Doctrine in Practice
Both Nixonians and Contrarians argue that the Guam Doctrine may have masked other needs, intentions, and motives. Nixon was president when a resolution of the Vietnam War was essentially mandatory due to growing public opinion in favor of withdrawal; A Gallup poll in May showed 56% of the public believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake. Of those over 50 years old, 61% expressed that belief, compared to 49% of those between 21 and 29 years old, even if tacit abandonment of the SEATO Treaty was ultimately required, resulting in a complete communist takeover of South Vietnam despite previous US guarantees.
US retreat from unconditional defense guarantees to lesser allies in general was driven as much by financial concerns as by policy re-examination of strategic and foreign policy objectives, reflected in Nixon's goals of detente and nuclear arms control with the Soviet Union, and establishment of formal diplomatic relations with Communist China. As a consequence of this shift, direct sales of weaponry to nations no longer under the nuclear umbrella of previous US security guarantees dramatically increased as US guarantees were withdrawn.
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