The most controversial aspect of his strategy was an effort to cut the Ho Chi Minh supply trail by secretly bombing North Vietnamese sanctuaries in Cambodia and invading that country and Laos. He also hoped to orchestrate Soviet and Chinese pressure on North Vietnam. Nixon provided the South Vietnamese army with new training and improved weapons and tried to frighten the North Vietnamese to the peace table by demonstrating his willingness to bomb urban areas and mine harbors. Insofar as he did have a plan to bring "peace with honor," it mainly entailed reducing American casualties by having South Vietnamese soldiers bear more of the ground fighting-a process he called "Vietnamization"-and defusing anti-war protests by ending the military draft.
About a third of the Americans who died in combat were killed during the Nixon presidency. Indeed, Richard Nixon presided over as many years of war in Indochina as did Johnson. In the 1968 election, Republican Richard Nixon claimed to have a plan to end the war in Vietnam, but, in fact, it took him five years to disengage the United States from Vietnam. Digital History Printable Version Nixon and Vietnam
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