The Associated Press writes: “A dubious threat to U.S. interests. A swift vote in Congress for broad presidential war powers in response. A long, costly and bitterly debated war.”  

“Fifty years ago [yesterday], reacting to reports of a U.S. Navy encounter with enemy warships in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam – reports long since discredited – President Lyndon Johnson signed a resolution passed overwhelmingly by Congress that historians call the crucial catalyst for deep American involvement in the Vietnam War. Many also see it as a cautionary tale that has gone unheeded.”