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Vietnam War
Main articles: Vietnam War, Vietnamization, and Role of the United States in the Vietnam War
Nixon delivers an address to the nation about the incursion in Cambodia
When Nixon took office, about 300 American soldiers were dying each week in Vietnam,[150] and the war was widely unpopular in the United States, the subject of ongoing violent protests. The Johnson administration had offered to suspend bombing unconditionally in exchange for negotiations, but to no avail. According to Walter Isaacson, Nixon concluded soon after taking office that the Vietnam War could not be won, and he was determined to end it quickly.[151] He sought an arrangement that would permit American forces to withdraw while leaving South Vietnam secure against attack.[152]
Nixon approved a secret B-52 carpet bombing campaign of North Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge positions in Cambodia beginning in March 1969 and code-named Operation Menu, without the consent of Cambodian leader Norodom Sihanouk.[153][154][155] In mid-1969, Nixon began efforts to negotiate peace with the North Vietnamese, sending a personal letter to their leaders, and peace talks began in Paris. 