Editing Nixon Doctrine

{{Short description|Foreign policy espoused by U.S. president Richard Nixon in 1969}}
[[File:President Richard Nixon, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office.jpg|thumb|260x260px|President Richard Nixon speaking with [[Prime Minister of Israel|Israeli prime minister]] [[Golda Meir]] and [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. secretary of state]] [[Henry Kissinger]] on November 1, 1973]]
The '''Nixon Doctrine''' (sometimes referred to as the '''Guam Doctrine''') was the foreign policy doctrine of [[Richard Nixon]], the 37th [[president of the United States]] from 1969 to 1974. It was put forth by Nixon on July 25, 1969, during a press conference in [[Guam]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2140 |title=Richard Nixon: "Informal Remarks in Guam With Newsmen," July 25, 1969 |author1=Peters, Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California - Santa Barbara |access-date=May 21, 2014 |archive-date=August 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810104333/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/gulf-of-tonkin |url-status=dead }}</ref> and formalized in his speech on [[Vietnamization]] on November 3, 1969.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/4106/the-nixon-doctrine-in-the-21st-century | title=The Nixon Doctrine in the 21st Century| date=22 July 2009}}</ref> 

According to Gregg Brazinsky, author of "Nation Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy", Nixon stated that "the United States would assist in the defense and developments of allies and friends" but would not "undertake all the defense of the free nations of the world."<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v01/d60 | title = Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume I, Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1969–1972, Document 60 |  date = 18 February 1970 | access-date= 25 July 2019| publisher= Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State}}</ref> This doctrine meant that each ally nation was in charge of its own security in general, but the U.S. would act as a [[nuclear umbrella]] when requested. The doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a [[partnership]] with American allies.

==Background==
At the time of Nixon's [[First inauguration of Richard Nixon|first inauguration]] in January 1969, the United States had been engaged in combat in Vietnam for almost four years. The war had so far killed over 30,000 Americans and several hundred thousand Vietnamese.<ref>{{cite book|last=McNamara|first=Robert|title=In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam|date=1995|publisher=Times Books|page=321}}</ref> By 1969, U.S. public opinion had moved decisively to favoring ending the [[Vietnam War]];<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=57 |title = Commentary|date = 12 September 2010}}</ref> a [[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]] poll in May showed 56% of the public believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake. Of those over 50 years old, 61% expressed that belief, compared to 49% of those between ages 21 and 29, even if tacit abandonment of the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization|SEATO]] Treaty was ultimately required and caused a complete [[Communism|communist]] takeover of [[South Vietnam]] despite previous U.S. guarantees.<ref>Todd, Olivier. ''Cruel April: The Fall of Saigon''. W.W. Norton & Company, 1990. (originally published in 1987 in French)</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} Because Nixon campaigned for "[[Peace with Honor]]" in relation to Vietnam during the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]], ending the war became an important policy goal for him.

==Doctrine==
During a stopover during an international tour on the U.S. territory of [[Guam]], Nixon formally announced the doctrine.<ref>{{cite web |author=History Channel |author-link=History (U.S. TV channel) |title= July 25, 1969: The Nixon Doctrine is announced |date=July 25, 1969 |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-nixon-doctrine-is-announced|format=reprint}}</ref> Nixon declared the United States would honor all of its treaty commitments in [[Asia]], but "as far as the problems of international security are concerned ... the United States is going to encourage and has a right to expect that this problem will increasingly be handled by, and the responsibility for it taken by, the Asian nations themselves".<ref name=":0">Karsh, Effraim ''Islamic Imperialism A History'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006 page 199.</ref>

Later, from the [[Oval Office]] in an address to the nation on the Vietnam War on November 3, 1969, Nixon said:<ref name="Richard M. Nixon">{{cite web |author=Richard M. Nixon |author-link=Richard M. Nixon |title=President Nixon's Speech on "Vietnamization" |date=November 3, 1969 |url=http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forkids/speechesforkids/silentmajority/silentmajority_transcript.pdf |format=reprint |access-date=October 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124094303/http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forkids/speechesforkids/silentmajority/silentmajority_transcript.pdf |archive-date=January 24, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><blockquote>First, the United States will keep all of its treaty commitments. Second, we shall provide a shield if a nuclear power threatens the freedom of a nation allied with us or of a nation whose survival we consider vital to our security. Third, in cases involving other types of aggression, we shall furnish military and economic assistance when requested in accordance with our treaty commitments. But we shall look to the nation directly threatened to assume the primary responsibility of providing the manpower for its defense.</blockquote>

==Doctrine in practice==
{{Further|Foreign policy of the Richard Nixon administration}}
The doctrine was exemplified by the process of [[Vietnamization]] regarding South Vietnam and the Vietnam War.<ref>John G. Keilers, "Nixon Doctrine and Vietnamization" (U.S. Army Military History Institute, June 29, 2007) [https://www.army.mil/article/3867/nixon_doctrine_and_vietnamization  online]</ref> It also played elsewhere in Asia including [[Pahlavi Iran|Iran]],<ref>Stephen McGlinchey,  "Richard Nixon's Road to Tehran: The Making of the US–Iran Arms Agreement of May 1972." ''Diplomatic History'' 37.4 (2013): 841-860.</ref> [[Taiwan]],<ref>Earl C. Ravenal, "The Nixon Doctrine and Our Asian Commitments." ''Foreign Affairs'' 49.2 (1971): 201-217.</ref> [[Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970)|Cambodia]],<ref>Laura Summers, "Cambodia: Model of the Nixon doctrine." ''Current History'' (Dec 1973) pp. 252-56.</ref> and [[Third Republic of Korea|South Korea]].<ref>Joo-Hong Nam, and Chu-Hong Nam. ''America's commitment to South Korea: the first decade of the Nixon doctrine'' (1986).</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} The doctrine was an explicit rejection of the practice that sent 500,000 U.S. soldiers to South Vietnam, even though there was no treaty obligation to that country. A major long-term goal was to reduce the tension between the United States and the [[Soviet Union]] and mainland [[China]], so as to better enable the policy of [[détente]] to work.<ref>Robert S. Litwak, ''Détente and the Nixon doctrine: American foreign policy and the pursuit of stability, 1969-1976'' (1986).</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}

The particular Asian nation the doctrine was aimed at with its message that Asian nations should be responsible for defending themselves was South Vietnam, but Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] of Iran seized upon the Nixon Doctrine with its message that Asian nations should be responsible for their own defense to argue that the Americans should sell him arms without limitations, a suggestion that Nixon eagerly embraced.<ref name=":0" /> The U.S. turned to [[Saudi Arabia]] and Iran as "twin pillars" of regional stability.<ref name="time doctrine">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1574151,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207081727/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1574151,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 7, 2009|author=Beinart, Peter|title=Return of the Nixon Doctrine|date=2007-01-04|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]}}</ref> [[Price of oil|Oil price]] increases in 1970 and 1971 would allow funding both states with this military expansion. Total arms transfers from the United States to Iran increased from $103.6 million in 1970 to $552.7 million in 1972; those to Saudi Arabia increased from $15.8 million in 1970 to $312.4 million in 1972. The U.S. would maintain its small naval force of three ships in the [[Persian Gulf|Gulf]], stationed since [[World War II]] in [[Bahrain]], but would take on no other formal security commitments.<ref name="III2009">{{cite book|last=Gause, III|first=F. Gregory|title=The International Relations of the Persian Gulf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0c0LAQAAQBAJ|access-date=25 December 2013|date=2009-11-19|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107469167|page=22}}</ref>

One factor in reducing open-ended American commitments was financial concern as the war in Vietnam had proven to be very expensive.<ref>''The Gold Battles Within the Cold War: American Monetary Policy and the Defense of Europe, 1960–1963''. [[Francis J. Gavin]], University of Texas at Austin</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} In South Korea, 20,000 of the 61,000 U.S. troops stationed there were withdrawn by June 1971.

The application of the Nixon Doctrine "opened the floodgates" of U.S. military aid to allies in the Persian Gulf.<ref>[[Michael Klare]], ''Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Petroleum Dependency'' (New York: Henry Holt, 2004)</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} That in turn helped set the stage for the [[Carter Doctrine]] and for subsequent direct military involvement in the [[Gulf War]] and the [[Iraq War]].{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

==Contemporary usage==
Scholar Walter Ladwig argued in 2012 that the United States should adopt a "neo-Nixon doctrine" towards the [[Indian Ocean]] region, in which the U.S. would sponsor key local partners—[[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Australia]], and [[South Africa]]—to assume the primary burden for upholding regional peace and security. A key shortcoming of the original Nixon Doctrine, Ladwig argues, was its reliance on pro-Western autocrats who proved to be a poor foundation for an enduring regional security structure. In contrast, his "neo-Nixon Doctrine" would focus on cultivating the major Indian Ocean nations that are democratic and financially capable of being net providers of security in the region.<ref>Walter C. Ladwig III, [http://www.walterladwig.com/Articles/A%20Neo-Nixon%20Doctrine%20for%20the%20Indian%20Ocean.pdf "A Neo-Nixon Doctrine for the Indian Ocean: Helping States Help Themselves,"] ''Strategic Analysis'', Vol. 36, No. 3 (May 2012).</ref> Although crediting this idea for the "reasonable balance it strikes between US leadership and local initiative", Andrew Philips of the [[Australian Strategic Policy Institute]] has suggested the idea overstates "the degree of convergent security interests between its four presumptive sub-regional lynchpin states."<ref>Andrew Phillips, [http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-challenges-of-order-building-in-the-indian-ocean-region "The challenges of order-building in the Indian Ocean Region,"] ''The Strategist'' (October 2012).</ref><ref name="urlSpringtime for Strongmen – Foreign Policy">{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/gt-essay/springtime-for-strongmen-authoritarian-leaders-china-russia-north-korea-venezuela-turkey/ |title=Springtime for Strongmen – Foreign Policy }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Chua, Daniel Wei Boon. (2014) "Becoming a “Good Nixon Doctrine country”: Political relations between the United States and Singapore during the Nixon presidency." ''Australian Journal of Politics & History'' 60.4 (2014): 534-548. 
* {{cite journal |author=Kimball, Jeffrey |title=The Nixon Doctrine: A Saga of Misunderstanding |year=2006 |journal=[[Presidential Studies Quarterly]] |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=59–74 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00287.x}}
* Komine, Yukinori. (2014) "Whither a 'Resurgent Japan': The Nixon Doctrine and Japan's Defense Build-up, 1969–1976." ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' 16.3 (2014): 88–128.
* Litwak, Robert S. ''Détente and the Nixon doctrine: American foreign policy and the pursuit of stability, 1969-1976'' (CUP Archive, 1986).
* Meiertöns, H.  (2010): ''The Doctrines of US Security Policy&nbsp;— An Evaluation under International Law'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-76648-7}}.
* Nam, Joo-Hong, and Chu-Hong Nam. (1986) ''America's commitment to South Korea: the first decade of the Nixon doctrine'' (Cambridge UP, 1986).
* Pauker, Guy J., et al. (1973) ''In search of self-reliance: US security assistance to the Third World under the Nixon Doctrine'' (RAND Corp. 1973). [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0775353.pdf online]
* Ravenal, Earl C. (1971) "The Nixon doctrine and our Asian commitments." ''Foreign Affairs'' 49.2 (1971): 201–217. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20037832 online]
* Trager, Frank N. (1972) "The Nixon Doctrine and Asian Policy." ''Southeast Asian Perspectives'' 6 (1972): 1-34. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30174752 online]

===Primary sources===
* {{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2661 |title=Richard Nixon: "Special Message to the Congress Proposing Reform of the Foreign Assistance Program," September 15, 1970 |author1=Peters, Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California - Santa Barbara}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2986 |title=Richard Nixon: "Special Message to the Congress Proposing Reform of the Foreign Assistance Program," April 21, 1971 |author1=Peters, Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California - Santa Barbara}}

==External links==
* [https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2017/09/address-nation-war-vietnam-november-3-1969/ Video and transcript of Richard Nixon's Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, November 3, 1969] from the [[Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum]]
* {{YouTube|RPpOBu2LNCo|President Richard Nixon Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, November 3, 1969}}

{{Presidency of Richard Nixon}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Foreign relations of the United States |expanded=DPC}}
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[[Category:Vietnam War]]
[[Category:History of the foreign relations of the United States]]
[[Category:Presidency of Richard Nixon]]
[[Category:1969 in the United States]]
[[Category:1969 in international relations]]
[[Category:Foreign policy doctrines of the United States]]
[[Category:July 1969 in the United States]]