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The Nixon Doctrine of 1969

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The Nixon Doctrine of 1969
Kerri Richards
POL 300
November 11, 2012
Revision made 12/9/12

The Nixon Doctrine was an American foreign policy set forth by President Nixon in 1969. It was also known as the Guam Doctrine for the country in which it was announced.
The strategy of the Nixon Doctrine allowed Nixon to devise a way for the United States to exit that very unpopular conflict, the Vietnam War. It also stated that the United States would provide aid to its allies in times of need. A reassessment of American foreign policy, and a move to the era of negotiation was a must. Nixon needed to first extricate the country’s forces from Vietnam. Secondly, the country needed to ease the overall tension in Berlin and the Middle East. Thirdly, according to domestic ideological demands, and due to the increasingly threatening possibility of a surprise attack, nuclear arms controls had to be carried out. Removing these problems would remedy the damage done in such a period. The problem was to figure out how. The existent schools of diplomacy did not suggest a favorable method. Nixon’s foreign policy advisors decided not to stick on preceding principles or theories, but adhere to only one basic priority, National Interest. This doctrine tried to adjust the degree of U.S. intervention in various regions by adopting three criteria in its diplomatic decision:
- The United States would keep its treaty commitments
- The United States would "provide a shield if a nuclear power threatens the freedom of a nation allied with us or of a nation whose survival we consider vital to our security"
- In cases involving non-nuclear aggression, the United States would "look to the nation directly threatened to assume the primary responsibility of providing the manpower for defense"
The Nixon Doctrine stated that the United States would honor any existing treaty with a

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