Vietnamization

Book excerpt: When he took office in 1969, the term that Richard Nixon embraced to describe his plan for ending the American war in Vietnam was “Vietnamization,” the process of withdrawing US troops and turning over responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese government. The concept had far reaching implications, both for understanding Nixon’s actions and for shaping U.S. military thinking years after Washington’s failure to ensure the survival of its client state in South Vietnam. In this book, Vietnam War expert David L. Anderson explores the political and strategic implications and assesses its continuing, significant impact on American post-Vietnam foreign policy.