Authorizing the Use of Force in Vietnam - The NSA Tells A Little More of the Story

Before Vietnam became a metaphor for another controversial U.S. military action — and indeed before it even was much of a U.S. military action itself — there was the Tonkin Gulf incident [Wikipedia article]. The attacks (or alleged attacks) on U.S. ships hurry led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorizing President Johnson "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression."

Exactly what happened in the Gulf of Tonkin has long been fodder for debate and discussion. Now the NSA (yes, that NSA) has declassified two batches of documents relating to the Tonkin Gulf incident, the latest released just a few days ago. The PDF documents include chronologies, memos, notes, articles, oral history interviews and SIGINT reports and translations.

Thanks to our colleagues at the Resource Shelf for the tip!