Vietnam--America in the war years

President Richard Nixon's first presidential term oversaw the definitive crucible of the Vietnam War. Nixon came into office seeking the kind of decisive victory that had eluded President Johnson, and went about expanding the war, overtly and covertly, in order to uphold a policy of "containment," protect America's credibility, and defy the left's antiwar movement at home. Tactically, politically, Nixon's moves made sense. However, by 1971 the president was forced to significantly de-escalate the American presence and seek a negotiated end to the war, which is now accepted as an American defeat, and a resounding failure of American foreign relations. This book, by accomplished foreign relations historian David F. Schmitz, is intended to provide an up-to-date analysis of Nixon's Vietnam policy in a concise and accessible way. Schmitz addresses the main controversies of Nixon's Vietnam strategy, and in so doing manages to trace back the ways in which this most calculating and perceptive politician wound up resigning from office a fraud and failure. Finally, the book seeks to place the impact of Nixon's policies and decisions in the larger context of post-World War II American society, and analyzes the full costs of the Vietnam War that the nation feels to this day.

President Richard Nixon came into office seeking a decisive victory in Vietnam, the kind of victory that had eluded President Johnson. Nixon expanded the war in order to uphold a policy of containment, protect America's credibility, and defy the Left's antiwar movement at home. But by 1971, Nixon was forced to significantly de-escalate the American presence and seek a negotiated end to the war, which is now accepted as an American defeat and a failure of American foreign relations. This book provides an analysis of Nixon's Vietnam policy in a concise and accessible way.

Provides an overview of the aerial operations during the Vietnam War, including operations in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and describing the strike operations of the US Air Force.