Reckless: Henry Kissinger and the Tragedy of Vietnam by Robert K. Brigham

Author:Robert K. Brigham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 20th Century, Diplomacy, Geopolitics, History, International Relations, Military, Military Policy, Political Science, Public Policy, Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2018-09-04T03:00:00+00:00

At the beginning of 1971, Kissinger had believed that he could persuade Hanoi into meaningful negotiations to end the war ahead of the 1972 US presidential election. He thought he could entice Hanoi to agree to a timely end to the war and the return of American prisoners in exchange for allowing North Vietnamese troops to remain in South Vietnam and by granting political legitimacy to the southern Communists. But Hanoi wanted more, and its leaders thought that they could force further Kissinger concessions because of US domestic political pressure to end the war and loss of life. It was clear to North Vietnamese negotiators that the US national security adviser’s position on Thieu was also collapsing in 1971. He no longer insisted on political guarantees for the South Vietnamese government, only that the United States not be the ones to replace Saigon. Hanoi had to do that on its own and after the eventual US withdrawal, Kissinger insisted. But Hanoi smelled growing weakness in his negotiating position in 1971. His strategic blunder of supporting the invasion of Laos, thus exposing Vietnamization’s weaknesses, further convinced the North Vietnamese that Kissinger’s time to shape an agreement to his liking was running short. Time favored Hanoi as the United States faced another presidential election year in 1972 and the political pressures that went with it.

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