Peace negotiations and withdrawal, 1972-1973
When Richard Nixon became president in 1969, he wanted the USA to leave Vietnam. But he could not just remove the troops immediately. To do so would have seen South Vietnam suffer a quick defeat and would have made it look like the USA had deserted its ally.
Therefore, Nixon began preparing for the USA to leave the war by issuing the Nixon doctrineA set of ideas or principles that a person or group follows.. This stated that countries in Asia should be responsible for their own defence. Linked to this was a plan to gradually withdraw troops and hand responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese government. Nixon called this ‘Vietnamisation’.
US withdrawal from Vietnam
The main reasons for the US withdrawing from Vietnam are outlined in the table below.
| Reason | Details |
| Influence of the anti-war movement | The movement had partly been responsible for the decision of the previous president - Lyndon B Johnson - not to stand for re-election. It had also influenced Nixon’s promise of peace during his election campaign. |
| Financial cost of the war | The war was extremely expensive, costing around $28.8 billion in 1969 alone. |
| Long-term damage to the economy | The cost of the war was funded largely by increasing US government debt. |
| Social cost of the war | Johnson had had to restrict his Great Society policy, which aimed to reduce poverty in the USA. |
| Impact of the war on Vietnam veterans | Veterans struggled to reintegrate into US society and formed their own protest group, sharing their experiences of the war with the public. Some even called for an end to the war. |
| Reason | Influence of the anti-war movement |
|---|---|
| Details | The movement had partly been responsible for the decision of the previous president - Lyndon B Johnson - not to stand for re-election. It had also influenced Nixon’s promise of peace during his election campaign. |
| Reason | Financial cost of the war |
|---|---|
| Details | The war was extremely expensive, costing around $28.8 billion in 1969 alone. |
| Reason | Long-term damage to the economy |
|---|---|
| Details | The cost of the war was funded largely by increasing US government debt. |
| Reason | Social cost of the war |
|---|---|
| Details | Johnson had had to restrict his Great Society policy, which aimed to reduce poverty in the USA. |
| Reason | Impact of the war on Vietnam veterans |
|---|---|
| Details | Veterans struggled to reintegrate into US society and formed their own protest group, sharing their experiences of the war with the public. Some even called for an end to the war. |
Early negotiations
Talks about ending the war began as early as May 1968, when Lyndon B Johnson was still president. However, the South Vietnamese government withdrew from these early talks.
The Paris talks
Talks between all sides in the war began in Paris in January 1969. Again they made little progress, even when Nixon’s representative, Henry Kissinger, made a secret offer to the North to withdraw US troops in 1971 - without expecting the communists to remove their troops from South Vietnam. The talks stalled because the North could not accept President Nguyen Van Thieu as a member of South Vietnam’s government after the war and the USA felt obliged to support him.
In July 1972, the North changed its position.
- It agreed to a plan to share power in South Vietnam with Thieu and a neutralPolitically, not supporting or helping either side in a conflict or disagreement. party.
- Again, this agreement faced difficulties, as to start with Thieu rejected it and Nixon supported him.
- However, Nixon came to believe that this was the only way to end the war.
- He accepted the deal and forced President Nguyen Van Thieu to agree to it.
- The Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973 and the USA agreed to withdraw its troops from Vietnam.
