American History

The two speeches of Nixon on one hand and Kerry on the other share the same vision the end to the war in Vietnam.    Kerry, in portraying the growing hopelessness and senselessness of the conduct of war, would seem to agree with Nixon, who expressed just as much reluctance in having to write letters of condolences for mothers, wives and brothers.   However, while they agree on ending the conflict, they disagree on the methods.

Nixon, with a mix of empathy and reason, explained that the Americans cannot precipitately withdraw from combat in Vietnam.   The consequences would be devastating it would shake the resolve of Americas allies, demoralize the country, and encourage the aggression of her enemies.    Rather than pull them out immediately, he planned to gradually transition the conduct of the war from a largely American enterprise to a local South Vietnamese one.   In this way, the American withdrawal would be honorable, the fight against Communism would be maintained, and Americas allies would not lose trust in her.

In contrast, Kerry implied the need to withdraw America immediately.   Shifting much of the weight of his delivery to emotionthough he spoke with validityhe said that the war had gone on too long, and brutality on both sides had been committed.  While he acknowledged that the atrocities were committed by both parties, he stressed the gravity of the one committed by the US army.   He explained that the current US policy in Vietnam (Nixons Vietnamization) was inherently racist in nature.   Also by implication, he could care less who won the war it was a local civil war that America had and should have had nothing to do with.

President Nixon stressed on a mix of propaganda and reason, while Kerry stressed used the dehumanization of the war to stress his point.   Kerryin representing the perspective of the field soldiertalked of the moral considerations in the continuing conduct of the war Nixonin representing the perspective of the generaltalked of its moral as well as political one.   Both viewpoints are correct, and to take to account only one of them would distort the full truth of Vietnam.