Tonkin Gulf Crisis

Paper Summary:

The Tonkin Gulf Crisis 1964 ranks with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as events that David Kaiser of the U.S. Naval War College refers to as "controversies in American political history that dwarf all others". The paper shows that today, Tonkin Gulf researchers are still examining the evidence to determine whether or not President Johnson's administration intentionally instigated the first attack on Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. It is still not entirely clear whether or not Hanoi actually launched a second attack on Maddox, either. The paper shows that researchers are investigating the facts to determine whether or not Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara deliberately lied to the U.S. Congress to gain support for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which sealed Johnson's re-election and led the United States into the Vietnam War.

From the Paper:

"According to McNamara at the time of the incident, the Maddox crew did not have knowledge of the 34-Alpha raids. McNamara has since acknowledged that this claim was false, but denies knowing this at the time. The crew knew of the 34-Alpha operations and were worried that the 34-Alpha operations were putting their ship in danger. Many say that this incident made the crew nervous, therefore making them unreliable sources regarding the second attack in the Tonkin Gulf.
When the Senate approved Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Senators Morse and Ernest Gruening opposed the resolution. However, Congress voted 4160 in support. Morse stated, "I believe that within the next century, future generations will look with dismay and great disappointment upon a Congress which is now about to make such a historic mistake (Ford, 1997).""

More papers on Tonkin Gulf Crisis:

• Essay # 19469 : "Japan in the Persian Gulf Crisis"
• Research Paper # 18607 : "Persian Gulf Crisis"
• Term Paper # 19317 : "1991 Persian Gulf Crisis"

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