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Lobster, White Trash and the Blue Lagoon: Joe Queenan's America A
Tangled Web: The Making of Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency Half
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A WELCOME ANTIDOTE A
Tangled Web
Richard M. Nixon's progress from reviled "unindicted co-conspirator" to revered elder statesman is possibly the most remarkable political resurrection in American history. No less remarkable is the enduring reputation as a master of foreign policy that helped him achieve it: The deviousness and antipathy to democratic ideals exemplified by his conduct during Watergate notwithstanding, he is fondly remembered as the president who pulled America out of the Vietnam War, opened up China and established détente with the Soviets. But as William Bundy demonstrates in a penetrating analysis of Nixon's actions abroad, the record is decidedly mixed. Not only were some of his decisions disastrous--the covert bombing of Cambodia, which paved the way for Pol Pot's murderous regime, is the prime example--but his successes were often overrated. Détente was neither an unequivocal nor a lasting success, and Nixon ended American military involvement in Indochina only when forced by Congress. As the title suggests, his compulsion to deceive loomed large in his policymaking. As a critical appraisal of Nixon's strengths as well as his weaknesses, the book is a welcome antidote to the adoring reminiscences of his Gen-X hagiographer and former assistant Monica Crowley. Bundy was a senior foreign policy official in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and later the editor of the journal Foreign Affairs. His extensive experience and wide-ranging knowledge provide a welcome global perspective on what Americans tend to regard as their unilateral contributions to world history (a similar critique of the myth that it was Ronald Reagan who won the Cold War would be invaluable). More than just a close political analysis, A Tangled Web is a highly readable account of a crucial presidency. --James McQuillen |
originally published July 29, 1998