In the 1960s and 1970s, the most controversial war the United States had ever been involved in during its rich two-hundred year history would engulf the country, ultimately leading to the collapse of a president, and the division of a nation. The Vietnam War was a military struggle fought in Vietnam and neighboring countries from 1959-1975 involving the North Vietnamese and NLF (National Liberation Front) versus the United States and the South Vietnamese ("The Vietnam..."). In 1969, newly elected President Richard M. Nixon, aiming to achieve "peace with honor" in Vietnam, began to put his "Vietnamization" policy into place -- removing the number of American military personnel in the country and transferring combat roles to the South Vietnamese ("Speeches..."). But at the same time, Nixon resumed the secret bombing of North Vietnam and launched B-52 bombing raids over Cambodia, intending to wipe out NLF and North Vietnamese base camps along the border. The intensive secret bombing, codenamed Operation Menu, lasted for four years and was intentionally concealed from the American public; meanwhile, Nixon ordered the invasion of Cambodia by United States troops, arguing that it was necessary to protect the security of American units. This invasion into an allegedly neutral country was cause for much protest in the States, especially on college campuses such as Kent State University, where students rioted and held walk-outs. Ultimately, the secret bombing of neutral Cambodia was deliberately conducted without the consent of Congress, violating the articles outlined in the United States Constitution, and would have been grounds for impeachment had Nixon not resigned under the cloud of the Watergate scandal in August of 1974 ("Richard M. Nixon..."). Although President Nixon was cognizant that American troops withdrawing under his failed Vietnamization policy needed to be protected from the attacks of the North Vietnamese, his decision to continue the futile secret bombing of Cambodia not only escalated the war but also increased the political tension and social division in the United States.

Taking the oath of office in January of 1969, Nixon was thrown head-first into a war that was escalating quickly and, at the same time, infuriated many Americans who believed that it wasn't the nation's job to be world police. Now holding the reigns of the country, he was stuck in a Vietnam predicament -- his first decisions would be of utmost importance for the safety of our soldiers and for the well-being of the nation. Nixon had very few plausible options however. While a vocal sector of the public was clamoring for immediate withdrawal of troops, he understood that its disadvantages were too great -- not only would withdrawal compromise American credibility as a world power, he felt that it would also undermine his ability to negotiate with foreign powers during the remainder of his term (Bondi 237). Nuclear weapons were also not an alternative. We were still involved in the Cold War with the USSR -- if we opted to nuclear weapons, not only would we most likely end up instigating a World War III, we could not risk setting the precedent by using nuclear warfare to dictate world order (Bondi 237). Nixon's last choice, attempting to persevere for a conventional military victory in Vietnam, was a large risk to our troops and economy. According to the National Security Memorandum I, it would take an estimated 13.4 years to prevail, 8.3 years in the best case scenario. It was also clear that the public would not stand for another decade of casualties and bloodshed, making the conventional weapons and troops option even less practical. Considering his predicament in the White House, Nixon decided to revive former President Lyndon B. Johnson's plan of "Vietnamization" -- the gradual withdrawal of troops from Vietnam (Bondi 237).

Nixon's decision was rash and imprudent. He was so afraid to lose the war, and therefore lose part of America's status as a world superpower, that he failed to consider the consequences of transferring authority to the corrupt and unpopular Thieu regime. Nixon's decision was possibly one of the most practical options, but the politics behind it were unsound. In his speech to the nation on Cambodia on the 30th of April, 1970, Nixon stated "We will not be humiliated. We will not be defeated....I [don't want to see] America become a second-rate power and to see this nation accept the first defeat in its proud 190-year history" (Vassar, "President..."); now aware that we could not win in Vietnam, Nixon turned the war into a matter of national pride. Even though the objectives of the plan were coherent and cautious on paper, Nixon and his advisors failed to recognize the weaknesses of handing power to the South Vietnamese government of Nguyen Van Thieu. It was not a prudent decision to return authority to a weak and powerless political camp which had not been able to hold its own before receiving help from the United States; similarly it wasn't shrewd to give monetary loans to a government with a very corrupt inner circle (Bondi 238) -- most likely that was a political move to save face in the eyes of other nations, especially those with which we were allied or actively trading with. As we carried out the gradual withdrawal of troops, however, the North Vietnamese continued to attack; it was then that Nixon realized more drastic measures must be taken to assure the troops' safety (Bondi 238).

Instead of continuing to work with the South Vietnamese, Nixon made a decision that would eventually be used in the articles for his impeachment -- he decided, without the consent or knowledge of Congress, to start secret B-52 bombing raids on the neutral country of Cambodia, which the North Vietnamese might have been operating out of, to attack the withdrawing forces. As "...peace talks with the Communists stalled...[and the North Vietnamese] improved military presence in the south..." (Bondi 238), U.S. military intelligence reports suggested that there was a significant North Vietnamese Army base just inside the eastern border of Cambodia -- the Central Office for South Vietnam Headquarters, known as COSVN HQ -- which could possibly be the base for the offensive. General Creighton Abrahms, commander of United States forces in Vietnam, decided that we should to conduct a series of precision B-52 attacks to wipe out the base (Carvin, "Nixon's War..."). It would "be a more effective way [to limit the North Vietnamese from launching] offensive operations as the Americans withdrew..." (Bondi 238), but like every other option, there were risks involved -- not only for the war, but for Nixon's political career. Not only would he be extending war into an officially neutral country, doing so would break international law and could possibly be unconstitutional. In his own defense, Nixon argued that the Constitution wasn't an issue since Johnson had never formally declared war and that the North Vietnamese, by presumably operating out of Cambodia, had "...already violated Cambodian neutrality" (Bondi 238). The military pushed to eliminate COSVN HQ, and Nixon agreed; now it was a matter of execution.

The decision to bomb Cambodia, like the Vietnamization plan, hardly looked atypical at first, but by choosing to conceal something such as United States offensive military operations from the national public, Nixon set himself up for a huge backlash. Holding a breakfast meeting at the Pentagon, Nixon and his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, approved the bombings, codenamed Operation Menu. The first bombing strike would be known as Operation Breakfast (keeping with the theme, over the next four years Operations Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Dessert, and Supper followed, reflecting a rather supercilious attitude by the United States) and would occur on the 9th of March, 1969; approximately forty-eight square miles of Cambodian territory was carpet bombed by B-52 bombers (Carvin, "Nixon's War"). The greatest mistake by Nixon in this case was to allow the bombings to be kept secret from the American public -- even though the areas targeted were relatively remote and far from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, it was ridiculous to expect that word would not spread. Nevertheless, General Wheeler informed his staff: "In the event press inquiries are received following the execution of the Breakfast Plan as to whether or not U.S. B-52s have struck in Cambodia, U.S. spokesman will confirm that B-52s did strike on routine missions adjacent to the Cambodian border but state that he has no details and will look into the question" (Carvin, "Nixon's War..."). The strikes commenced in early March, 1969, and lasted for four years, for a final count of 3,630 raids total.

The bombing raids on Cambodia were a failure overall, as Nixon not only germinated political disorder and chaos in the neutral country, but lost much of the trust of the American public. As predicted, the bombings proved impossible to keep secret; "The New York Times reported on May 9, 1969, that 'knowledgeable sources' in the Nixon Administration...[had] disclosed for the first time that B-52s...attacked Vietnamese Communist base camps and supply depots in Cambodia...the secret bombing continued until the U.S. became openly engaged as a combatant in Cambodia..." (Kamm, "Confusion..."). Furthermore, the bombings themselves failed to stop supply shipments to the North Vietnamese Army (Bondi 239), and actually killed an estimated half-million Cambodians (ABC News, "Cambodia's..."). In addition, our bombings instigated a period of political disorder and chaos in Cambodia; after the bombings began, Prince Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown by the military and General Lon Nol in 1970. Unable to hold authority in the country, they sent it spiraling into anarchy. In the end, however, it was the Khmer Rouge, a Communist political and military group, who "saved" Cambodia and seized power in 1975, naming Pol Pot leader (Kamm, "Confusion..."). Ironically, our attempts to stop Communism from spreading through Southeast Asia only led to another domino toppling to Socialism.

As the United States' military involvement in Cambodia was revealed to the American public, the nation erupted in anti-war riots from coast to coast; one of the many which received national coverage was the May 4, 1970 massacre at Kent State University. "Students came out on the Kent State campus [with] scores of others to protest the bombing [and invasion] of CambodiaSome rocks were thrown, some windows were broken, and an attempt was made to burn the ROTC building" (Emerson College, "Mayday..."), at which point the National Guard was brought in to control the chaos. After their attempts to ward off the demonstrators with tear gas failed, the guard fired into the crowd, hitting thirteen, and killing four -- Alison Krause, Jeffery Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder. Even amongst the mass casualties in Vietnam, the four students became martyrs, fueling anti-war protests and calls to "Bring our boys home" (Emerson College, "Mayday..."). Each and every day that American troops were still active in Vietnam, social tensions between those who were pro-war and anti-war, the hawks and doves respectively, escalated. Back in Washington D.C., however, President Nixon was still dealing with the political backlash from his decision.

While the President's decision to enact the covert bombing raids was foolish, his judgment to conduct them without the consent or knowledge of the United States government was downright illegal. As noted in the pamphlets proposing his impeachment, "[Nixon] has usurped the war-making powers of Congress as in the bombing of neutral Cambodia, and he deliberately concealed the bombing from Congress and the people of the United States; and he...announced he would do so again under similar circumstances" (ACLU, "The First..."). Finally, in 1973, the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on the United States bombing of Cambodia; "Allegations [were] made that the Nixon Administration allowed bombing raids to be carried out during what was supposed to be a time when Cambodia's neutrality was officially recognized. As a result of the hearings, Congress order[ed] that all bombing in Cambodia cease effective at midnight, August 14 [1973]" (PBS, "The American...").

Although President Richard Nixon wanted to protect American soldiers withdrawing under his Vietnamization plan, the desperate measures he took to conduct secret bombing raids of North Vietnamese supply lines in neighboring countries not only led to anarchy and chaos in Cambodia, but, more importantly, to the division of the public and the downfall of the President. Nixon suffered great backlash from his impulsive decision -- he unconsciously laid the foundation for the Watergate Scandal, which would ultimately be the major grounds for his impeachment. Under the stress of keeping the operation surreptitious, "...Nixon ordered increased surveillance and illegal wiretaps of journalists and members of his own administration" (Bondi 239). But even more significantly, once the public knew about the purposely furtive bombings, an era of diminished trust in the government began. Although a great deal of information had been hidden from the public throughout history, this event initiated a new, ardent interest in government conspiracies and clandestine operations, as the public wondered what the government was hiding from them. America has, for centuries, gone to great lengths to preserve democracy, freedom, and capitalism across the world. But in the end, our attempt to bring democracy to North Vietnam and save democracy in South Vietnam not only failed overall, it ended up indirectly bringing Communism to Cambodia as well, causing yet another domino in Asia to topple.

The United States Bombing of Cambodia: ABC News. Cambodias Troubled History. <http://archive.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/cambodiatimeline709/index.html>
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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The First Pamphlet Proposing The Creation of Committees of Correspondence To Redeem the Constitution of the United States
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Bondi, Victor (ed.). American Decades 1970-1979. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1995.

Carvin, Andy. Nixons War: The American Bombing Begins. <http://edweb.gsn.org/sideshow/history/nixon.html> Accessed 1 March 2001.

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Kamm, Henry. Confusion in Cambodia: People Mystified as Direct U.S. Role Ends At a Time of Military Adversity. New York Times 15 August 1973.

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Vassar College. President Nixons Speech on Cambodia: April 30, 1970. <http://students.vassar.edu/~vietnam/doc15.html> Accessed 28 February 2001.