1972 in the Vietnam War 1972 in the Vietnam War 1972 in the Vietnam War saw foreign involvement in South Vietnam slowly declining. Two allies, New Zealand and Thailand, which had contributed a small military contingent, left South Vietnam this year. The United States continued to participate in combat, primarily with air power to assist the South Vietnamese army, while negotiators in Paris tried to hammer out a peace agreement and withdrawal strategy for the United States. One American operation that was declassified years after the war was Operation Thunderhead, a secret mission that attempted to rescue POWs. U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam numbered
1972 in the Vietnam War terms of the draft peace agreement and accused the United States of negotiating in bad faith. In Washington, despite the opposition of South Vietnam to the draft peace agreement and the charges by North Vietnam that the U.S. was negotiating in bad faith, National Security Adviser Kissinger declared "peace was at hand" in Vietnam. President Nixon of the United States won reelection with 60.7 percent of the vote. In an attempt to overcome President Thieu's objection to the draft peace agreement, President Nixon wrote him that "You have my absolute assurance that if Hanoi fails to abide by the terms