Gulf+of+Tonkin+Resolution+G2

=Gulf of Tonkin Resolution=

Overview
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, also known as the Southeast Asia Resolution, is very important to the history of the United States. The resolution gave the president, Lyndon Johnson, the power to send in troops to protect the Vietnamese from communist forces. The congress made this joint resolution after an attack on U.S. naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin. That is where the name of the resolution, Gulf of Tonkin, came from. This is important to remember because this started the escalation in Vietnam which became known as the Vietnam War.

Central Issue
The most important thing to know about this resolution is the reason it was passed. Robert McNamara, commander of the naval forces, reported an attack on multiple destroyers, one of them the U.S.S. Maddox, in the Gulf of Tonkin. The truth was that there is no evidence. There was an apparent radio message that mentioned the attack from the destroyer. McNamara reported that destroyers may have been attacked to the president, Johnson. Johnson did not want to appear weak on foreign policy, and determined that he must use force. Congress would not deny him of the power because they did not want to appear weak either.

Conclusion/Historical Significance
In Conclusion, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave unlimited power to the president to deal with the problem in Vietnam. It led to one of the most hated conflicts in all of American history. Vietnam was the most unpopular war. The war was lost at home, and not in Vietnam. It is not known if McNamara just wanted to start a war, or if he did not actually know what happened. Truthfully, Vietnam had been a powder keg waiting for a spark. Communist forces and democratic forces were already starting to fight, and Americans were already serving as advisors training the democratic forces.

National Public Radio Reviews the Gulf of Tonkin Incident http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3822657