Richard M. Nixon's Global Strategy

Richard M. Nixon's global strategy was set in its essentials in the opening days of his presidency, though his major foreign-policy coup, the opening of China to the West, would come much later. Nixon's strategy was based on an anti-communist posture that would vacillate between containment, detente, and certain other overarching global approaches, on developing and enhancing American power in the world, and on opening communication among nations to further the interests of peace and the United States. No matter what Nixon did, however, his actions in global terms were tainted long before Watergate by the continuing and seemingly intractable problem of Vietnam.

Every president is faced with the need for an agenda on the domestic front and one on the foreign policy front. When Nixon entered the White House, the most important element on the foreign policy front was the Vietnam War, and domestically this war was having a major role as well, contributing to the general unrest in the country and to a public perception of growing lawlessness and anarchy. Nixon was forced to approach foreign policy from a position he would have opposed had he had any real choice: "It was Richard Nixon's fate that he had to preside over the retreat of American power. He hated it" (Ambrose 252). Left entirely to his own devices, Nixon would have followed the idea of increased armament, increased firepower, and the use of that firepower in taking the offensive against the Communists. When he

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cribed his views by setting up two opposing possibilities and then by offering a third. He rejected both the idea of arms control separate from any progress on political settlement and the idea of no SALT agreement until there was some progress on political settlements, such as in Vietnam. The middle course Nixon described as follows: What I want to do it to see to it that we have strategic arms talks in a way and at a time that will promote, if possible, progress on outstanding political problems at the same time" (Ambrose 252). This was the policy that came to be known as linkage, a policy of obtaining Soviet concessions in other areas before gaining American participation in SALT, and it as based on Nixon's belief that the Soviets needed the talks more than the U.S. did. In an analysis of Nixon's first year in office, Congressional Quarterly found that Nixon came into office facing two overriding problems, one foreign and one domestic--the war in Vietnam and the inflationary growth of the economy: Against this backdrop, Mr. Nixon during 1969 was faced with the difficulties inherent in turning campaign slogans and promises into real policies, programs and proposals. He had to restaff the top echelons of the Governmen

Category: Government - R