Vietnamization (1969)
Vietnamization was a policy put forward by President Nixon in an effort to satisfy the demands of the American people. They were fed up with American troops being in Vietnam, and the policy was to remove 25,000 troops from Vietnam and then another 50,000 later on that year. Nixon was very afraid that this would cause a North Vietnamese victory so 2 things happened. First, Nixon suggest a Southern Vietnamese draft. This draft would make all men between 17 and 49 fight in the war. The second was the Madman Theory. This was where Nixon had his Chief Negotiator go to the treaty signing in France and say that Nixon had become mad with his hatred towards North Vietnam and Communism. and was going to approve the use of nuclear weapons on Vietnam. After what was seen in World War Two, this theory certainly made an impact. The Madman Theory was also used to make other foreign powers think that Nixon was a madman, and they would be afraid to provoke the United States.