Was President Johnson's decision for retaliatory acts against North Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incidents justified? Or an even better question to ask is, did both incidents ever really happen? To answer these questions it’s necessary to look at some of the historical background of the region. For much of Vietnam's history it has been under foreign rule, primarily by the Chinese. In 1860, France began its domination of the area and had, by …showed first 75 words of 1097 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1097 total…That even through bad weather, either the U.S.S. Maddox or the U.S.S. C. Turner Joy could have identified the alleged assailants of the attack. And so, after review these crucial pieces of evidence it is easy to declare that there is no doubt of the first attack, but because of changeable evidence regarding the second attack, I don’t believe it was a warranted reason for retaliatory action against North Vietnam.