The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - Essay Example

Final Exam Summarize the events that led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Also, outline the controversy associated with these events. “The Gulf of Tonkin incident was the turning point in the Cold War struggle for Southeast and the clash between naval forces of U.S. and North Vietnam” (“The Tonkin Gulf Crisis”, n.d.). The U.S. wanted to give the impression to the world that “it is the guardian and protector of southeast nations to maintain order, peace and security in the international arena”. (Gettleman 1995, p. 252) “The prelude to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution started with the incidents that took place in the Gulf of Tonkin where this “long standing program involving (Hickman, K-a., n.d.) ‘DESOTO’ (stands for (DEHAVEN Special Operations off TshingtaO) ” patrol boats that were used to intercept and relay North Vietnamese Army intelligence to the South Vietnamese Army forces.” (‘DESOTO’, n.d.). According Hickman, K. in his article Gulf of Tonkin Incident: On August 02, 1964, “the destroyer ship Maddox , headed by Captain John Herrick (Operational Control), was cruising offshore in the international shores when North Vietnamese (NV) tried to approach it by dispatching soviet-built P-4 fast patrol torpedo boats (PTFs). Torpedoes were launched from North Vietnamese PTFs. Maddox retaliated with the support of F-8 Crusader jets that strafed all the NV PTFs (Hickman, K-a.,n.d.). Hickman, K. further wrote in the same that: The second attack occurred on August 04, 1964. Given the 1st reported attack, the U.S. was not in the position to ignore NV attacks. In fact, immediately the US reinforced Maddox with another destroyer USS Turner Joy (DD 951). On the night of August 04, the U.S. warships reported to have made contact with North Vietnamese naval forces whom they claimed attacked these 2 destroyer ships (Hickman-a, n.d). “In response to these alleged attacks, the U.S. through the 7th Fleet carriers, Ticonderoga and USS Constellation (CVA64), launched retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam that destroyed an oil storage facility and damaged and enemy naval vessels” (Natasi, 2001). Based on Hickman, et. al : U.S. through Johnson proposed the passage of a joint resolution with Congress (H.J. RES 1145) dated August 07, 1964, known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, described as the Southeast Asia Resolution, Public Law 88-408 which granted powers to President Lyndon Johnson to escalate U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War without a declaration of war. (Hickman, K-b.,n.d.), (“Tonkin Gulf Resolution”, n.d.) and (“ Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”, n.d.). “The controversy about the Gulf of Tonkin incident came out after 40 years later when National Security Agency (NSA) declassified and released this material to the public” (Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Reappraisal 40 Years Later, 2006) . “These evidences revealed that the second attack was a fabrication” (Leepson, 2006). “This resolution was all orchestrated by Johnson and McNamara to widen U.S. intervention in the Vietnam War (“Tonkin Gulf Resolution”, n.d.). “Two senators, Senators Morse and Gruening, claimed that it was a ‘predated declaration of war’. They claimed it to be a deception. Evidences show that L. Johnson had already prior plans as early as February 1964 (seven months earlier)” (Taylor 2011, p. 31). 2. Describe the various uses of air power, including helicopters, napalm, and bombing campaigns, throughout the war and the impact that these campaigns had in North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and other countries. After the Tonkin Incident, the“U.S. released all forms of its advanced air and arms weaponry for the first time which changed the history of modern warfare for the 20st century.” (Natasi, 2001). Natasi , M. explained that: the use of air power warfare was adopted by U.S. to let North Vietnamese feel the brunt. It commenced with “Operation Rolling Thunder”, a bombing air warfare strategy, aimed at bringing the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table. This was done by mobilizing the best modern aviation it had to offer. It introduced and extensively used jet fighters and bombers or aircrafts such as F-4 Phantom, A-6 Intruder, F-105 Thunderchief, B-52 Stratofortress, AH-IG ‘Cobra’ and Huey AH-1B, among others, on the battlefield. Thunderchiefs were tasked to take on the anti-aircraft sites using anti-radar missiles and bombs, a mission they called Wild Weasel mission which aimed at suppressing enemy air defenses and was considered the most dangerous assignments in air warfare (Natasi, 2001). Natasi, M. added that: this war was immortalized with a film, ‘Apocalypse Now’ (similarly which can be juxtaposed with the Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, presented in a different medium_ literary) where it showed the use of the Huey AH-1B attack helicopters to hunt down enemy positions and eliminate them so that U.S. ground forces could overrun their position. The AH-1B helicopter became the soldier’s best friend during ground operations because it could be used to extract soldiers if the situation on the ground became untenable. Whole squadrons of attack helicopters were used to precede any large-scale ground operations to soften any hardened ground resistance. (Natasi, 2001). Natasi pointed out that: when Nixon became the 37th U.S. President in 1968, he took over and came up with a new policy called “Vietnamization” where he authorized Operation Proud Deep (OPD). This was an extensive bombing campaign directed at the heart of North Vietnam. Another was Operation Linebacker 1 that was launched as the largest bombing campaign of the war. North Vietnam felt the fury of U.S. air power and the impact of its air warfare campaign. Finally, the campaign was considered a success since on the eleventh day ‘Christmas Bombing of 1972’, after over 14 years, it brought the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table. In the final analysis, U.S. paid a heavy price in terms of lives and money to exact that punishment and ultimately, lose the Vietnam war (Natasi, 2001). Taken from “What countries are involved in the Vietnam War”, the report indicated that: South Vietnam was backed by anti-communist nations and members of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), namely: U.S., South Korea, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand, Laos and Republic of China (Taiwan). Some countries sent their own contingent expedition forces to help out in the war. Meanwhile North Vietnam was supported by communist forces and nations like Soviet Union, North Korea, Republic of China, among others (What countries are ...2013). 3. Explain the significance of 1968, with specific focus on the Tet Offensive, in the general course of the Vietnam War. Historical battles that transpired during the Vietnam War include: “The Tet Offensive, the Battle for Hue, My Lai Village Massacre by US Troops and Peace Talks that took place in Paris between the North Vietnamese and the Americans” (Vietnam War Timeline, n.d.). War atrocities such as My Lai Village Massacre, Tet Offensive brought to public. It appeared that U.S. was claiming victory from the war but public reports otherwise. The Tet Offensive According to J. Rosenberg: In early 1968, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the man in charge of North Vietnams army, believed that it was time for the North Vietnamese to make a major surprise attack on South Vietnam. After coordinating with the Viet Cong and moving troops and supplies into position, the Communists made a diversionary attack against the American base at Khe Sanh on January 21, 1968 (Rosenberg-a, 2013). “America’s War in Indochina” reported that: On January 31, 1968 the first day of the Lunar New Year and also Vietnams most important holiday. Some 85,000 Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces decided to launch a series of surprise attacks on scores of cities, towns, and hamlets throughout South Vietnam. One such skirmish was at Hue where 3,000 civilians were killed and buried in a mass grave by communist soldiers during their temporary occupation of that South Vietnamese city. It was considered to be a turning point in the Vietnam War when General Westmoreland reported that achieving the Vietcongs defeat would necessitate 200,000 more American soldiers and calling up the reserves (America’s War… n.d.). “Drafting of young men to war and the agony that goes with it was also ventilated in O’Brien’s book chapter,’On the River’ ” (O’ Brien, 2009). Still from the same material, “America’s War in Indochina”, more revelations were reported to include: Westmoreland had previously misled the American public by stating that with each successive request for increase in troops would be enough to win the war. Soon after Tet, Westmoreland was replaced by General Creighton W. Abrams who took a decisive different approach from what his commanding officer Westmoreland had taken. However, considering these incidences of war atrocities committed to innocent Vietcong civilians, including children, public withdrew their confidence and support. (America’s War…n.d.). “Although the Tet offensive was not militarily successful for the Vietnamese Communists, it was a political and psychological victory for them.” (Tet Offensive 2005). Hickman, K.’s Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive -1968 highlighted that: it was one of those gruesome outcomes, aside from My Lai Massacre, that Americans started to question the handling of the conflict. President Johnson’s popularity eventually waned and convinced him to withdraw his candidacy for reelection. Actually, it was the media’s reaction and stressing of a widening “credibility gap” that did the most damage to the Johnson Administration’s efforts. Though he had low expectations, Johnson continued with the peace talks with North Vietnam and later decided not to run for Presidency in 1968. Thus it was Richard Nixon who got elected as President of U.S.” (Hickman-c,2001) How was it possible for US forces to win every “battle” and still fail to make significant and lasting headway against the Viet Cong and NLF? The clash between the Communist Vietcongs and Americans could be simply compared to the story of David and Goliath, the Giant. The power and military might of the U.S. was thought to have dwarfed the North Vietnamese. Yet the U.S. lost the Vietnam War. Why? Bernstein, A., 2011 enumerates some factors that caused the U.S. lose this battle. These include: army tactics, terrain, and the war at home and the wrong decisions in politics:   The War at home: The Vietnam War was the first war to have full media coverage and so the general U.S. public was able to witness at first hand, what was occurring on the front line. This played a massive role in the war and it appeared that the U.S. was not only fighting a war in Vietnam but a war back home as they lost the support of the public through the TV coverage of the war. Seeing their own troops dying on the front line led to numerous public outrages and started withdrawal of public support (Bernstein, 2011). Terrain: The Vietcong whom the Americans where fighting against fought a guerrilla war, in which they attacked in small groups of 3-10 troops ambushing American vehicles and the like. It was the unfamiliar terrain and the young inexperienced troops, with an average age of 19 (in comparison to 27 for the World Wars), and the harsh climate all that contributed to the defeat of U.S. to NVs.(Bernstein, 2011). In fact, “the North Vietnamese were utilizing an extensive network of trails leading from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia, into South Vietnam infiltration and support network into South Vietnam. This trail was commonly known as the Ho Chi Minh trail” (Natasi, 2001). It helped them hide from and attack Americans. Bernstein, A. added that: Vietcong mingled with ordinary peasants, wearing the same clothing as the Southern Vietnamese, thus it proved a challenge for US troops to distinguish between the Vietcong and the ordinary innocent Vietnamese. Often, the innocents were killed as a result and this played a role in inflating soldiers figures of the body count of the Vietcong (Bernstein, 2011). To continue, Bernstein identified : Army tactics: The US tactics were clearly not suited to the war they were fighting. The fact that the US were not accustomed to the guerrilla style tactics employed by the Vietnamese and the wrong attitude of having superior firepower played a major part in the eventual withdrawal of the US from Vietnam. Their hi-tech war only had the effect of demoralizing the innocent Vietnamese who became victims of the USs firepower. (Bernstein, 2011) Finally, Bernstein and Gettleman, shared the same stand on the following: Politics: As presented to the public and so ‘pulling out’ or ‘not winning’ are equated with losing the war. The U.S. argument on the ‘domino’ effect whereby if South Vietnam fell to communism, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and India would also follow suit, however, losing the Vietnam War disproved this premise (Bernstein,2011) and (Gettleman, 1995, p. 515) 5. Trace the major events of the Vietnam War during the presidency of Richard Nixon, from the beginning of Nixon’s first term through Nixon’s resignation Juxtaposing below are major events of the Vietnam War during the Presidency of Richard Nixon with source materials: Year Nixon’s Events 1968 -1973 Vietnam War Highlighted Events 1968 November 1968 Richard Nixon was elected as U.S. President ; inherits the Vietnam War (“Timeline”, n.d.) January 30 - The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) January Sihanouk Allows Pursuit of Vietcong into Cambodia (“A Vietnam War Timeline, n.d) February Battle for Hue:     The Battle for Hue wages for 26 days as US and South Vietnamese forces try to recapture the sites seized by the Communists during the Tet Offensive. (“A Vietnam War Timeline, n.d) March 16, 1968 - U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai Massacre. (“A Vietnam War Timeline”, n.d.) July 1968 - General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the U.S. troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) 1969 March 17 Nixon orders secret bombings of Cambodia to destroy North Vietnamese supply routes and base camps, commencing with "Operation Breakfast" ( “Timeline”, n.d.) July 1969 - President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) May 14 Negotiating Position : NLF-10 pts and Nixon’s 8-points (Gettleman, 1995, p.230) November 13, 1969 - The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) November 03, Nixon’s “Vietnamization” (Gettleman, 1995, p. 434) 1970 March -Nixon’s Explanation to the “Secret War” in Laos (Gettleman, 1995, p. 445) April 30, 1970 - President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) April 30 – Rationale for the Invasion of Cambodia (Gettleman, 1995, pp. 445-451) 1971 June 13 New York Times begins publishing the "Pentagon Papers" that revealed duplicity of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations Vietnam policy. (“Timeline”, n.d) June 13, 1971 - Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published in The New York Times. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) 1972 May 8 Announces mining of North Vietnamese harbors (“Timeline”, n.d) December 18 Ordered the"Christmas bombing" of North Vietnam (“Timeline”, n.d) March 1972 - The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the East Offensive. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) December 30 Announces halt to bombing in North Vietnam (“Timeline”, n.d) 1973 February 12 First group of Vietnam Prisoners of War (POWs) returns (“Timeline”, n.d) January 27, 1973 - The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) March – start of Watergate Scandal (“Timeline”, n.d) March 29, 1973 - The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam. (Rosenberg-b, 2013) 1974 July – Congress moves to impeach Nixon (“Timeline”, n.d) August 9 Nixon’s Resignation and Leaves the White House at 10:00 a.m. (“Timeline”, n.d) Works Cited “America’s War in Indochina”.(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1888.html “A Vietnam War Timeline”. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/timeline.htm Bernstein, A. (2011). Why did the U.S. lose the War in Vietnam? Retrieved from http://historum.com/american-history/19285-why-did-u-s-lose-war-vietnam.html “DESOTO”, (n.d.). In the Free Dictionary Wikipedia Online. Retrieved 27 June 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DESOTO_patrol Gettleman, M. E., Franklin, H. B. Franklin, J. and Young, M., eds. (1995). Vietnam and America: A Documented History. New York: Grove Press, (ISBN: 0-8021-3362-2). Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=SVtNalqmYgAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false “Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Reappraisal 40 Years Later”. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.historynet.com/gulf-of-tonkin-incident-reappraisal-40-years-later.htm “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution” (n.d.). Free Dictionary Wikipedia Online. Retrieved June 27, 2013 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_Resolution Hickman, K.-a (2013). Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Retrieved from http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vietnamwar/p/gulfoftonkin.htm Hickman, K.-b (2013). Vietnam War 101: An Overview of the Conflict. Retrieved from http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vietnamwar/tp/vietnam101.htm Hickman, K.-c (2013). Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive- 1968. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/VietnamTet.htm Leepson, M. (2006). Newly Released Documents Shed New Light on Vietnam War History. Retrieved from http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2006_01/arts.htm Natasi, M. (2001). The Role of Airpower in the Vietnam War. Retrieved from http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/vietnam/airpower/ O’Brien,William T. (2009). Things They Carried. N.Y., USA. Houghton Miffin Publishing Co. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=Op6eKrkxPq4C&pg=PA80&lpg=PA81&vq=How+To+Tell+a+True+War+Story Rosenberg, Jennifer-a. (2013). (1968) 1968 – Tet Offensive. Retrieved from http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/tetoffensive.htm Rosenberg, Jennifer-b. (2013).Vietnam War Timeline. Retrieved from http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamtimeline.htm Taylor, M. (2011). Deliberate Deception: The Truth Behind the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Retrieved from a Paper written for Dr. Charles Hanson’s Advanced Placement American History Class http://roundtable.menloschool.org/issue12/4_Taylor_MS_Roundtable12_Spring_2012.pdf “Tet Offensive”. (2005) Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/tet-offensive.html “Timeline”. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/thetimes/timeline/ “Tonkin Gulf Crisis, August 1964” (n.d.). Department of the Navy (U.S.) – Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 28 June 2013 from http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq120-1.htm “Tonkin Gulf Resolution” (n.d.) Retrieved June 27, 2013 from http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=98 “ Vietnam War Timeline” (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.datesandevents.org/events-timelines/06-vietnam-war-timeline.htm “What countries are involved in the Vietnam War?” (2013). Retrieved from http://thevietnamwar.info/what-countries-involved-in-the-vietnam-war/ Read More