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America's Debate > Archive > Everything Else Archive > [A] History Debate
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Rickmanx
I've mentioned Daniel Ellsberg in the past and what he risked to get secret information to the press to show we were falsely brought into a long and bloody war, and yet some people today will still say the goverment is incapable of such acts.

So I ask this: Is the whole Daniel Ellsberg scenario some huge conspiracy theory or is there something more to it?

And if it was true why wasn't there some trial on government officials for this dastardly crime?

And I think its very obvious as to why this relates to todays situation.
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Danya
I don't think there has ever been any real question to the fact that the Gulf of Tonkin was fabricated to get us into the war. Ellsberg mostly leaked the way the war was being fabricated, the number of soldiers that were killed for instance. I could be wrong...I'd be interested to see other posts on it.
Eeyore
Johnson lied to the American people and didn't correct himself when he was sure that he got a blank check to wage war based on an unproven incident.

We were already fighting in Vietnam. We weren't yet in a position to back off cold war rhetoric and we say the spread of communism as a monolithic force. I think Vietnam was going to be our long and bloody lesson about the limits of the Truman Doctrine with or without the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

Beware of Texans who charge into the brush to solve problems!
Rickmanx
Whoever chose the "This is just some sick conspiracy theory" really might want to do some research.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2003Oct15.html

http://www.ellsberg.net

http://www.vva.org/pentagon/pentagon.html

I'm sure you can find thousands of other links as well.
phaedrus
The Gulf of Tonkin was a fabrication and that is what brought about the Veitnam war. Shortly after the supposed incident the President went to Congress and called for what can only be described as a declaration of war.

QUOTE
Far beyond doubts. The president said to Congress and the public that the evidence for the attack on our ships was unequivocal. He was not calling for a response or resolution on the basis of a possible attack or probable attack, but that there was unequivocal evidence of an attack. That was false. I knew that was a lie. Well before the attack got off, many, many doubts had been raised and it was clearly unclear [what was happening]. I think I would have said, and most people would have said "probably" with all this: "probably there was an attack." But that was not what the president told the public. He lied to the public.


An interview
GoAmerica
I said yes because there is no way that a small torpedo boat could get close to an American destroyer. The Gulf of Tonkin was fake and people should be held responsible
Eeyore
Didn't something like this happen to the USS Cole?
Of course a small boat could get near a US destroyer. Did it happen that noght like it had a few nights earlier? I think the evidence weighs against.
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