tiny hamlet called My Lai in March 1968” (Detzer 127). History shows that the reaction of many Americans to the attack by US soldiers on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War was opposition, and the actions of the US soldiers during the My Lai Massacre will be forever remembered as a significant part of the Vietnam War and American History.

    Read More

  • The Colorado River

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the largest geographic physical structures in the United States is the Colorado River. Human activity and its interaction with this great river have an interesting history. The resources provided by the river have been used by humans, and caused conflict for human populations as well. One of these conflicts is water distribution, and the effects drought conditions have played in this distribution throughout the southwestern region. Major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the southwest depend on the river. It provides water for over 20 million people, irrigation for 2 million acres of land, four thousand megawatts of hydroelectric energy, and over twenty million annual visitors for recreation purposes. Also, once in Mexico, the river provides water to irrigate half a million acres of farmland, and municipal and industrial water for 2 million people living in this delta region. The river distributes its flow from lakes and canals along its journey as well. Due to climate change, human demand, natural forces like evaporation and human-induced climate change this water supply is in conflict. Also, a recent change that began in March of 2014 will bring a temporary water surge to the delta of the Colorado River for the first time in many years to help restore this region, and it’s possible it could reach the Sea of Cortez once again.

    Read More

  • Syphilis

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    A painless chancre develops at the site of incubation after around 3 to 6 weeks. "The lesion has a punched-out base and rolled edges and is highly infectious."

    Read More

  • Syphilis Essay

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    The primary stage of the infection is characterized by a chancer that presents as an ulcer in the anogenital area with an incubation period of nine-ninety days2. A chancer is a painless ulceration that forms where the original spirochete enters the broken skin or mucous membranes3. The lesions can also present on the lips, tongue, tonsils and nipples2. During the incubation period the T. pallidum can ...

    Read More

  • Benefits and Implications of Technology Use in America’s Classrooms

    2347 Words  | 5 Pages

    McLester, S. (2005, February). Turning points. Technology & Learning, Vol. 25 Issue 7, p4, 10p. Retrieved on April 8, 2005 from Academic Search Premier database.

    Read More

More about President Nixon's Secret Bombing of Cambodia

Open Document