In January 1969, Richard Nixon assumed the presidency and pledged to bring an honorable end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Since the Paris Peace Talks offered small prospect of success, the Nixon administration devised a policy of “Vietnamization” whereby it would permit the U.S. to withdraw its forces from South Vietnam but would continue to help the South Vietnamese with air support and train and equip South Vietnam’s forces to the point where they would be able to contain the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese with only minimum American tactical support.