>>97473978Nixon’s plan for Vietnam was this: show the Communists that the US would do ANYTHING to keep winning. We were dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars of bombs into empty forests by Laos not because the enemy was sighted, but to prove we were willing to turn the entire continent to ash (and tell the newspapers we were having successful bombing runs).
Then when they realized Vietnam was a money pit, they’d quit.
The sad part is Nixon was right. We now have the records of correspondance between the Soviets and Chi ese, the Chinese wanted the war to end immediately and were ready to enter ibto peace talks. But they wanted a North Vietnam, Nixon demanded 100% Communist withdrawal from a unified Vietnam.
The Chinese were going to give him this if he win reelection, since they knew hewould be able to do whatever he wanted with no political risk. He planned this.
The problem is he was so worried about all the lives being for nothing and a North Korea 2 existing that he approved all the shady shit including Eatergate to ensure he’d be elected. Turns out he didn’t need to do any of it to win by a landslide, but doing it cost him both the presidency and even having a South Vietnam.
That’s the tragedy of Vietnam. Nixon was a political mastermind who fucking failed because he was worried about taking a chance.
He pulled a Thanos/Palpatine, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
