- Joined
- Feb 29, 2004
- Messages
- 1,625
- Points
- 248
1964 Joint Chiefs propose air strikes
Following a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the deteriorating situation in Saigon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff draw up a memo proposing air strikes against North Vietnam.
These missions were to be conducted in unmarked planes flown by South Vietnamese and Thai crews. There was no action taken on this recommendation. However, the situation changed in August 1964 when North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers off the coast of North Vietnam. What became known as the Tonkin Gulf incident led to the passage of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which passed 416 to 0 in the House and 88 to 2 in the Senate. The resolution gave the president approval to "take all necessary measures to repel an armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." Using the resolution, Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam by U.S. aircraft in retaliation for the Tonkin Gulf incident. In 1965, as the situation continued to deteriorate in South Vietnam, Johnson initiated a major commitment of U.S. troops to South Vietnam, which ultimately totaled more than 540,000 by 1968.
1969 Nixon announces new doctrine
President Richard Nixon, at a briefing in Guam for the news media accompanying him on his trip to Asia, discusses at length the future role the United States should play in Asia and the Pacific region after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Nixon said that while the United States would continue to have primary responsibility for the defense of its allies against nuclear attack, the noncommunist Asian nations would have to bear the burden of their own defense against conventional attack and assume responsibility for internal security. The president's remarks were nicknamed the "Nixon Doctrine."
Following a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the deteriorating situation in Saigon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff draw up a memo proposing air strikes against North Vietnam.
These missions were to be conducted in unmarked planes flown by South Vietnamese and Thai crews. There was no action taken on this recommendation. However, the situation changed in August 1964 when North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers off the coast of North Vietnam. What became known as the Tonkin Gulf incident led to the passage of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which passed 416 to 0 in the House and 88 to 2 in the Senate. The resolution gave the president approval to "take all necessary measures to repel an armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." Using the resolution, Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam by U.S. aircraft in retaliation for the Tonkin Gulf incident. In 1965, as the situation continued to deteriorate in South Vietnam, Johnson initiated a major commitment of U.S. troops to South Vietnam, which ultimately totaled more than 540,000 by 1968.
1969 Nixon announces new doctrine
President Richard Nixon, at a briefing in Guam for the news media accompanying him on his trip to Asia, discusses at length the future role the United States should play in Asia and the Pacific region after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Nixon said that while the United States would continue to have primary responsibility for the defense of its allies against nuclear attack, the noncommunist Asian nations would have to bear the burden of their own defense against conventional attack and assume responsibility for internal security. The president's remarks were nicknamed the "Nixon Doctrine."
