Latin America After the Yanquis Go Home

Extract

There is much lively speculation about the direction that United States foreign policy is taking under President Nixon's Administration. Many observers believe that Nixon's foreign policy is being directed toward disengagement. The arguments to support this thesis tend, however, to differ. Some say that the Vietnam war has led to internal frustration and has tended to demonstrate that the U.S. cannot indefinitely play the role of policeman to the world. Consequently, unless Washington drops its policy of intervention—so goes the argument— the national morale will be so eroded that the country will face serious internal political problems.