President Johnson's Presidential Doctrine

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A presidential doctrine can be defined as a set of principles, actions or ideological philosophies adopted by a president in order to make it easier for him/her to advance the governance of the country. In the United States, a presidential doctrine consists of the president’s key goals, attitudes and stances when it comes to foreign affairs (foreign policy). Throughout the history of the United States, majority of the presidential doctrines adopted by different presidents have been related to the Cold War, or rather the handling the U. S. diplomacy. Essentially, each president established his doctrine with the main aim of differentiating his leadership from that of his predecessors, and more so as dictated by the events that market the tenure. …show more content…

First, he decided to allocate more military resources as a ways of increasing the US military involvement in Vietnam; guided by the established policy regarding the containment of communist rule. However, before the election of Johnson as the president, the United States had established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1950. During President Johnson’s tenure, the USS Maddox (DD-731) was attacked by the Northern Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in 1964, and this ruined their diplomatic …show more content…

As a matter of fact, the improving relationship has been evidenced by the launch of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership by President Obama in 2013. According to <…….>, the partnership was designed to emphasize the commitment by the US to bolster the Asia-Pacific rebalance, and more importantly the U.S.-Vietnam relations by advancing key initiatives that include trade, science and technology, defense and security, and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.