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Line 6: − + − − Other official sources, however, have indicated that the August 4th attack may not have occured at all, such as former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara <ref>The Fog of War (2003): A documentary/interview with Robert S. McNamara [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8653788864462752804&ei=sA1nS5aRL4WUqwLop4TuCg&q=the+fog+of+war&hl=en&client=firefox-a#]</ref>: − <blockquote> − "It was just confusion, and events afterwards showed that our judgment that we'd been attacked that day was wrong. It didn't happen. And the judgment that we'd been attacked on August 2nd was right. We had been, although that was disputed at the time. So we were right once and wrong once. Ultimately, President Johnson authorized bombing in response to what he thought had been the second attack; it hadn't occurred but that's irrelevant to the point I'm making here. He authorized the attack on the assumption it had occurred, and his belief that it was a conscious decision on the part of the North Vietnamese political and military leaders to escalate the conflict and an indication they would not stop short of winning. We were wrong, but we had in our minds a mindset that led to that action. And it carried such heavy costs. We see incorrectly or we see only half of the story at times." − </blockquote> −
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (view source)
Revision as of 21:50, February 1, 2010
, 21:50, February 1, 2010Reverted edits by Burtcord (Talk) to last version by Aschlafly
[[Image:Tonkinresolution.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]]
[[Image:Tonkinresolution.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]]
On August 4, 1964, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] announced that two days earlier, [[U.S.]] ships in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]] had been attacked by the [[North Vietnam]]ese. Johnson dispatched U.S. planes against the attackers and asked Congress to pass a resolution to support his actions. The joint resolution “to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast [[Asia]]” passed on August 7, with only two [[Senator]]s (Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening) dissenting, and became the subject of great political controversy in the course of the undeclared war that followed. The incident on which the Resolution was based consisted of two separate events, occurring on August 2nd and 4th.
On August 4, 1964, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] announced that two days earlier, [[U.S.]] ships in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]] had been attacked by the [[North Vietnam]]ese. Johnson dispatched U.S. planes against the attackers and asked Congress to pass a resolution to support his actions. The joint resolution “to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast [[Asia]]” passed on August 7, with only two [[Senator]]s (Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening) dissenting, and became the subject of great political controversy in the course of the undeclared war that followed.
The '''Gulf of Tonkin Resolution''' stated that “Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression.” As a result, President Johnson, and later President [[Richard Nixon]], relied on the resolution as the legal basis for their military policies in Vietnam.
The '''Gulf of Tonkin Resolution''' stated that “Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression.” As a result, President Johnson, and later President [[Richard Nixon]], relied on the resolution as the legal basis for their military policies in Vietnam.
As public resistance to the war heightened, the resolution was repealed by Congress in January 1971.
As public resistance to the war heightened, the resolution was repealed by Congress in January 1971.
The ''New York Times'' claimed that the US had provoked the incident, but the [[Pentagon papers]] (published by the same newspaper) suggested this to be false. <ref>The Times went on to assert that American forces had deliberately provoked the alleged attacks on its ships in the Gulf of Tonkin to justify a Congressional resolution supporting our war efforts. In fact, the Pentagon papers said the opposite: there was no evidence that we had provoked whatever attacks may have occurred. [http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009203] </ref>
The ''New York Times'' claimed that the US had provoked the incident, but the [[Pentagon papers]] (published by the same newspaper) showed this to be false. <ref>The Times went on to assert that American forces had deliberately provoked the alleged attacks on its ships in the Gulf of Tonkin to justify a Congressional resolution supporting our war efforts. In fact, the Pentagon papers said the opposite: there was no evidence that we had provoked whatever attacks may have occurred. [http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009203] </ref>
==Notes==
==Notes==