 In response to events in Cambodia , President Nixon believed that there were distinct possibilities for a U.S. response . With Sihanouk gone , conditions were <unk> for strong measures against the Base Areas . He was also adamant that some action be taken to support " The only government in Cambodia in the last twenty @-@ five years that had the <unk> to take a pro @-@ Western stand . " The president then solicited proposals for actions from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and MACV , who presented him with a series of options : a naval quarantine of the Cambodian coast ; the launching of South Vietnamese and American airstrikes ; the expansion of hot pursuit across the border by ARVN forces ; or a ground invasion by ARVN , U.S. forces , or both . 
