Johnson And Vietnam

Johnson and Vietnam

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Factfile Johnson increasingly focused on the American military effort in Vietnam. He firmly believed in the Domino Theory and that his containment policy required America to make a serious effort to stop all Communist expansion. At Kennedy's death, there were 16,000 American military advisors in Vietnam. As President, Lyndon Johnson immediately reversed his predecessor's order to withdraw 1,000 military personnel by the end of 1963 with his own NSAM #273 on November 26, 1963. Johnson expanded the numbers and roles of the American military following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. In 1964 The Americans faked an attack on their ships in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam, it effectively gave Congress the excuse to give Johnson wartime presidential powers. Johnson massively escalated the war By 1968, over 550,000 American soldiers were inside Vietnam; in 1967 and 1968 they were being killed at the rate of over 1,000 a month. In 1968 the Tet Offensive, a surprise attack by the North Vietnamese and Vietminh in the South overwhelmed the USA and her allies for several days before they crushed the rising. When US audiences saw the ferocity of the Vietnamese fighting against them in the Tet offensive, many decided the war could not be won.

Level of Involvement 1-10_____