Originally Posted by Billybob

You are mischaracterizing what occurred; Nixon didn’t “finally pull the plug prior to resigning”! Nixon began removing the US from Vietnam as soon as he became president; it took some time to withdraw the ground combat troops in some “orderly” fashion, at the same time he strategically projected what power we had to increase pressure on the North Vietnamese to agree to some peaceful settlement. There was no easy way out of Vietnam once the democrats and the media decided the public did not possess the will to prevail, within the geopolitical reality of the day we probably could not have afforded a “Vietnamese Dunkirk or Gallipoli”. Nixon and Kissinger where absolutely brilliant in accomplishing what they did and how they did it when you consider the constraints and the possible alternative outcomes.

People talk about Nixon and his breakthrough opening to China, North Vietnam’s biggest supporter and defender. This was an essential element of achieving a peace agreement with North Vietnam.

“Accompanied by NSC staffers Winston Lord and John Negroponte, Kissinger met secretly in Beijing on June 20, 1972 with Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. Toward the conclusion of the four hour meeting Dr. Kissinger said to the Chinese, "And while we cannot bring a communist government to power, if, as a result of historical evolution it should happen over a period of time, if we can live with a communist government in China, we ought to be able to accept it in Indochina."

I've no lost love for Nixon the man, but to not give his and Kissinger's geopolitical understanding, insight and skill their due is foolish.