Gulf of Tonkin Resolution vs. the War on Iraq

1061 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: President Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution vs. the War on Iraq

In August of 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the closest thing there was to declaring war on Vietnam. A war that resulted in millions of people dying, and the loss of liberties for a large number of people. The Resolution was passed because the government (and the American people) believed that the Vietnamese had fired torpedoes at a US destroyer on routine patrol in the Tonkin Gulf on August 2, 1964. It was also reported that a second deliberate attack happened against a pair of ships two days later on August 4, 1964. Based on this information, the President in a news conference announced to the U.S. that he was ordering air strikes against North Vietnam in retaliation for the attacks on US ships. But information now leads us to believe that President Johnson had ordered bombers to strike for an attack that never happened. It has even been reported that before the air strikes even began there was reason to believe that the attack on August 4th never happened. There are transmission reports from the commander in the Tonkin Gulf, Captain John J. Herrick stating that there was an overeager sonarman who "was hearing ship's own propeller beat" and freaky weather conditions. Also, Navy pilot, James Stockdale, who was flying in the area that night, stated that "our destroyers were just shooting at phantom targets – there were no boats there. There was nothing there but black water and American fire power."

The media in 1964 helped fuel the lies by publishing headlines such as " American Planes Hit North Vietnam after 2nd attack on our Destroyers", "Move taken to Halt New Aggression". The Los Angeles Times even reported that the Vietnamese "themselves escalated the hostilities". The incorrect news reports were reported to have all come from "almost exclusive reliance on government officials as sources of information.

In reality, Retired Vietnamese general Vo Nguyen Giap, in a 1995 meeting with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, denied that the North Vietnamese had attacked the U.S. destroyers on Aug. 4, 1964, and in 2001 it was exposed that President Johnson, in a taped conversation with McNamara several weeks after passage of the resolution, had expressed doubt that the attack ever occurred. Whether he doubted it the night of his August 4 press conference has not been proven.

Show More
Related

  • Book Review of William Prochnau's, Once upon a Distant War

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    Beginning in the early 1960's American journalists began taking a hard look at America's involvement in South Vietnam. This inevitably led to a conflict with the American and South Vietnamese governments, some fellow journalists, and their parent news organizations. This was the last hurrah of print journalism, as television began to grow in stature. William Prochnau's, Once Upon A Distant War, carefully details the struggles of these hardy journalists, led by David Halberstram, Malcolm Browne, and Neil Sheehan. The book contains stories, told in layers, chronicling America's growing involvement in South Vietnam from 1961 through 1963.

    Read More

  • Ignorance and Air Power: The Failure of U. S. Leadership to Properly Utilize Air Power in Vietnam

    4201 Words  | 9 Pages

    Tolman, and his wingman Major Lonnie Ferguson, were en route to a rail line that served to distribute supplies from Cam Pha Harbor to enemy troops throughout North Vietnam. The harbor itself was protected from attack by orders coming directly from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, meaning the only way to neutralize supplies coming through the harbor was to attack the distribution network that surrounded it (Patrick).

    Read More

  • President Nixon's Secret Bombing of Cambodia

    2404 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the 1960s and 1970s, the most controversial war the United States had ever been involved in during its rich two-hundred year history would engulf the country, ultimately leading to the collapse of a president, and the division of a nation. The Vietnam War was a military struggle fought in Vietnam and neighboring countries from 1959-1975 involving the North Vietnamese and NLF (National Liberation Front) versus the United States and the South Vietnamese ("The Vietnam..."). In 1969, newly elected President Richard M. Nixon, aiming to achieve "peace with honor" in Vietnam, began to put his "Vietnamization" policy into place -- removing the number of American military personnel in the country and transferring combat roles to the South Vietnamese ("Speeches..."). But at the same time, Nixon resumed the secret bombing of North Vietnam and launched B-52 bombing raids over Cambodia, intending to wipe out NLF and North Vietnamese base camps along the border. The intensive secret bombing, codenamed Operation Menu, lasted for four years and was intentionally concealed from the American public; meanwhile, Nixon ordered the invasion of Cambodia by United States troops, arguing that it was necessary to protect the security of American units. This invasion into an allegedly neutral country was cause for much protest in the States, especially on college campuses such as Kent State University, where students rioted and held walk-outs. Ultimately, the secret bombing of neutral Cambodia was deliberately conducted without the consent of Congress, violating the articles outlined in the United States Constitution, and would have been grounds for impeachment had Nixon not resigned under the cloud of the Watergate scandal in August of 1974 ("Richard M....

    Read More

  • Vietnam War - Social Movements

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Vietnam War (1965-1975)was fought between the North and South Vietnam. The North was called Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the South was the Republic of Vietnam which was supported by the United States. On August 2nd, 1964 the USS Maddox was on a secret intelligent mission on the North Vietnamese coast where in the Gulf on Tonkin they were attacked by torpedo boats. The USS Turner Joy was attacked in the same area two days later. Due to the second attack Congress declared the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which led to air strikes.In 1959 there were 5,000 guerilla fighters and in 1964 the numbers jumped to 100,000. At Pleiku on March, 1965 U.S Marine barracks were attacked causing the three stage escalation bombing of North Vietnam to begin. The 3 year lasting bombing was used to force North Vietnam to stop supporting the "National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam" by destroying their industrial infrastructure and Vietnam's air defenses. Unfortunately this did not stop the North's support for the NLF. The U.S. Air Force bases were constantly being attacked so the U.S. on March 8, 1965 the 3,500 U.S. Marines was deployed to South Vietnam. At this point in time, the U.S. public supported the dispatch because the Vietnam War had been portrayed to the American people as a war against the spread of Communism. Johnson was president at the time and he kept adding more and more troops as the war went on. As the draft quotas increased, the American public protests started. When Nixon came into presidency his policy towards the Vietnam War was "peace with honor" in other words he wanted to widen the war. After more bombing and fighting, on January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords was signed, restoring peace in Vietnam and U.S. forces pulled out. Nixon stopped all American attacks on Vietnam. The condensed summary of the Vietnam War is to see what presidents were involved in this war (Johnson, and Nixon) and what foreign policies were taken towards Vietnam mostly before the protests began.

    Read More

  • War Powers Resolution

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    The War Powers Resolution took place in the context of the Cold War and the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 70s. The United States was supporting the South Vietnam troops in a battle against the Northern state of Hanoi. The controversy over the American involvement in Vietnam was heightened by the seeming lack of transparency in government. Two Presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, used their Constitutional authority as Commander and Chief to bypa...

    Read More

  • Why Is The Tet Offensive So Important In The Vietnam War

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...al Westmoreland claimed it as a victory but no one including the president saw it that way. Johnson was equally as shocked as the American public that the Viet Cong were able to launch such destructive and widespread attacks. This made him decide to seek a negotiated peace as stated here, “In late 1968, Johnson announced to the US people that he intended to seek a negotiated peace settlement in Vietnam”. On March 31, Johnson went on national television and announced that he would not be running for reelection again. Thousands of people were hurt because of the Tet Offensive, but its most important victim was the president of the United States.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War and The Tonkin Gulf Resolution

    931 Words  | 2 Pages

    On August 2, 1964 an incident happened between the USS Maddox and a North Vietnamese torpedo ships. While the Maddox was doing a casual sweep through of the Tonkin Gulf, the North Vietnamese ships began to follow. Captain Herrick ordered his men to shoot while he radioed an aircraft carrier for assistance. After feeling threated, the North Vietnamese ships each fired one torpedo. Two missed and the third failed to launch. The Maddox was barely touched, as for the Vietnamese ships, two were in bad shape and the other had sunk. Meanwhile, over in Washington D.C., President Lyndon B. Johnson was frantic about the situation he had been informed of. At first, President Johnson had no desire to hold any reprisal against North Vietnam. He proceeded to tell Russia that he had no interest in extending the conflict. However, he did warn that there would be consequences for their action. This conflict had our stationed soldiers on high al...

    Read More

  • Dereliction of Duty, by McMaster

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book would be an excellent source for anyone wanting to understand this period of the entrance into the Vietnam War. It is a great look into the character of each of the participants. It also would benefit those who are studying and learning how to develop strategy and policy for future wars that the United States may involve itself in. Works Cited McMaster, H. R. Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Mass Media on Americans during the Vietnam War

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    -Marshall McLuhan, 1975 Newspaper reporters and television commentators were free to question the wisdom of fighting the war When the war initially began, the US marines were backed fully buy the people of America. Hundreds of men volunteered to join the army and felt that this was their duty to protect their country. But as the war dragged on the press soon began to change its point of view and was eventually accused of being 'un patriotic' and even guilty of 'helping the enemy'. There were various reasons why public opinion changed as the war hauled through for such a long period of time, leaving lasting scars in the history of the world. Possibly one on the most significant and emotional events which occurred in Vietnam was far before US marines were actually fighting a guerilla war in Vietnam.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Mass Media on American History

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...d to the government officials, and was also one event that did not support the national government. This media exposure helped provide information that the Johnson and Nixon administrations helped cover up. By 1968, the My Lai Massacre was detriment to the government because of the negative attention the media was feeding to the American people.

    Read More

  • Groupthink In Vietnam War

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    President Johnson’s in-group avoided reconsidering its escalation policy when time and again the expectation on which they based their decisions turned out to be wrong. The policy-makers avoided the discussion of prior decisions and kept inventing new rationalizations to recommit themselves into defeating the North Vietnamese.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    There were many events that lead up the Vietnam War, it started in 1945 with the hostilities between the French and Vietminh. “Geopolitical Strategy, economics, domestic US politics, and cultural arrogance shaped the growing American involvement in Vietnam” (Anderson 1). As a matter of fact, the Vietnam War was several wars, but it was not until 1962 that America had their first combat mission, however, Americans were killed during ambushes by the Vietnamese before the first combat mission. There is much controversy over the reasons for the Vietnam War, supported by the several different books and articles written about the war. “The most famous atrocity occurred in a tiny hamlet called My Lai in March 1968” (Detzer 127). History shows that the reaction of many Americans to the attack by US soldiers on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War was opposition, and the actions of the US soldiers during the My Lai Massacre will be forever remembered as a significant part of the Vietnam War and American History.

    Read More

  • President Lyndon. B Johnson and the Vietnam War

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, the Tonkin Gulf Incident was questioned to have even happened, which makes the war undoubtedly questionable immediately after the incident. Many troops were killed in Vietnam and the United States eventually lost the war and did not achieve their goal of stopping communism.... ... middle of paper ... ... Also, “Johnson’s personal pledge not to ‘lose Vietnam’ and his stake in the Great Society programs, the economy was inadvertently the victim” (Helsing 228).

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of 'Napalm Girl' By Nick Ut

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Photographs like the one that made the front page of the most newspapers in the world in 1972- a naked South Vietnamese child just sprayed by american napalm, running down a highway toward the cameras, her arms open, screaming with pain-- probably did more to increase the public revulsion against the war than a hundred hours of televised barbarities”(476)

    Read More

  • Short Summary of Vietnam

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kennedy and Diem were both killed in 1963 and 1964. Johnson took control of the situation by increasing the amount of money and manpower put into Vietnam. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving the president full military power. After Johnson dramatically escalated the amount of soldiers in Vietnam, The North Vietnamese mounted a surprise attack during the Vietnamese new year, and this strike was called the Tet Offensive. It made America more aware of what they were up against, that the communists were capable of fierce, guerrilla warfare, unlike anything Americans had ever fought before. Images of the terror and disarray reached back home, and the U.S. began to wonder how effective their involvement in Vietnam really was.

    Read More

More about Gulf of Tonkin Resolution vs. the War on Iraq

Open Document