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→Why was this deleted?
::::: Maybe if you believe McNamara and Rusk's assertions. What's clear is that Johnson had been ''provoking'' an attack for some time, hoping for just such a retaliation, real or imagined. Whether the attack was real or not, he had been pushing for one which would all but ensure his reelection, and presenting the attack as unprovoked was a singular act of deceit. [[User:RodWeathers|- Rod Weathers]] 12:44, 15 January 2009 (EST)
::::: Maybe if you believe McNamara and Rusk's assertions. What's clear is that Johnson had been ''provoking'' an attack for some time, hoping for just such a retaliation, real or imagined. Whether the attack was real or not, he had been pushing for one which would all but ensure his reelection, and presenting the attack as unprovoked was a singular act of deceit. [[User:RodWeathers|- Rod Weathers]] 12:44, 15 January 2009 (EST)
:::I think it's a left-wing view that the Communist attack was faked or provoked. Fact is the Communists had decided long before to overthrow the US ally by force, and both LBJ and Goldwater strongly opposed them and wanted to use the US military to stop it. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 12:47, 15 January 2009 (EST)
:::I think it's a left-wing view that the Communist attack was faked or provoked. Fact is the Communists had decided long before to overthrow the US ally by force, and both LBJ and Goldwater strongly opposed them and wanted to use the US military to stop it. [[User:RJJensen|RJJensen]] 12:47, 15 January 2009 (EST)
::::Of course the North Vietnamese wanted to overthrow the South. That's patently obvious and quite beside the point. Johnson wanted an clear attack against ''American'' forces which would allow him to escalate operations and give him political capital. [[User:RodWeathers|- Rod Weathers]] 12:57, 15 January 2009 (EST)