[Jedidah]

Nixon campaigned on that same promise in 1968, saying that he had a "secret plan," but didn't get around to actually pulling troops out until the fall of '72. It was the October surprise of the 1972 election. That's four years of death in Vietnam under his watch.

I've wondered if Kerry got his "I have a plan" strategy from Nixon '68. Thank goodness it didn't work twice.

[neverdem]

Nixon campaigned on that same promise in 1968, saying that he had a "secret plan," but didn't get around to actually pulling troops out until the fall of '72. It was the October surprise of the 1972 election. That's four years of death in Vietnam under his watch.

May 14, 1969 - During his first TV speech on Vietnam, President Nixon presents a peace plan in which America and North Vietnam would simultaneously pull out of South Vietnam over the next year. The offer is rejected by Hanoi.

June 8, 1969 - President Nixon meets South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu at Midway Island and informs him U.S. troop levels are going to be sharply reduced. During a press briefing with Thieu, Nixon announces "Vietnamization" of the war and a U.S. troop withdrawal of 25,000 men.

June 27, 1969 - Life magazine displays portrait photos of all 242 Americans killed in Vietnam during the previous week, including the 46 killed at 'Hamburger Hill.' The photos have a stunning impact on Americans nationwide as they view the once smiling young faces of the dead.

July 1969 - President Nixon, through a French emissary, sends a secret letter to Ho Chi Minh urging him to settle the war, while at the same time threatening to resume bombing if peace talks remain stalled as of November 1. In August, Hanoi responds by repeating earlier demands for Viet Cong participation in a coalition government in South Vietnam.

July 8, 1969 - The very first U.S. troop withdrawal occurs as 800 men from the 9th Infantry Division are sent home. The phased troop withdrawal will occur in 14 stages from July 1969 through November 1972.

There were over 500,000 U.S. troops in and around South Vietnam in June 1969. Were we supposed to just pack up and leave, handing a victory to the communist after taking 30,000 dead for nothing? How would you have arranged a withdrawal from an ally in the South East Asia Treaty Organization during the Cold War? How old are you?

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Nixon campaigned on that same promise in 1968, saying that he had a "secret plan," but didn't get around to actually pulling troops out until the fall of '72. It was the October surprise of the 1972 election. That's four years of death in Vietnam under his watch.

"Nixon claims secret plan" is a MSM storyline. The mists of time dim the actual Nixon statement, but "I have a secret plan" is not something that Nixon actually said. It would be quite interesting to see the actual quote, in light of the perspective of history.

As Stein notes, if Nixon hadn't been taken out by Watergate, and had been able to enforce the Paris peace accord, millions of people would not have been killed who in fact were killed. "Four years of death under his watch" looks a little different in that context. At least to me.