Rhetorical Analysis Of American Withdrawal From Vietnam

In 1969 Nixon shifted his rhetoric, after taking office, and attacked the issue of making a war plan head on, this is especially evident during a speech in November of that year. In this speech, he outlines the plan and the action that has been taken to remove the US from Vietnam. He reiterates proposals made in a speech to the UN and all of which were denied by the leader, “We have offered our complete withdrawal of all outside forces within 1 year, we have proposed a cease-fire under international supervision, we have offered free elections under international supervision with the Communists participating in the organization and conduct of the elections as an organized political force. And the Saigon Government has pledged to accept the result

of the elections.” It was because of this that he announces the Nixon Doctrine, with this he limits US involvement in wars by stating that the nation would send support through aid and other means but no more ground troops would be sent.
“Well, in accordance with this wise counsel, I laid down in Guam three principles as guidelines for future American policy toward Asia: 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.”
With this policy, Nixon would greatly reduce the use of force in Vietnam and set the stage for troop withdrawal and reduce American intervention in many Asian nations.

After setting forth this doctrine he describes the plan for the future of American intervention, “Let me now turn to our program for the future. We have adopted a plan which we have worked out in cooperation with the South Vietnamese for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat ground forces, and their replacement by South Vietnamese forces on an orderly scheduled timetable. This withdrawal will be made from strength and not from weakness. As South Vietnamese forces become stronger, the rate of American withdrawal can become greater.” This was reiterating his campaign promise but it also set forth a concrete plan to be followed for the future and helped reinforce that he was making good on his

promises.
It should be noted that he followed this with a statement that covered his tracks and left him open to how long it would take for all of this to occur. “I have not and do not intend to announce the timetable for our program. And there are obvious reasons for this decision which I am sure you will understand. As I have indicated on several occasions, the rate of withdrawal will depend on developments on three fronts. One of these is the progress which can be or might be made in the Paris talks. An announcement of a fixed timetable for our withdrawal would completely remove any incentive for the enemy to negotiate an agreement. They would simply wait until our forces had withdrawn and then move in.” While clearing up any confusion that could be had by the public it gave Nixon an open timetable and shifted blame, if need be, away from his administration and pinned it on other countries.
Nixon also faced many challenges in 1969 after taking office the Johnson Administration had plans in place and planned to give up on the war and pulling out. “But as he entered office, he found that by the end of the Johnson administration, the goal of victory had been abandoned and a commitment had been made to end the bombing of North Vietnam.” This set his strategy back because it was the opposite of his promise to end the war with peace and honor. Adding into this was the fact that the leader of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, would not accept any terms of the agreements proposed unless the US surrendered and withdrew. “Soon after my election, through an individual who is directly in contact…. I made two private offers for a rapid, comprehensive settlement. Hanoi’s replies called in effect for our surrender before negotiations.” This caused a stalemate because it did not allow for peace and honor which was not an acceptable end to the war for Nixon. Kissinger describes how this affected Nixon’s first year as president and what it meant for the resolution of the Vietnam War, “When a negotiated solution proved unattainable, Nixon proceeded unilaterally to implement his concept of an honorable withdrawal.” Even though the outcome that he wanted could not be reached President Nixon announced this plan in his 1969 speech to the public. “I pledged in my campaign for the Presidency to end the war in a way that we could win the peace. I have initiated a plan of action which will enable me to keep that pledge.” The plan can be seen in his administrations public actions but there were also many secret actions taken to ensure the end of the war.
It can be seen historically that Nixon kept the promises made during his campaign and first year in office. The public actions taken are some of the many accomplishments documented in his 1969 speech, “Our air operations have been reduced by over 20 percent.” This was Nixon keeping his promise of halting the bombings which was a continuation of LBJ’s actions, this was reneged upon partially when he ordered the bombings of Cambodia and the secret Christmas bombings, Operation Linebacker. While the Cambodia bombing were seen as crucial for his strategy, the Vietcong were harboring thousands of soldiers in Cambodia and their supply networks ran through the area bombed, Nixon explains his reasons for keeping the bombings secret, “Another reason for secrecy was the problem of domestic antiwar protest. My administration was only two months old, and I wanted to provoke as little public outcry as possible at the outset.” Nixon was attempting to unite the nation under one banner and end the protesting which was caused by the public bombings.
Nixon kept his promise of bringing troops home quickly he withdrew many troops during his first year in office, “After 5 years of Americans going into Vietnam, we are finally bringing American men home. By December 15, over 60,000 men will have been withdrawn from South Vietnam including 20 percent of all of our combat forces.” This was a major shift from Johnsons administration which had sent over many troops but not removed many at all, and the fact that twenty percent were combat troops showed that he was making the Vietnamese be self-supporting. “In the process, he cut U.S. casualties from 1,200 a month at the end of the Johnson administration to thirty a month at the end of Nixon’s first term. He unilaterally reduced American troops from 550,000 in 1969 to 30,000 in 1972.” The rest of the soldiers would be withdrawn by end of 1973, this pulled all of the US combat forces from the region, all that was left was support staff and the US was still sending aid in the form of advisors, resources and supplies. This was a major step forward in keeping his promises because it was the complete removal of troops and garnered much support from the American public.
While being an infamous president, Richard Nixon, accomplished many things while in office many of which are still affecting history to this day. While campaigning he made promises about what he would do if elected and continued making these promises in the year following him winning the election. It was in part to his ability that his administration could end the Vietnam War effectively and within the four years of his first term. While he kept these promises, there are aspects of how the war ended that taint the legacy of the achievement.
While he did continue to halt the bombings as promised which led to increased talks between the countries and fostered trust between the leaders, there was still the fact that he ordered secret bombings missions like the Christmas bombings and carried out Operation Menu.

Nixon knew both actions would garner more protests and backlash from abroad so he kept them a secret until the film and documents pertaining to them surfaced which led to him outing himself. The Christmas bombing mission would go onto ruin months of negotiations made by Kissinger, and lead to the need for a complete withdrawal of troops. The administration added to the dissent with their use of back room deals and secret meetings to influence the outcome of the

war.
Nixon’s Administration manage to withdraw all combats within four years of him taking office, while this appeased the public and effectively ended the war it would go on to have foreseen consequences. After all American combats troops were gone all that was left was advisors and the South was completely autonomous as military just months after the withdrawal the North invaded and conquered the south within two years of US military involvement ending. This was exactly what Nixon prophesized would happen if America did an immediate withdraw. While this dampens the legacy of this move it is exactly what Nixon promised to do in his campaign speeches and succeeded in doing.
The promise of ‘No Peace, No Honor’ seemingly disappeared after this happened because there was no honor to be had since the south had fallen to communism and there was nothing to show for the war except massive debt and dead soldiers. While Nixon maintained his promises, there is still the fact that the end of the Vietnam was a disgrace compared to the way other presidents ended war. Even in comparison to the Korean War there was still the fact the South was free of communism, while still being a stalemate it ended in a peaceful resolution. In conclusion Nixon managed to keep most his promises and still end the war in an effective way that saved many American lives by pulling out of Vietnam.