<Tr> <Th> Total: Communist armed forces </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> 219,000 </Th> </Tr> <P> The Paris Peace Accords effectively removed the U.S. from the conflict in Vietnam . However, the agreement's provisions were routinely flouted by both the North Vietnamese and the Saigon government, eliciting no response from the United States, and ultimately resulting in the communists enlarging the area under their control by the end of 1973 . North Vietnamese military forces gradually built up their military infrastructure in the areas they controlled and two years later were in a position to launch the successful offensive that ended South Vietnam's status as an independent country . </P> <P> Nixon had secretly promised Thiệu that he would use airpower to support the Saigon government should it be necessary . During his confirmation hearings in June 1973, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger was sharply criticized by some senators after he stated that he would recommend resumption of U.S. bombing in North Vietnam if North Vietnam launched a major offensive against South Vietnam, but by August 15, 1973, 95% of American troops and their allies had left Vietnam (both North and South) as well as Cambodia and Laos under the Case - Church Amendment . The amendment, which was approved by the U.S. Congress in June 1973, prohibited further U.S. military activity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia unless the president secured Congressional approval in advance . However, during this time, Nixon was being driven from office due to the Watergate scandal, which led to his resignation in 1974 . When the North Vietnamese began their final offensive early in 1975, U.S. Congress refused to appropriate additional military assistance for South Vietnam, citing strong opposition to the war by Americans and the loss of American equipment to the North by retreating Southern forces . Thiệu subsequently resigned, accusing the U.S. of betrayal in a TV and radio address: </P> <P> At the time of the peace agreement the United States agreed to replace equipment on a one - by - one basis . But the United States did not keep its word . Is an American's word reliable these days? The United States did not keep its promise to help us fight for freedom and it was in the same fight that the United States lost 50,000 of its young men . </P>

Who wrote several compromises to keep peace between the north and south