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=__**Henry Kissinger:**__= Date: January 1976 Location: White House

Did the United States win or lose the Vietnam War?
__Background Information__ Henry Kissinger was the National Security Advisor and Secretary of State to President Nixon. During the Vietnam War, he helped implement the policy of Vietnamization that would allow U.S. troops to return home, and enable the South Vietnamese army to defend itself. He worked with North Vietnamese Politburo Member Le Duc Tho in negotiating the ceasefires in Vietnam (Henry). They both received the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in the negotiations, but Tho refused his because he did not believe that there actually was peace.

__Answer to Question__ Kissinger did not believe the U.S. won the war, and although he helped negotiate the ceasefires, these proved ineffective as the peace did not last. He believed that the military battles in Vietnam were meaningless, unless "they brought about a political reality that could survive our ultimate withdrawal," meaning that the battles were pointless unless they led to stability that lasted after the U.S. left Vietnam (Henry). He also thought the U.S. objective of preserving an independent and democratic South Vietnam was not possible; that the enemy was unwilling to bend (AP).

__Describe the criticisms of American society the individual or group made and what goals they hoped to achieve.__ - As previously stated, Kissinger believed that the Vietnam War was a pointless war. His criticism of the American society was mainly that the reasons behind the Vietnam War were not just, and that it was unwinnable from the start. - He said how "steadfast" the North Vietnamese were in their goal of unifying the North and South, and that while America wanted compromise, the North Vietnamese wanted victory. They were not just going to give up (AP).

- One goal was to negotiate peace in Vietnam, and this worked briefly, but then the NVA broke the peace agreements and attacked and took over South Vietnam. - His main goal was to devise an option to provide a way out of Vietnam for the U.S., but this did not work, since it left South Vietnam vulnerable, which eventually led to the North Vietnamese takeover.

__Explain the methods the person or group used to share their message. Be sure to provide examples.__ - Kissinger shared his message by working with President Nixon to implement policies to end the war in Vietnam and bring about peace. - Kissinger also worked with others on the Paris Peace accords, which was an agreement that would put in place a ceasefire, and also begin the withdraw of American troops (Paris).

__Discuss the intent to which the goals and methods used by the individual or group were practical in this time period.__ Kissinger did manage to help negotiate a ceasefire peace agreement, which lasted a little while, but then the NVA broke the agreement, so his goal did not completely work. It did work partially though, because his policy of Vietnamization helped greatly in getting American troops out of Vietnam. However it didn't work because North Vietnam attacked anyway. So, it was practical because it brought U.S. troops home, but was not because it failed to keep the peace.

__Evaluate the successes the individual or group had in promoting their position.__ As previously stated, Kissinger's main success was bringing many of the Americans home from Vietnam. He worked hard to create peace, and although he did not actually succeed, his views were similar to many other people also protesting the war, and they used these arguments to further support their ideas.
 * __Works Cited__**

AP. "Henry Kissinger: Vietnam Failures 'We Did To Ourselves'" //The Huffington Post//. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. [].

"Henry Kissiger." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 01 May 2012. [].

"Paris Peace Accords." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 01 May 2012. [].