Nixon Doctrine
The Nixon Doctrine was promulgated by US President Richard Nixon during a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 . In the future , the United States expected its allies to take their military defense into their own hands, especially financially. It was looking for a continuation of the " Vietnamization " of the Vietnam War , which began in March 1968 under Lyndon B. Johnson . It was envisaged that the South Vietnamese would gradually take responsibility for the conduct of the war, and it was hoped that this policy would eventually allow the United States to gradually withdraw all of its soldiers from Vietnam. The Nixon Doctrine made it its goal to continue the struggle for peace through partnership with US allies.
In Nixon's words (Speech to the Nation on the Vietnam War, November 3, 1969), it was
- “First, the United States will honor all of its treaty obligations.
- Second, we will provide a protective shield in the event a nuclear power threatens the freedom of a nation allied with us, or a nation whose existence we consider important to our security.
- Third, in cases involving other types of aggression, we will provide military and economic assistance when requested in accordance with our contractual obligations. But we will see to it that the nation directly threatened has the primary responsibility for the creation of the armed forces necessary for its defense. "
Nixon's advisors feared that the gradual dismantling of all US troops would result in an early victory for the FNL , so that it was understood that a humiliating defeat for the US could only be avoided through peace negotiations. These then took place in Paris . Nixon's efforts to put pressure on North Vietnam came to be known as the " Madman Theory ". Bob Haldeman , one of the main US negotiators, called President Nixon mentally weak and so fanatical in hatred of communism that he would not shrink from using nuclear weapons against North Vietnam.
The doctrine was also used by the Nixon government in the Gulf region, with military assistance from Iran and Saudi Arabia , as these US allies were designated for the establishment of peace and stability in the region. According to Michael Klare, Author of Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Oil Dependence. (New York: Henry Holt, 2004), the application of the Nixon Doctrine "opened the floodgates" of US military engagement for the allies in the Persian Gulf, and caused the emergence of the Carter Doctrine and subsequent US direct engagement in the Second Gulf War and Iraq War .
literature
- Heiko Meiertöns: The Doctrines of American Security Policy. Evaluation of international law and its influence on international law. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2006, ISBN 3-8329-1904-X
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ R. Nixon: President Richard Nixon Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, November 3, 1969. November 3, 1969, retrieved April 13, 2020 .