Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
CFR asked members of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations what they considered to be the best and worst foreign policy decisions in U.S. history.
On August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked the USS Maddox, a destroyer operating in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. Two nights later, the Maddox reported that it had come under fire again. President Lyndon B. Johnson responded to the news by ordering airstrikes on North Vietnam—the first overt U.S. attack on the country. Johnson also asked Congress to endorse his decision to confront North Vietnamese aggression. Congress complied in less than 72 hours by passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, deepening U.S. involvement in what would become the Vietnam War.
What members of Congress did not know was that much of what the Johnson administration told Congress about why the Maddox was in the Gulf of Tonkin was untrue and that the second attack likely never occurred.
Surveyed historians ranked the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution among the worst decisions in U.S. foreign policy history.
See how other U.S. foreign policy decisions were ranked: cfr.org/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions
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This work represents the views and opinions solely of the author. The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher, and takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.
Visit the CFR website: cfr.org
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CFR asked members of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations what they considered to be the best and worst foreign policy decisions in U.S. history.
On August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked the USS Maddox, a destroyer operating in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. Two nights later, the Maddox reported that it had come under fire again. President Lyndon B. Johnson responded to the news by ordering airstrikes on North Vietnam—the first overt U.S. attack on the country. Johnson also asked Congress to endorse his decision to confront North Vietnamese aggression. Congress complied in less than 72 hours by passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, deepening U.S. involvement in what would become the Vietnam War.
What members of Congress did not know was that much of what the Johnson administration told Congress about why the Maddox was in the Gulf of Tonkin was untrue and that the second attack likely never occurred.
Surveyed historians ranked the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution among the worst decisions in U.S. foreign policy history.
See how other U.S. foreign policy decisions were ranked: cfr.org/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions
Subscribe to our channel: goo.gl/WCYsH7
This work represents the views and opinions solely of the author. The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher, and takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.
Visit the CFR website: cfr.org
Follow CFR on X: twitter.com/cfr_org
Follow CFR on Facebook: facebook.com/councilonforeignrelations
