War Based on Misinformation:
On August 4th, 1964 President Lyndon Johnson learned of an attack on US destroyers off the coast of a small Asian country. This attack became known as the
The original story was that on August 2nd, the USS Maddox was attacked unprovoked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in international waters. It evaded the torpedoes and opened fire on the Vietnamese patrol boats. With the help of air support, the Maddox chased off the Vietnamese ships. After returning to South Vietnamese waters, the Maddox joined with the USS Turner Joy.
Two days later, the two destroyers were just outside of North Vietnamese waters, when they were attacked again. Our intelligence said there was “unequivocal proof” of a second “unprovoked” attack on the Maddox.
On November 30th, 2005 the NSA released documents that put the events of August 2nd in perspective. The USS Maddox was inside North Vietnamese waters when it was intercepted by the torpedo boats. The Maddox opened fire first, and the Vietnamese returned fire.
The full report, released in January of this year, said that not only was the Maddox engaging in aggressive acts prior to being attacked on August 2nd, but that the attack on August 4th never happened. It says, “It is not simply that there is a different story as to what happened; it is that no attack happened that night.”
The report released in 2005 also shows that President Johnson was not given any information regarding the veracity of the report. Everything shown to the President was evidence that this attack did indeed happen.
The NSA claims that the original report was due to an error in communication. It is unknown whether the ensuing cover-up of what truly happened was to save face or to influence policy.
In essence, the Vietnam War largely considered to be the worst blunder in American foreign policy was started by faulty information.
War Based on Misinformation:
On August 4th, 1964 President Lyndon Johnson learned of an attack on US destroyers off the coast of a small Asian country. This attack became known as the
The original story was that on August 2nd, the USS Maddox was attacked unprovoked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in international waters. It evaded the torpedoes and opened fire on the Vietnamese patrol boats. With the help of air support, the Maddox chased off the Vietnamese ships. After returning to South Vietnamese waters, the Maddox joined with the USS Turner Joy.
Two days later, the two destroyers were just outside of North Vietnamese waters, when they were attacked again. Our intelligence said there was “unequivocal proof” of a second “unprovoked” attack on the Maddox.
On November 30th, 2005 the NSA released documents that put the events of August 2nd in perspective. The USS Maddox was inside North Vietnamese waters when it was intercepted by the torpedo boats. The Maddox opened fire first, and the Vietnamese returned fire.
The full report, released in January of this year, said that not only was the Maddox engaging in aggressive acts prior to being attacked on August 2nd, but that the attack on August 4th never happened. It says, “It is not simply that there is a different story as to what happened; it is that no attack happened that night.”
The report released in 2005 also shows that President Johnson was not given any information regarding the veracity of the report. Everything shown to the President was evidence that this attack did indeed happen.
The NSA claims that the original report was due to an error in communication. It is unknown whether the ensuing cover-up of what truly happened was to save face or to influence policy.
In essence, the Vietnam War largely considered to be the worst blunder in American foreign policy was started by faulty information.
