Editing Nixon Doctrine (section)

==Background==
At the time of Nixon's [[First inauguration of Richard Nixon|first inauguration]] in January 1969, the United States had been engaged in combat in Vietnam for almost four years. The war had so far killed over 30,000 Americans and several hundred thousand Vietnamese.<ref>{{cite book|last=McNamara|first=Robert|title=In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam|date=1995|publisher=Times Books|page=321}}</ref> By 1969, U.S. public opinion had moved decisively to favoring ending the [[Vietnam War]];<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=57 |title = Commentary|date = 12 September 2010}}</ref> a [[Gallup, Inc.|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 ages 21 and 29, even if tacit abandonment of the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization|SEATO]] Treaty was ultimately required and caused a complete [[Communism|communist]] takeover of [[South Vietnam]] despite previous U.S. guarantees.<ref>Todd, Olivier. ''Cruel April: The Fall of Saigon''. W.W. Norton & Company, 1990. (originally published in 1987 in French)</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} Because Nixon campaigned for "[[Peace with Honor]]" in relation to Vietnam during the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]], ending the war became an important policy goal for him.