How was Nixon's Vietnam policy different from his predecessors?

Answer 1

LBJ hated the Vietnam War, it interferred with his "Great Society" plans, furthermore he didn't want to be the first US President to either start WWIII or lose a war! Consequently, he escalated the war slowly in the hopes that North Vietnam would "see the light" and stop fighting...after receiving partial elements of US FIREPOWER...a process called "escalating." LBJ knew full well that Red China had entered the Korean War in 1950 after the US invaded North Korea, therefore he would NOT invade North Vietnam. His process of a growing war, slowly began to destroy him, and his health began to erode, culiminating in his refusal to remain as commander in chief for another term.

Nixon was a fighter, bred from losing so many battles in the world of politics; commencing with his loss to JFK in 1960. Nixon was so battered, so toughened, so battle (political) experienced, he really didn't give a darn...he slyly engineered peace agreements with North Vietnam, Red China, and the Soviet Union...then sent mass waves of B52 Stratofortress bombers over the skies of North Vietnam and subjected them to maximum effort bombing! Nixon did "multi-tasking", he talked and bombed! Coupled with those bombings, he ordered invasions of Vietnam's neighboring countries Cambodia & Laos in 1970 & 1971; the '70 invasion erupted into violence in the US...the Kent State University shootings in Ohio on 04 May 1970. Nixon was on a mission! (And he succeeded!)

Answer 2

He organized a meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev