ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the element of the Powell Doctrine that calls for a clear "exit strategy" for US forces. One of the fundamental flaws of US policy towards Vietnam, and one of the principal reasons why the Powell Doctrine was to insist upon a clearly defined "exit strategy" was because no-one at the time of the initial commitment of large-scale US troops to Vietnam. In July 1965 had considered the underlying weakness of South Vietnam as a nation, and no-one had seriously considered how this weakness might impact upon the length and depth of the US commitment to Vietnam. "Powell and Aspin had fought constantly about a number of issues, and Aspin had often seemed in the past like a man going round with a butcher knife to cut force levels". Added to this was the fact that Aspin had a rather relaxed style that tended to irritate the Military.
