Who Controls America

by Mark Mullen

As a result of Johnson’s testimony, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which allowed the president to take any necessary steps, including the use of force to help any SEATO member requiring help in defending its freedom. In effect, the resolution gave the president war-making powers without a Congressional declaration of war. As it turns out, Johnson lied to Congress or Johnson was lied to by Secretary of State McNamara or both. The Maddox was not in international waters. It and other destroyers were in North Vietnam’s territorial waters with the intent of provoking North Vietnam to attack while they gathered intelligence on their radar systems. U.S. ships fired on the North Vietnamese ships first. The following text comes directly from the Pentagon Papers released by the federal government in 1971.