Vietnamization
Transferring war responsibility
Vietnamization was the Nixon administration's strategy during the Vietnam War to transfer combat responsibility from American forces to the South Vietnamese military.
The policy aimed to reduce U.S. troop levels while continuing material support: Vietnamization allowed Nixon to withdraw soldiers while claiming progress.
The term has since been applied to similar strategies of shifting military burden to local forces: Critics warned against Vietnamization of the conflict in Afghanistan.
37th U.S. president
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- troop withdrawalRemoval of armed forces
- de-escalationReducing conflict intensity
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
handover · empowerment · training · equipping · military aid · advisory role · pacification · counterinsurgency
Decreasing military personnel numbers
- pulloutOrganized departure or removal
- disengagementWithdrawal from involvement
- de-AmericanizationReducing U.S. cultural dominance
- redeploymentRelocating resources or personnel
drawdown · exit strategy · demobilization · departure · retreat · evacuation · Fall of Saigon · Paris Peace Accords
Coordinated 1968 guerrilla assault
- VietcongVietnamese communist insurgents
- Ho Chi MinhVietnamese nationalist leader
- SaigonFormer Vietnamese capital
- guerrillaIrregular armed fighter
combat · escalation · napalm · firefight · ambush · artillery · infantry · battalion
Fitting to new conditions
- indigenizationAdapting to native practices
- nationalizationGovernment acquisition of industry
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
cultural adaptation · nation-building · autonomy · self-governance · decolonization · local ownership · transition · empowerment
Nixon
37th U.S. president
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- troop withdrawalRemoval of armed forces
- de-escalationReducing conflict intensity
self-sufficiency · handover · empowerment · training · equipping · military aid · advisory role · pacification · counterinsurgency · Laird
troop reduction
Decreasing military personnel numbers
- pulloutOrganized departure or removal
- disengagementWithdrawal from involvement
- de-AmericanizationReducing U.S. cultural dominance
redeployment · drawdown · exit strategy · demobilization · departure · retreat · evacuation · Fall of Saigon · Paris Peace Accords · ceasefire
Tet Offensive
Coordinated 1968 guerrilla assault
- VietcongVietnamese communist insurgents
- Ho Chi MinhVietnamese nationalist leader
- SaigonFormer Vietnamese capital
guerrilla · combat · escalation · napalm · firefight · ambush · artillery · infantry · battalion · platoon
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
- indigenizationAdapting to native practices
- nationalizationGovernment acquisition of industry
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
sovereignty · cultural adaptation · nation-building · autonomy · self-governance · decolonization · local ownership · transition · empowerment
Vietnamizationescalation
Progressive increase in intensity
Americanization · troop surge · military buildup · buildup · foreign intervention