In the period during and immediately after the Vietnam War, the United States’ government reached one of its lowest points in terms of popularity and trust amongst the American people. Outraged by the destruction, loss of life, and failure in Vietnam, this shocking defeat and widespread public backlash led U.S. policymakers to recognize that there had been a massive failure in our country’s foreign policy regarding containment. Realizing the U.S. had overextended itself in a country that our government had little knowledge of, policymakers understood the need to reexamine and revise the United States’ strategies of containment. This change would come in 1968 with the election of President Nixon and his subsequent appointment of Henry Kissinger
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However, now, there was evidence to support these concerns and just cause to make an adjustment. As was previously mentioned, public support was declining rapidly, and the Nixon administration knew a change needed to be made. Given the failure of NSC-68, the reasonable response from Nixon and Kissinger was to reverse U.S. policy back towards Kennan’s containment strategy, which would appease the concerns of the public and allow for some sense of order and restraint amongst international powers. The Nixon-Kissinger strategy was positioned around the belief that while the world is bipolar militarily (between the U.S. and Soviet Union), it was becoming increasingly multi-polar politically, where the biggest challenge for the U.S. would be adapting to this new international system (lecture). In Nixon and Kissinger’s opinion, this new international power structure meant that the U.S. needed to change how it interacted with other countries. The U.S. could no longer support their actions based on ideology or perception. Essentially, the internal behavior of other countries or adversaries was no longer important, and powers would be dealt with in terms of foreign policy. . In order to accomplish this task, Nixon and Kissinger realized they needed shift in how the U.S. viewed its interest. Previously, the U.S. had allowed for threats to dictate its behavior and its interests. However, Nixon and Kissinger planned to change the definition of our national interest. Rather than base foreign policy off Soviet threats or commitments to its allies, Nixon and Kissinger wanted U.S. interests to focus solely on what was important to and what directly impacted the United States. In doing so, Nixon and Kissinger hoped to establish a stable international order where all countries would behave in accordance with all legitimate states. To create this equilibrium among states, Nixon and
However, now, there was evidence to support these concerns and just cause to make an adjustment. As was previously mentioned, public support was declining rapidly, and the Nixon administration knew a change needed to be made. Given the failure of NSC-68, the reasonable response from Nixon and Kissinger was to reverse U.S. policy back towards Kennan’s containment strategy, which would appease the concerns of the public and allow for some sense of order and restraint amongst international powers. The Nixon-Kissinger strategy was positioned around the belief that while the world is bipolar militarily (between the U.S. and Soviet Union), it was becoming increasingly multi-polar politically, where the biggest challenge for the U.S. would be adapting to this new international system (lecture). In Nixon and Kissinger’s opinion, this new international power structure meant that the U.S. needed to change how it interacted with other countries. The U.S. could no longer support their actions based on ideology or perception. Essentially, the internal behavior of other countries or adversaries was no longer important, and powers would be dealt with in terms of foreign policy. . In order to accomplish this task, Nixon and Kissinger realized they needed shift in how the U.S. viewed its interest. Previously, the U.S. had allowed for threats to dictate its behavior and its interests. However, Nixon and Kissinger planned to change the definition of our national interest. Rather than base foreign policy off Soviet threats or commitments to its allies, Nixon and Kissinger wanted U.S. interests to focus solely on what was important to and what directly impacted the United States. In doing so, Nixon and Kissinger hoped to establish a stable international order where all countries would behave in accordance with all legitimate states. To create this equilibrium among states, Nixon and