Vietnamization

[vee-et-nuh-muh-zey-shuhn, vyet-, vee-it-]

noun

1. a U.S. policy during the Vietnam War of giving the South Vietnamese government responsibility for carrying on the war, so as to allow for the withdrawal of American troops.

Vietnamization

/ ˌvjɛtnəmaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. (in the Vietnam War) a US government policy of transferring the tasks of fighting and directing the war to the government and forces of South Vietnam

Word History and Origins

Origin of Vietnamization¹

First recorded in 1965–70; Vietnam + -ization

Example Sentences

Publicly, they claimed they had to add four years to the war because it took that long for Vietnamization to work.

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When Nixon told America that Vietnamization would strengthen the South Vietnamese “so that they could defend themselves when we left,” he was lying.

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It also gave them a chance to declare Vietnamization a success before Election Day 1972, repackaging a policy of slow retreat and disguised defeat as if it were a triumph of strong, patient, steadfast leadership.

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If Saigon fell too soon after they withdrew, it would become all too obvious that they had lost the war, that Vietnamization failed, that they’d sent more than 20,000 American soldiers to their deaths in vain.

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It’s clear enough in hindsight that America fell into a trap with Vietnamization, employing ever more aggressive tactics and ever-larger amounts of ordnance and military hardware.

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