Case Study - The Tonkin Gulf Resolution: The Request

On the evening of August 4, the day of the controversial second "attack" on U.S. naval vessels in the Tonkin Gulf, President Johnson went on national television to announce that he had ordered reprisal bombing of North Vietnamese naval facilities and to declare that "repeated acts of violence against the armed forces of the United States must be met not only with alert defense, but with positive reply." The next day the following resolution was sent to Congress for action:

"Whereas the naval units of the Communist regime in Vietnam, in violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law, have deliberately and repeatedly attacked United States naval vessels lawfully present in international waters and have thereby created a serious threat to international peace;

"Whereas these attacks are part of a deliberate and systematic campaign of aggression that the communist regime in North Vietnam has been waging against its neighbors and the nations joined with them in the collective defense of their freedom;

"Whereas the United States is assisting the peoples of southeast Asia to protect their freedom and has no territorial, military or political ambitions in that area, but desires only that these peoples should be left in peace to work out their own destinies in their own way. Now therefore, be it

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled that the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.

"Sec. 2 The United States regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of the international peace and security in southeast Asia. Consonant with the Constitution and the Charter of the United Nations and in accordance with its obligations under the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, the United States is, therefore, as the President determines, to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state [South Vietnam] of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom.

"Sec. 3 This resolution shall expire when the President shall determine that the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured by international conditions created by action of the United Nations or otherwise, except that it may be terminated earlier by concurrent resolution of the Congress."

Questions for class discussion

1. Do the changes in wording from the draft of June appear to strengthen the hand of the President in directing U.S. policy in Vietnam? Explain by comparing specific phrases from the two documents.
2. Sometime later, Johnson remarked to aides that this resolution was "like grandma's nightshirt - it covered everything." What did he mean by this?

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Online resources to accompany the Teacher's Guide for The Fog of War, A Project of The Choices Program and Critical Oral History Project, Watson Insititute for International Studies — Brown University