The U Thant-Stevenson Peace Initiatives in Vietnam, 1964?1965

Lyndon B. Johnson came to the presidency in November 1963 without any thought of widening American involvement in the war in Southeast Asia. At the same time, he made clear he was “not going to be the President who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.” Soon, however, it became apparent to him (and to others) that he would “lose Vietnam” if the American role in the war were not increased.

A choice had to be made and it was made very soon after Johnson took office–Vietnam would not be lost even if it meant stepping up American aid. In February 1964, President Johnson warned Hanoi in a speech that “those engaged in external direction and supply” to the Vietcong were playing “a deeply dangerous game.” That same month covert activities against North Vietnam were heightened including commando raids along the coast and the use of PT boats to destroy North Vietnamese coastal installations. The Johnson administration also planned to ask Congress for a resolution which would be an equivalent of a declaration of war.

In July, Washington announced the dispatch of an additional 5,000 military advisors to South Vietnam. By early August, Thai pilots flying American war planes were attacking North Vietnamese villages. In that same month, the most momentous step on the road to full-scale American participation in the war took place when Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf resolution.

The resolution authorized the president “to take all steps necessary, including the use of armed force,” to defend any state in the area that asked for help “in the defense of its freedom.” Shortly thereafter, Johnson ordered air raids on North Vietnamese naval installations and fuel supply tanks.