Vietnamization

American  

[vee-et-nuh-muh-zey-shuhn, vyet-, vee-it-] / viˌɛt nə məˈzeɪ ʃən, ˌvyɛt-, ˌvi ɪt- /

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.

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Vietnamization British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of Vietnamization

First recorded in 1965–70; Vietnam + -ization

Example Sentences

He oversaw the effort to withdraw U.S. troops gradually while building South Vietnam’s military into a force that could support itself, a policy he called Vietnamization.

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2016

Laird coined the term "Vietnamization" in 1969 to describe a policy of enlarging, equipping and training the forces of U.S. ally South Vietnam to fight the forces of Communist North Vietnam.

From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2016

Above all, if tasked with giving some version of Vietnamization another go, what did U.S. forces need to do differently to ensure a different result?

From Salon • Oct. 14, 2015

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, of course, and there were “Easy Rider,” the Stonewall riots, “Abbey Road,” Vietnamization and Arpanet, a precursor to the Internet.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2014

Why was the pace of Nixon’s Vietnamization so agonizingly slow?

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin