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As early as 1954, the United States started sending financial and military aid to South Vietnam, hoping to stop the spread of communism. The flow of 'military advisors' from 700 to over 14,000 built up steadily through John Kennedy's presidency. After he was assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the war to the point of no return (McNamara 53-57).
Johnson used the ludicrous domino theory to justify the military buildup in Vietnam. American people were so scared of communism by McCarthyism in the 1950's that they were willing to do anything to stop communism where it started (Becker 27). The people of the United States let Johnson build up a huge force in Vietnam, and he was also almost unanimously backed by congress. If the American populous would have stopped and thought about what they were getting themselves into and not jumped gung-ho into a frivolous war, their representatives wouldn't have felt so pressured to back Johnson (Lomperis 94-98).
In 1964, the event every war-hungry person was waiting for happened. In the Gulf of Tonkin, several VC torpedo boats reportedly fired on a U.S. vessel. 6 Even though the American ship sustained no damages, Johnson drafted the 'Gulf of Tonkin Resolution', which authorized him to use any force necessary to beat back the North Vietnamese (Neal 68). Congress never declared war or even directly authorized troops, but Johnson twisted enough words around to have his own little executive war (Gregory 152). .
Many warfare tactics brought on by Johnson proved to be wrong and utterly useless. By bombing industry, the U.S. just wasted billions of dollars and precious time and manpower for nothing (Lomperis 104). Also, the bombing of population centers rallied the enemy and brought the North Vietnamese closer together, instead of its actual goal (Becker 72). Napalm was also another mistake. By using a flammable jelly to literally burn up all of North Vietnam, the U.