Newly released audio tapes from the 1966 reveal an increasingly exasperated Lyndon Johnson. In the recordings, which the Johnson Presidential Library just made available, the president is heard making disparaging remarks about The New York Times. Believing that the paper’s stance on the administration’s Vietnam War effort was undermining public confidence, the president complains that a “bunch of commies” was running the paper.
As we know, the Vietnam War derailed Johnson’s presidency. Assuming office as a result of the traumatic assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, he initially seemed more focused on domestic policies than the faraway hostilities in Southeast Asia, which had yet to completely overshadow American politics.
A hazy and ill-understood incident in the Gulf of Tonkin the following year, however, provided a reason to escalate American involvement in Vietnam. In this event, it was reported that North Vietnamese PT boats--small vessels designed for quick maneuvering--twice attacked two American Navy ships. The American ships suffered no significant damage from the first attack, which by itself seemed a concern but did not prompt a major American retaliation. The second attack, supposedly occurring two days later, was seen differently. It seemed to indicate that North Vietnam was challenging the U.S. military directly. It was evidence enough for the administration to claim a vigorous American military response was needed.
The Johnson administration immediately asked Congress for authorization to increase American military participation in Vietnamese hostilities. Up until then, American military forces were mostly providing indirect support and aid to the pro-Western government in South Vietnam as it battled against a Soviet-backed communist regime in North Vietnam.
The Congressional furor over apparent attacks on a U.S. naval vessel led to a swift adoption of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. There was little debate and little investigation. The resolution nonetheless gave a nearly blank check to the president in making a military response in the region, all without a formal declaration of war.
This bold response boosted Johnson's image as a president who would be tough of communism. He won the 1964 presidential race convincingly, defeating ardent anti-communist Barry Goldwater.
Unfortunately, as later revelations suggested, the original incident in the Tonkin Gulf was not nearly as simple as it had been portrayed. In relaying accounts of the incident back to Washington, the details apparently became muddled. Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense, is said to have wondered if the second attack had even occurred. There was some question whether the various messages received in Washington could be referring to a single event, rather than two episodes.
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