The Impact of Richard Nixon on the Cold

The Impact of Richard Nixon on the Cold War OBJECTIVES: 1) IDENTIFY NIXON’S KEY DECISIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES 2) EXPLAIN THE APPROACH TAKEN BY NIXON TO THE COLD WAR 3) EVALUATE NIXON’S SUCCESS’ AND FAILURES

Who was Richard Nixon? Richard Nixon’s best known contributions to the Cold War were his roles in détente and ending the Vietnam conflict. However, he was an unlikely architect for both. Nixon had played in important part in Cold War politics long before his Presidency, both as a Republican Representative and Senator from 1947 -52, and then as Eisenhower’s Vice-President from 1953 -61. In all of these roles, Nixon had been instrumental in building a hard line against communism and the USSR in American foreign policy, and in internal affairs. He did much to develop the modern role of the Vice-President, being given important foreign policy assignments by Eisenhower, who relied on his greater political experience in many matters. He visited both Hanoi and Saigon as part of a tour of Asia, and was impressed by the industrial potential of French Indochina, and this therefore made him an unlikely President to negotiate American withdrawal from Vietnam later in his career.

Why did Nixon pursue détente? Although Nixon had built his career on hawkish rhetoric, his successful Presidential campaign in 1968 was built on the goal of “Peace with Honour” in Vietnam. To Americans, the end of the costly conflict was the foremost issue of the day, and Nixon was pragmatic enough not to let ideology prevent him from taking a popular stance. Once elected, together with his advisor, Henry Kissinger, Nixon pursued détente on many fronts, in contrast to his earlier stance. The reasons for this are varied. Kissinger was particularly aware of the recovery and growth of Europe and Japan following the Second World War China had firmly established itself as a major Cold War player The US and USSR were no longer the only nations significant enough to affect the Cold War, and this was not widely appreciated in the US.

Nixon and Kissinger brought a new perspective to negotiating with the USSR. They chose to regard it as an ordinary state with reasonable national goals and interests. This meant avoiding open and bombastic ideological criticism of communism, and expecting the USSR to refrain from it as well. However, aside from their disdain for “ideology”, Nixon and Kissinger were perhaps a surprising mix. Nixon was, as Robert Schulzinger puts it, “uncomfortable with most people. ” His hatred of elected office-holders, foreign affairs officials, members of the public who expressed political opinions and permanent government officials was well noted. As Nixon was once quoted: "we've checked and found that 96% of the bureaucracy are against us; they're bastards who are here to screw us. “ Kissinger was highly personable, maintained excellent relationships with journalists and had written extensively for the Council on Foreign Relations (an institution Nixon particularly despised). Kissinger preferred to work behind the scenes. Despite this, they developed a highly personal relationship, and became indispensable to one another. Pause for Thought: Are there any aspects of Nixon and Kissinger’s approach or relationship which seem immediately advantageous?

Linkage Unsurprisingly, Nixon and Kissinger found little use for ideology in international relations. Kissinger was sometimes frustrated by the American public's insistence on moral doctrine as a basis for international relations. He perceived a generation gap in Americans - those who had lived through and served in World War Two believed that unchecked aggression could not be allowed. Younger Americans however, were coming to deeply oppose the use of American power, particularly in Vietnam. In détente, Kissinger did not believe arms control by itself was the critical issue. Kissinger perceived relations to be more like a web of connected problems and agendas, of which arms control was only a component. Only improved overall relations could bring about arms control and other desirable outcomes from detente. Nonetheless, Nixon and Kissinger were compelled by the American mind-set to place arms control front and centre of negotiations. Behind the scenes, Kissinger aimed to place the issue in a web of mutual interest - e. g. grain supply. This was known as "linkage. "

The Limits of Linkage Pause for Thought: "Peace with Honour" in Vietnam was among the most critical objectives for the Nixon administration. It was hoped that "linkage" and better overall relations might lead to the USSR applying pressure on North Vietnam to come to a peace agreement which would be acceptable in the US. This proved to be too much to hope for - the USSR did not press North Vietnam hard to reach an agreement, and furthermore the North Vietnamese also enjoyed the backing of the PRC - the USSR's rival for leadership of the communist world. How might this setback have affected Nixon and Kissinger’s thinking about détente?

Triangular Diplomacy Though the Sino-Soviet rivalry blocked an important goal for Nixon and Kissinger in the failure to produce a satisfactory peace agreement in Vietnam, it did work in their favour in other ways. Kissinger visited Beijing in 1971, paving the way for Nixon's famous visit in 1972. As well as building the rapprochement between the US and the PRC, it also alarmed the USSR leading to expanded US-USSR detente. “Triangular Diplomacy” was an evolution in Cold War relations. It demonstrated and recognised China’s increased significance, and moved the US away from its increasingly obsolete position of simply not accepting the PRC’s existence in diplomatic terms. Nixon and Kissinger succeeded in moving further away from the dangers of confrontations. They sometimes made unexpected and dramatic breakthroughs, but their methods - shutting out professional diplomats and government officials who were supposed to be in charge of foreign affairs - also left them without crucial support when detente was criticised.

The Back Channel Soon after Nixon's inauguration, Kissinger informed the Soviet ambassador, Anatoly Dobrynin, that Nixon wanted to conduct business with the USSR personally through a secret "back channel. " The USSR were very receptive to this means of communication, cutting out what was often a confusing process of dealing with the many levels of the US government, and establishing the kind of authority-based relationship that the Soviets were used to. Advantages for Nixon and Kissinger - control over foreign policy, secrecy, and enabled them to make dramatic announcements which captured public attention. Disadvantages - it was far too personal; By ignoring and undermining the State Department, Nixon and Kissinger lost out on important advice. Nixon was accused of signing flawed agreements. Secrecy also made building support for their policies difficult.

Agreement All crucial detente agreements during Nixon's presidency were heavily influenced by the back channel. When trying to reach agreement in the SALT talks, it was Kissinger and Dobrynin that made the "conceptual breakthrough" that ABM's be separated from the rest of the SALT talks, leading to the signing of both in 1972. In the run-up to the Moscow summit of 1972, Kissinger bypassed the American and Soviet negotiating teams entirely to hammer out details with Dobrynin, Foreign minister Gromyko and Brezhnev. At the summit itself, Nixon insisted he personally negotiate the final outstanding details. He was coached by Kissinger and the two agreed that at no stage would they challenge the USSR's human rights record.

Success Pause for Thought: To what extent do Nixon and Kissinger deserve credit for SALT I? Though SALT was always going to take the headlines in Moscow, the climate of cooperation also produced agreements on pollution, medicine, science, technology and space exploration. Crucially, the agreement to convene a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was reached, paving the way for what would become the Helsinki Final Act. The statement of Basic Principles" which committed each power to the principle of "peaceful coexistence" was also reached. However, some of these agreements, though appearing successful at the time, helped pave the way for the downfall of detente.

Reaction The meetings in Moscow solidified Nixon's reputation as a master statesman, who had grown far beyond his anticommunist origins to usher in a new era of stability and peace. However, significant opposition to Nixon's detente did grow. Kissinger had thought the statement of Basic Principles to be a symbolic gesture, yet its emphasis on equality led to a backlash of criticism in the US. There was congressional opposition to SALT's allowance of Soviet superiority in some areas. The commitment to the European conference, though innocuous at first, later produced fierce opposition in the United States.

Nixon in Decline Despite the opposition from some quarters, Detente remained popular in 1972. Further agreements on World War II debts, shipping, tax and grain purchases followed. In October 1972, the bilateral trade agreement was signed which included a promise of Most Favoured Nation status to the Soviet Union, meaning it would be able to purchase from and sell to the United States with the minimum possible tariffs. Congressional approval was needed for MFN status, and Senator Henry Jackson, a key opponent of the agreement, attached an amendment which stated the USSR would have to allowed free emigration of its citizens to receive MFN status. This particularly related to Jewish citizens who were suffering anti-Semitism as a result of Israel's conflict with neighbouring, Sovietbacked Arab states. The USSR furiously cancelled the deal, signalling a key setback for Nixon and Kissinger. Pause for Thought: What weaknesses does this incident demonstrate in Nixon’s administration?

Watergate and the End The Watergate Scandal, implicating Nixon in the cover-up of election fraud, began before his re-election in 1972, however it was only through the efforts of investigative journalists that his involvement was finally proved in 1974. Nixon was forced to resign the office of President, and his successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him the following month. In some ways, the scandal reflects Nixon's approach to many key issues, including the Cold War. He had stepped outside the structure of the American government, the principles upon which it was supposed to conduct itself and indeed outside of the law to achieve his aims. His contribution to the Cold War was highly significant, doing more than any other US President to reduce tension with the USSR. The agreement to the negotiations which led to the Helsinki Final Act set in motion a chain of events which destroyed Soviet-style communism, whilst he did much to defuse tensions which he had been a major part of building earlier in his career. However, at all stages, he and Kissinger sought to achieve aims which were their own first and foremost, rather than building genuine cooperation, and neither sought to eliminate the Cold War entirely. Pause for Thought: How important was Richard Nixon to the development of the Cold War?