When he took office in 1969, the term that Richard Nixon embraced to describe his plan for ending the American war in Vietnam was Vietnamization, the process of withdrawing US troops and turning over responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese government. The concept had far reaching implications, both for understanding Nixons actions and for shaping U.S. military thinking years after Washingtons failure to ensure the survival of its client state in South Vietnam. In this book, Vietnam War expert David L. Anderson explores the political and strategic implications and assesses its continuing, significant impact on American post-Vietnam foreign policy.

David L. Anderson is Senior Lecturer in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School and Professor of History Emeritus at California State University, Monterey Bay. He is the author of 11 books, includingThe Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War (2002) andThe Columbia History of the Vietnam War (2011), both CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles.