Foreign+Policy

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The Vietnam War was going on throughout the 1960's. In 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, on that same day Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became President. The problem of how to proceed in Vietnam was in Johnson's hands now. On August 2, 1964 three North Vietnamese PT boats fired torpedoes at the USS Maddox, this is known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. On August 7, 1964 Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This authorizes Johnson to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces to the United States and to prevent further aggression." The Resolution also allows Johnson to declare war on North Vietnam without a formal Declaration of War from Congress. In 1965 US troops in Vietnam was at its highest at 200,000 men. In 1966 Lyndon Johnson met with the South Vietnamese leaders and tells them that he will still continue to help them fend off aggression from the North, but that the US will be monitoring South Vietnam's efforts to expand democracy and improve economic conditions for the citizens. **