Understanding what happened in the gulf and why requires understanding this urgent administration need to reaffirm its commitment to the struggle and find a way to jump-start the flagging effort in South Vietnam. It also requires understanding that, contrary to the administration’s claims, the incident had in fact been provoked, consciously or not, by the United States. And it requires understanding that American officials engaged in deliberate and repeated deception about what went on in the gulf in the days surrounding the affair.
