Richard Nixon's Record in Foreign Policy - Essay Example

Among the presidents of the United s of America, the Richard Nixon rings a bell with something very unique to his tenure at the White House. Apart from the Watergate scandal, the period of his presidency from 1969-1974 also witnessed dramatic events. Many of these were a direct consequence of Nixon foreign policy. The movie titled Nixon was made in 1995 and stars Anthony Hopkins in the title characters role. The movie has received critical applause as it re-enacts the rise of Nixon to the presidency and the policy making that went on in the White House during his tenure. It also shows the life of the president and his wife and their addiction to medication owing to their ailments. The first part of the movie concentrates on the early part of Nixons life in Whittier, California. It also shows hi meeting his future wife, Pat Ryan. However, a major portion of the film concentrates on Nixons abuse of executive power in the White House and the influence that the related decisions have had both on foreign policy as well as on internal matters. Amongst American presidents, Nixon is shown as an unforgiving person who looks at himself as deeming himself responsible for correcting and directing the world order. Most importantly, the influence that Nixons policies that were made along with the then secretary of State, Henry Kissinger were aimed directly at the Cold war with the soviet union and were underlined to serve towards reducing the influence of soviet communism. Nixons record in foreign policy is something that demonstrated the crucial and sometimes hard decisions and the influence of radical elements within his government who drove him to take such decisions thereby pushing him initially to the edge by distraction until a point when it forced him to quit from his position have been clearly depicted in the movie. Nixons joining the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and then his service within the Department of Defense within the government of the United States signify his early involvement with American politics. The fact that he was involved in the deliberation of international security affairs and also as adviser for East Asian and Pacific affairs goes on to show his deep involvement in the framing of policies in foreign affairs and also ascertains his role in Asian politics, especially the ping pong diplomacy with China as well as the Indo-Pakistan conflict in 1971. Given the importance of the Secretary of state, the movie also covers extensively on the meetings between President Nixon and Henry Kissinger. The period when Nixon and Kissinger took charge of their respective positions is a critical period as it was a period involving many areas that needed immediate attention. The United States and the Soviet Union were at loggerheads over many issues such as Nuclear supremacy, Political beliefs as well as their respective supporters. The movie contains a mention that the world has previously witnessed the Cuban missile crisis, which showed that the Soviet Union was within striking distance of the United States. The fear caused by the incident is clearly visible as the cabinet discussions in the movie showed and many references to the crisis were made at several instances in the movie. The United States was also involved in a biter crisis in Vietnam and this was again an attempt to win over communist elements. The movie Nixon projects the title character as being highly respectful and reliant on the Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger in all policy matters and this is evident in his admiration for his stand against noted hard line senators especially Henry Jackson. The movie highlights the manner in which Kissinger adopted rear-guard action in tackling such issues. The movie shows many discussions during these times such as the criticism of Henry Kissingers appeasement on arms control. However, Nixon (film) does not show either the president or his secretary of state in good light and attempts to criticize the deeds of either of them. The movie shows the manner in which both continued to deceive the American public as well as the most powerful body of American Democracy namely the Congress. In fact, it was a result of the such deceptions that ultimately led them to make mistakes in policy making as they soon got more and more involved in covering their tracks. In fact, so many mistake s were made by the Nixon administration that it soon got so entangled that it became impossible for those involved to break free or set things right without paying the price. This is clearly shows in the movie, which emphasizes that Watergate (the Watergate scandal was the primary reason that compelled Nixon to resign from the post of president) was strangely not the main reason forcing Nixon out of office. In fact, the movie shows that the real reason was that the flawed policies aimed at bringing peace and justice to the American public had in fact been exploited, oversold and framed too much that it soon moved away from bringing any benefit to the public. In fact, it has been touted that the Nixon Administration used to keep three sets of directives namely misleading the common public, misleading the congress and misleading themselves. Nixon (film) shows that the 1970s was a period that saw a drop in the relations between the United States and the Eastern Bloc. Before, the goal of previous administrations were to fight the collective threat of communism. But, as the movie shows, China, which itself had a communist government at the center began to deter itself away from the soviet union. The border disputed between these communist giants peaked during the same time when the Nixon administration came to power. The movie depicts Nixon seeing this opportunity as an incredible opportunity to force the Soviet Union to a corner and in trying to achieve this, the Nixon government started to ally itself with the Chinese government. Just how desperate Nixon was at achieving this is clear when the movie depicts the secret visits undertaken by Kissinger to China in an effort to forge an alliance with the Chinese. In fact, the initiation of ping pong diplomacy is explicitly shown when the American table tennis team went to China to participate on a special invitation. The film shows the effects of the ping pong diplomacy when the advantage started to tilt towards the side of the Americans. However, it is evident that Nixon wanted to constrict the soviets until a certain limit behind which the only motive was to gain an upper hand and a better strategic advantage. After kissingers secret meetings, the movie shows Nixon making a personal visit to China and openly declaring that he favored and recognized a single china, thereby refraining from recognizing the existence of the republic of Taiwan. The extent to which the Nixon Administration used political might to gain an advantage in the cold war is also projected in the efforts played by the then US ambassador to the United Nations George W. Bushs efforts in convincing the member states in accepting communist China as a member under Nixons directions. Talks and efforts made in dealing with the nuclear arms race have also found space in the movie, though it was not shown as extensively as the rest. The might of the American Government was evident in this space as both China and the Soviet Union were forced to cut support to communist Vietnam and advice Hanoi to come to the negotiation table. However, the economic and military aid continued even during this period. As the preceding paragraphs have shown, Nixon-the film has covered the extensive involvement o the Nixon government to a great extent and it shows that foreign policy occupied a central role during his tenure. Among these, dealing with the cold war and using influence and power to affect decisions have been covered extensively. Read More