A Lot of Nixon's Foreign Policy Was Terrible

There are many terrible things in Nixon’s record that Ramaswamy conveniently leaves out of the story.

Vivek Ramaswamy really likes Richard Nixon for some reason, and his glowing account of Nixon’s foreign policy record reflects that:

He formulated peace in the Middle East, while maintaining only the lightest-possible military footprint there. He declined to intervene in the subcontinental war between India and Pakistan, while still demonstrating naval deterrence. He got us out of Vietnam.

There are many terrible things in Nixon’s record that Ramaswamy conveniently leaves out of the story. The U.S. may not have directly intervened in the 1971 war, but it did throw its support behind a government that was busy committing genocide in Bangladesh. The U.S. didn’t end up joining the war, but Nixon was openly rooting for the aggressor in the conflict. As Gary Bass put it ten years ago, “Nixon and Kissinger stood stoutly behind Pakistan’s generals, supporting the murderous regime at many of the most crucial moments. This largely overlooked horror ranks among the darkest chapters in the entire cold war.” This is an example of the kind of foreign policy Ramaswamy wants the U.S. to have?