The Times
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2001384600,00.html
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 07 2001
LBJ tape 'confirms Vietnam war error'
FROM MARTIN FLETCHER IN WASHINGTON
PRESIDENT Johnson admitted in a secret tape recording that the incident he used to win congressional approval for the Vietnam war probably never happened, according to a book published yesterday.
In 1964, days after an alleged North Vietnamese attack on US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress approved a resolution authorising the President to take �all necessary steps, including the use of force� to help America�s southeast Asian allies.
Johnson used the �Gulf of Tonkin resolution� to drag America ever deeper into the Vietnam war � to the consternation of many Congressmen.
In a secret recording Johnson berated Robert McNamara, his Defence Secretary, for misleading him. �You said: �Damn, they are launching an attack on us, they are firing on us.� When we got through with all the firing, we concluded maybe they hadn�t fired at all.�
The book, Reaching for Glory, was edited by the historian Michael Beschloss from Johnson�s tapes and the diary of Lady Bird, his wife.
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