Nixon did not immediately implement any plan to step out of the war because he felt it was politically impossible (“Vietnamization”). Pulling out of the war was contrary to the domino theory. Up until this point the United States had never lost a war. Losing the war and risking his chance of reelection was what Nixon was trying to avoid at all costs (Hughes). Despite his policy of Vietnamization, it is questionable whether Nixon actually wanted the war to end because it created a strong platform to run on for reelection (Schultz). If he were to lose the war, something America was not used to, then people might not re-elect him. If he promised to end the war he had a …show more content…
This was a result of “the antiwar protests [which] forced Nixon to pull the American troops” out of Vietnam (Sheehan 751). This was successful, but it did not completely end US involvement in the war. Even though troops were being sent home, the bombing in Vietnam increased and troops were sent into Cambodia. The campaign backfired and resulted in the Khmer Rouge rising to power. This resulted in the Cambodian Genocide, in which one-third of the Cambodian population was killed. This led to the population losing trust in Nixon. Nixon told the public that he wanted to end the war yet continued to bomb the North ("Khmer Rouge"). Nixon was not honest with the general public and this was a part of his