Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War,

A careful and rigorous examination of all forms of evidence, including intercepted North Vietnamese naval communications that NSA had not yet released at the time the first edition of this book was published, lead to a firm conclusion that no attack of the USS Turner Joy or USS Maddox occurred on August 4th. Reports that these crafts were under attack had been the basis on which Congress passed, almost unanimously and with little debate, a resolution granting President Lyndon Johnson authority to take all necessary measures to deal with aggression in Vietnam.