Gulf of Tonkin Incident
| Date | 2 August 1964 |
|---|---|
| Perpetrators | US Navy |
| Blamed on | North Vietnam |
| Exposed by | William Bader |
| Description | A faked attack used as a casus belli for the USA to commit ground forces to the war in Vietnam. |
The "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" was cited as the casus belli for the USA to commit ground forces to the war in Vietnam. It refers to 2 claimed incidents involving the naval destroyer USS Maddox on 2 and 4 August 1964 respectively, both of which are alleged to have involved unprovoked aggression against the US ship by the Vietnamese . According to an NSA investigation which was declassified in 2010, only one of the claimed incidents actually took place. [1] The report also reveals that the seriousness of the incident which did take place is at best questionable, in terms of a genuine casus beli for full-scale war. For example, it was the USS Maddox which fired the first (warning) shots, there were no US casualties and there were 4 North Vietnamese sailors killed and 6 wounded, with no damage to the US ship and extensive damage to three Vienamese torpedo boats. [1]
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document:The Deep State and 9/11 | “Many of the people who were associated with the war were looking for any excuse to initiate bombing. The sending of a destroyer up the Tonkin Gulf was primarily for provocation. ... There was a feeling that if the destroyer got into some trouble, that it would provide the provocation we needed. [1]” | George Ball | 1977 |
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:MH-17 Mystery: A New Tonkin Gulf Case? | article | 17 July 2015 | Robert Parry | A First anniversary retrospective drawing a compelling parallel with the 'Gulf of Tonkin incident' which became the casus belli for the Vietnam war. |
| Document:Peter Dale Scott - COPA 2010 | speech | 2010 | Peter Dale Scott | |
| Document:The sinking of the Cheonan: Another Gulf of Tonkin incident | article | 20 May 2010 | Stephen Gowans | A parallel between the Cheonan incident and the Gulf of Tonkin. |
The Official Culprit
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Vietnam | The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the 15th most populous country. Known most famously for the Vietnam War. |
References
<references>
- ↑ a b Robert J. Hanyok, "Skunks, Bogies, Silent Hounds, and the Flying Fish: The Gulf of Tonkin Mystery, 2-4 August 1964", Cryptologic Quarterly, Winter 2000/Spring 2001 Edition, Vol. 19, No. 4 / Vol. 20, No. 1.
