Joint warfare in South Vietnam, 1963–1969 the election of Richard Nixon, and the change of U.S. policy to Vietnamization, or giving the main combat role back to the South Vietnamese military. The North Vietnamese term for the large-scale introduction of U.S. ground forces, in 1965, is the "Local War", according to Gen. Trần Văn Trà, the [North Vietnamese] " Party concluded, the "United States was forced to introduce its own troops because it was losing the war. It had lost the political game in Vietnam...the situation allows us to shift our revolution to a new stage, that of decisive victory." The Party issued a resolution to
1965 in the Vietnam War commitment to combat of U.S. ground troops." The Pentagon endorsed Westmoreland's request for additional soldiers which would bring the total of American military personnel in Vietnam up to 117,000, plus 20,000 third-country troops, by November 1. General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was appointed by the military junta as President of South Vietnam. Senator J. William Fulbright, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said on national television that the U.S. should negotiate directly with North Vietnam and make "major concessions" to end the Vietnam War. Fulbright's statement was criticized by prominent Republicans; former Vice President Richard Nixon said that negotiations