Question

How had Nixon felt about the war in Vietnam before he ran for president? As president, how had his feelings changed?

Answer 1

Before he became president in '69, the U.S. was already at war with the Vietcong and the NVA for about 3 years. He wanted the war to come to an end and promised to bring American troops home quickly. However, the Cambodian incursion was an unpopular move by Nixon in '71. He supported the idea of Vietnamization as a way of supporting the South Vietnamese so that they can fight on their own while U.S. troops withdrew. He approved Operation Linebacker in December of '72 as a way of forcing the North Vietnamese to the peace room which resulted in the Paris Peace Accords in 1973. He promised the South Vietnamese aerial support if the North Vietnamese decided to violate the accords. Thanks to Water Gate the promise was never fulfilled.