Triumph of Will - II

There was a growing feeling that the war was a blunder.

- BY SUBRATA MUKHERJEE AND SUSHILA RAMASWAMY

This feeling coupled with the Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation.

Isolationist forces were strengthened domestically and the US government was cautioned about any such involvement in future. The victory of Ho Chi Minh and his associates greatly boosted the morale of the communist world with the added strength of the Vietnamese army. However, both the Russian and the Chinese leadership were restrained in victory, with their desire to reduce international tension, which facilitated the process of détente, shifting the policy from containment. This became the cornerstone of US foreign policy from the 1970s till the collapse of communism in the 1990s.

The situation worsened and in 1968 Nixon won the election with a promise to end the war in Vietnam. However, Nixon continued with the bombing including North Vietnam with the aim of bringing the Communists to the negotiating table.

Ultimately a peace accord was signed between North Vietnam and the Americans which earned both Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho the Nobel Peace prize. But violations by both sides occurred frequently with the intensification of capturing control of rural areas between the North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese armies. The Accord was declared dead by South Vietnam in 1974. By the time Nixon signed the Accord it became clear that the war could not be won and a face-saving accord was the only option. When he assumed office in 1969, he was convinced about the need for a new approach as the US presence had become untenable.