The idea of holding mass mobilisations against the war in Indochina is to put pressure on governments to end their participation in the war, and to express public opposition to it. Mass mobilisations and demonstrations have had a definite influence on U.S. government policy and Nixon's troop withdrawals. However Nixon's 'Vietnamisation' policy was influenced at the outset as much by the disintegration of U.S. ground troops (e.g. 'fragging', drug addiction etc) and the inflationary effects of the war at home.

Although the Socialist Action League would like to think differently, the New Zealand mass mobilisations last year did not force Holyoake to withdraw. N.Z. withdrawal, like the change in U.S. policy from fighting on the ground to air and naval action, was part of the 'Vietnamisation' policy.