When Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he began a policy of "Vietnamization" for the war. The term meant transferring the responsibility for fighting the war to the Vietnamese. He discussed it in a speech given in November, 1969.

The Vietnamization plan was launched following Secretary Laird's visit to Vietnam in March. Under the plan, I ordered first a substantial increase in the training and equipment of South Vietnamese forces.



In July, on my visit to Vietnam, I changed General Abrams' orders so that they were consistent with the objectives of our new policies. Under the new orders, the primary mission of our troops is to enable the South Vietnamese forces to assume the full responsibility for the security of South Vietnam.



In the months that followed, the number of US troops in Vietnam went down considerably. Nothing of the sort is going on in Iraq, so anyone using the term is either lying or talking out his ass.