The War Winds Down

Nixon Moves to End the War

• Henry Kissinger was appointed special assistant for national affairs.

• He started a policy called linkage

– Improvement in USSR/China relations to persuade them to cut back their assistance to N Vietnam.

Nixon Moves to End the War

• Nixon began cutting the number of troops in Vietnam

• Vietnamization– http://www.history.com/topics/vietnamization

Turmoil at Home Continues

• November 1969, the American media reported that a US platoon had massacred more than 200 unarmed civilians in My Lai– http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenche

s/my_lai.html

• This increased the feelings that the war was brutal and senseless

A Rise in Protests

• In May 1970, at Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting.

– 4 were killed

The Pentagon Papershttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/450326/Pentagon-Papers

• In 1970, Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• In 1971 the Pentagon Papers were leaked to the public

The Pentagon Papers

• Showed that many government officials had privately questioned the war while publically defending it.

• Proved that the government had not been honest with the American people.

The United States Pulls Out of Vietnam

• Nixon won re-election in 1971– Peace talks soon followed

• S Vietnam reluctantly agreed to allow N Vietnamese soldiers to remain in the South.

The United States Pulls Out of Vietnam

• January 27, 1973 an agreement is signed to end the war.

• The US agreed to withdraw all troops– Our direct involvement

in Vietnam was over.

North Takes South

• March 1975, shortly after US troops pulled out of Vietnam, the N Vietcong launched a full-scale invasion of the South

• President Ford asked Congress for funds to help, but Congress refused

North Takes South

• April 30, 1975: North Vietnam captures Saigon (South Vietnamese capital)

The Legacy of Vietnam

• $170 Billion spent• 58,000 US casualties• 300,000 injured• Over 1 million N and S Vietnamese soldiers

and civilians dead• Many Americans saw the war as a defeat

The War Powers Acthttp://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/29/world/how-war-powers-act-works.html

• Passed in 1973

• Required: – the president to notify Congress of any

commitment of troops within 48 hours

– And to withdraw troops in 60-90 days unless Congress approved the commitment.

Aftermath

• Americans became reluctant to involve the US in affairs of other nations

• Government cynicism greatly increased