![]() Nixon's hawkishness on the Vietnam conflict during 1964-66 has been largely ignored by students of the war.(2) Given Nixon's role in the denouement of the war-and indeed in America's involvement in Southeast Asia during virtually the entire period from Dien Bien Phu in 1954 to the fall of Saigon in 1975-an understanding of Nixon's views during the years preceding his election seems critical to a complete understanding of Nixon's presidential decisions on Vietnam. Thus, Nixon should be held at least partially responsible for the situation he confronted on his inauguration he helped to create it. As a respected voice in foreign affairs and as arguably the Republican Party's leading spokesman on Vietnam, Nixon forced the administration to acknowledge and respond to his rhetoric, which spurred Johnson to greater involvement in the war. Indeed, during his years "in the wilderness" as a private citizen following his defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election, Nixon consistently criticized Johnson's Vietnam policy. Yet, Nixon was being too modest by assigning responsibility for the war in Vietnam to the Johnson administration alone. Johnson.(1) Admittedly, the United States faced an increasingly difficult situation in Vietnam at the time of Nixon's election. Upon ascending to the presidency in January 1969, Richard Nixon commented that he had inherited a war not of his making from his predecessor, Lyndon B.
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