Lessons Learned From The Cold War

“In August of 1964, in response to the American and GVN espionage along its coast, the DRV launched a local and controlled attack against C. Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Maddox , two American ships on call in the Gulf of Tonkin” (Brigham 2). This resulted in the United States government giving Lyndon Johnson the ability to make war under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. President Johnson then gave orders to perform air raids on Northern Vietnam pushing the United States further into the war. Compared to 1962 when only 9,000 soldiers supported the South Vietnamese, by June 1965 82,000 soldiers occupied the country. The number only continued to rise exponentially, and by 1966 370,000 soldiers had been sent in to prop their South Vietnam allies. President Richard Nixon withdrew American soldiers from Vietnam and as part of the “vietnamization” of the war. Over and 60,000 American soldiers had been lost in a war to preserve the status quo, not to win.

The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a series of reported confrontations between the USS Maddox on August 2nd and August 4th, 1964. The second of the two confrontations, on August 4th, was later proven to have never happened, and the legitimacy of the first confrontation on August 2nd is in question. The USS Maddox reported that on August 2nd, while patrolling in international waters, it was attacked by three North Vietnamese Torpedo Boats. President Johnson went on live television on August 4th saying that the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy were attacked again by Vietnamese boats. He used these attacks as reason to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that granted him the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia without a formal

A North Vietnamese civilian said, “The Americans thought that the more bombs they dropped, the quicker we would fall to our knees and surrender. But the bombs heightened rather than dampened our spirit.” This shows that congress was not correct in approving the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution because the results were war, bombing, and deaths.

The military had invented many strategies on the North, but that this time President Johnson had anxiety that the public would not give appeal to the expansion. Early that month the U.S troops (Navy) reported that the North Vietnamese gunboats had barraged them and was unstoppable. The public had become to be outraged and uncontrollable. Congress had voted opposed to the resolution and made a decision to declare war. Others had thought that Johnson was very tremble to be seen as a leader. On the other hand, forces were stable when it came to the control over half South Vietnam. Johnson had gotten bash because the war had become destructive. Johnson had sent an order for bombing on the North Vietnamese but the incident had already

President Johnson, Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder from March 1964 to October 1968. Vietnamese didn’t attack the U.S

Lyndon Johnson and the Tonkin Gulf Resolution The official rhetoric of Lyndon Johnson’s administration portrayed the Gulf of Tonkin incident as an unprovoked and malicious attack on U.S. ships by the armed forces of North Vietnam, as a result of which the President needed the power to deal militarily with the North Vietnamese. The Gulf of Tonkin incident explicitly encompasses military actions on August 2, and alleged actions on August 4, 1964, between North Vietnamese torpedo patrol boats and United States destroyers and aircraft off the coast of North Vietnam. President Johnson and many top administration officials declared that the United States was innocent of any aggressive offensive maneuvers against the North

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was on August 7, 1964 and it gave Congress permission to expand the Vietnam War. In the spring of 1964, military personal developed a mission to attack North Vietnam, but Lyndon B. Johnson worried that the people would not support the growing war. Later that same year, powerful forces had gotten control over almost half of South Vietnam. As of that time Johnson was being criticized by the Senator Barry Goldwater, for not handling the war more aggressively. On August 2, there was a raid on the North Vietnamese coast by South Vietnamese warships, and the destroyer Maddox was attacked by North Vietnamese boats. Just a few days later Maddox was reportedly under attack again. After that last attack on the Maddox, Johnson

With the free hand recently provided by Congress, Johnson presumed that escalation would help to protect his soldiers. He ordered the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to begin an intense series of air strikes called “Operation Rolling Thunder”. He hoped that the bombing campaign would demonstrate to the South Vietnamese the U.S. commitment to their cause, and its resolve to halt the spread of Communism. Ironically, the air raids seemed only to increase the number of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army attacks.

Many people believe that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident is responsible for increased U.S. escalation in Vietnam. President Johnson and his administration claimed that the incident involved unprovoked attacks on U.S. destroyers (Herring, 165). People had questioned what had actually occurred even back then. I believe the Johnson administration was looking for a reason to escalate American involvement and that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident provided the perfect opportunity. American policy in South Vietnam was not as effective as many had thought.

In August 1964, two US destroyed that were positioned in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam claimed that they had been “attacked” by North Vietnamese forces. President Lyndon B. Johnson demanded authorization from the United States Congress to augment US military presence in Vietnam. As a result, congress ended up passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which authorized President Jonson to act any way to retaliate against the Vietnamese. Later on, many would question if either attacks had taken place. Key leaders included Barry Goldwater, William Westmoreland who was the US general who advocated aggressive strategies against Viet Cong and NVA using large numbers of US forces. Lastly, another key leader was Ho Chi Minh who was a North Vietnamese communist

Lyndon B. Johnson became president in 1963, a time period in which the United States was engaged in two battles on both the domestic and the international fronts. At home the President was faced with growing Civil Rights issues and abroad he faced some of the greatest challenges of his political career. Internationally the United States was already undergoing a Cold war with the Soviet Union and the newly adopted policy of containment had become the answer to all of the rising Communist movements all over the world. In Vietnam a massive Civil War was underway as the Pro Communist Regime of the North invaded the Pro American Regime of the South. The North, which was led by Ho Chi Minh, was backed by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies invaded the South backed by the United States and other anti-communist allies. Minh’s army consisted of North Vietnamese forces and the Viet Cong, a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North. Ngô Đình Diệm, the leader of the South, had forces that consisted of South Vietnamese Soldiers and US Soldiers. Amidst these conflicts Johnson rose and took initiatives that would define American Policy in Vietnam for the rest of his presidency. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was one of the incidents that increased United States influence and intervention in Vietnam. The USS Maddox, was in the Gulf Of Tonkin when it reported to be fired upon by a North Vietnamese motorboat. Following this

The escalation of US involvement in Vietnam was due to several decisions that were inherited, and subsequently exasperated, by the Johnson administration. The Gulf of Tonkin in 1965 played a large role in the justification to escalate the war and served as an opportunity for Johnson to show that he was tuff and could be trusted to protect

After reading Chapter 26 there were some strong Cold War Strategies. Eisenhower disagreed with Communism at home and around the world. Eisenhower and his advisees talked about rolling back Soviet power in Europe and freeing captive people from communism. The secretary had made a threat with nuclear weapons in response to any aggression from the Soviet Union. In order for Eisenhower to support this threat he had to adopt a strategy that was called the “New Look” that did not emphasize armies, but increased the nuclear arsenal with long range bombers, missiles, and nuclear-powered submarines.

The United States issued the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. It said that Congress empowered the President, as Command in Chief, "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression." Most importantly, the memorandum gave the President the permission to retaliate North Vietnam's threats to international peace, as the attacks were reason enough for further American involvement in Vietnam, as well as an escalation of military forces.

In 1965, the United States of America officially enter the war against North Vietnam. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident where North Vietnamese attacked two U.S. ships on August 2nd and 4th, 1964, this event was a chance for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to give authority for U.S. to enter war in Vietnam. United State involvement in Vietnam War was an approach to seize the communist aggression. A campaign authorized by President Johnson called “Operation Rolling Thunder” which started on February 24th, 1965 is a series of extensive bombing directed towards the North Vietnamese predicted to be eight weeks long until the North Vietnamese surrender to U.S. power. However, this campaign lasted two years longer than expected.