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.
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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