Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 444031 223505214 2008-07-04T10:40:35Z Ofhistoricalnote 4085077 The '''Gulf of Tonkin Resolution''' was addressed by Lyndon B. Johnson as a [[joint resolution]] of the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passed on [[August 7]], [[1964]] in direct response to a minor naval engagement known as the [[Gulf of Tonkin Incident]]. It is of historical significance because it gave [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] authorization, without a formal [[Declaration of war by the United States|declaration of war]] by Congress, for the use of military force in [[Southeast Asia]]. The Johnson administration subsequently cited the resolution as legal authority for its rapid escalation of U.S. military involvement in the [[Vietnam War|Vietnam conflict]].<ref>"Gulf of Tonkin Measure Voted In Haste and Confusion in 1964", ''The New York Times'', 1970-06-25</ref> ==Background and Congressional action== The Gulf of Tonkin Incident reportedly began with an attack by three [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam|North Vietnamese]] [[torpedo boat]]s on the [[USS Maddox (DD-731)|''Maddox'']], a U.S. [[destroyer]], in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]] on [[August 2]], [[1964]]. Two days later, that vessel and the U.S. destroyer [[USS Turner Joy (DD-951)|''Turner Joy'']] both reported themselves under renewed attack, although North Vietnam subsequently insisted that it hadn't attacked — and no attack is now believed to have occurred on [[August 4]]<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080108/pl_afp/usvietnamintelligence512;_ylt=An2zHXdLhda9KTCjvD7D.25B5494 Report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks]></ref>, whereas on [[August 2]], the ''Maddox'' fired warning shots when attacked by Vietnamese torpedo boats, even though Johnson had claimed that the Vietnamese boats fired first.<ref>[http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/releases/relea00012.pdf "Skunks, Bogies, Silent Hounds, and the Flying Fish: The Gulf of Tonkin Mystery, 2-4 August 1964"<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Within hours, Johnson ordered retaliatory air strikes on the bases of the North Vietnamese boats and announced, in a television address to the American public the same evening, that U.S. naval forces had been attacked. In a message he sent to Congress the following day, the President affirmed that "the North Vietnamese regime had conducted further deliberate attacks against U.S. naval vessels operating in [[international waters]]." Johnson requested approval of a resolution "expressing the unity and determination of the United States in supporting freedom and in protecting peace in southeast Asia". He said that the resolution should express support "for all necessary action to protect our Armed Forces" — but repeated previous assurances that "the United States... seeks no wider war". As the nation entered the final three months of political campaigning for the 1964 elections (in which Johnson was standing for election), the president contended that the resolution would help "hostile nations... understand" that the United States was unified in its determination "to continue to protect its national interests."<ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/tonkinsp.htm President Johnson's message to Congress, August 5, 1964]</ref> On [[August 6]], [[United States Secretary of Defense|U.S. Secretary of Defense]] [[Robert McNamara|Robert S. McNamara]] testified before a joint session of the Senate [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Armed Services]] committees. He stated that the ''Maddox'' had been "carrying out a routine mission of the type we carry out all over the world at all times" and denied that it had been in any way involved in South Vietnamese patrol boat raids on the offshore islands of Hon Me and Hon Nieu on the nights of [[July 30]] and [[July 31]].<ref>"Excerpts from McNamara's Testimony on Tonkin", The New York Times, 1968-02-25.</ref> The administration did not, however, disclose that the island raids, although separate from the mission of the ''Maddox'', had been part of a program of clandestine attacks on North Vietnamese installations called [[Operation 34A|Operation Plan 34A]]. These operations were carried out by U.S.-trained South Vietnamese [[commando]]s under the control of a [[United States Special Operations Forces|special operations unit]] of the U.S. [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam]] called the [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group|Studies and Operations Group]].<ref>Andradé, David and Kenneth Conboy. [http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/Articles99/NHandrade.htm "The Secret Side of the Tonkin Gulf Incident"], ''Naval History'', August 1999.</ref> After fewer than nine hours of committee consideration and floor debate, Congress voted, on [[August 7]], [[1964]], on a joint [[Resolution (law)|resolution]] which authorized the president "to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization|Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty]] requesting assistance in defense of its freedom."<ref>[[Wikisource: H.J. RES 1145]]</ref> The unanimous affirmative vote in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] was 416-0. (However, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Congressman [[Eugene Siler]] of [[Kentucky]], who was not present but opposed the measure, was [[Pair (parliamentary convention)|"paired"]] with another member who favored the resolution — i.e., his opposition was not counted, but the vote in favor was one less than it would have been.) The [[United States Senate|Senate]] conferred its approval by a vote of 88-2. Some members expressed misgivings about the measure, but in the end, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] Senators [[Wayne Morse]] of [[Oregon]] and [[Ernest Gruening]] of [[Alaska]] cast the only nay votes.<ref>Kenworthy, E.W. "Resolution Wins", ''The New York Times'', 1964-08-08.</ref> At the time, Senator Morse warned that "I believe this resolution to be a historic mistake." <ref>''Congressional Record'', 1964-08-07, pp. 18470-71, excerpted at [http://vietnam.vassar.edu/doc9.html "The Senate Debates the Tonkin Gulf Resolution"]</ref> ==Repeal of the resolution== By 1967 the rationale for what had become a costly US involvement was receiving close scrutiny. With [[Opposition to the Vietnam War‎|opposition to the war]] mounting, a movement to repeal the resolution — which war critics decried as having given the Johnson administration a "[[blank check]]" — began to gather steam. An investigation by the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] revealed that the ''Maddox'' had been on an [[reconnaissance|electronic intelligence]] collection [[Gulf of Tonkin Incident#The Incident|mission off the North Vietnamese coast]].<ref>Finney, John. "Tonkin Inquiry by Fulbright to Call McNamara", ''The New York Times'', 1968-01-31.</ref> It also learned that the US Naval Communication Center in the Philippines, in reviewing ships' messages, had questioned whether any second attack had actually occurred.<ref>"Excerpts from McNamara's Testimony on Tonkin", The New York Times, 1968-02-25.</ref> {{Congressopp}} The administration of [[Richard Nixon]], which took office in January 1969, initially opposed repeal, warning of "consequences for southeast Asia [that] go beyond the war in Vietnam". In 1970 the administration began to shift its stance. It asserted that its conduct of operations in southeast Asia was based not on the resolution but was a constitutional exercise of the President's authority, as commander in chief of US military forces, to take necessary steps to protect American troops as they were gradually withdrawn<ref>"Gulf of Tonkin Measure Voted In Haste and Confusion in 1964", ''The New York Times'', 1970-06-25.</ref> (the U.S. had begun withdrawing its forces from Vietnam in [[1969]] under a policy known as “[[Vietnamization]]”). Rescinding it ceased to be controversial, and a provision to repeal it was attached to a bill that Nixon signed in January [[1971]].<ref>UPI "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is Repealed Without Furor", ''The New York Times'', 1971-01-14.</ref> Seeking to assert limits on presidential authority to engage US forces without a formal declaration of war, Congress passed in 1973, over Nixon's veto, the [[War Powers Resolution]], which is still in effect. It describes certain requirements for the President to consult with Congress in regard to decisions that engage US forces in hostilities or imminent hostilities. ==Notes== <references /> ==External links== *[http://www.footnote.com/viewer.php?image=4346698 Original Document: Tonkin Gulf Resolution] <br>&nbsp; [[Category:Resolutions (law)]] [[Category:United States foreign relations legislation]] [[Category:History of the United States (1964–1980)]] [[Category:Vietnam War]] [[cs:Tonkinská rezoluce]] [[de:Tonkin-Resolution]] [[es:Resolución del Golfo de Tonkin]] [[fr:Résolution du golfe de Tonkin]] [[ru:Тонкинская резолюция]]