The Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurred in neutral waters in 1964. This lead to Johnson being allowed unlimited access to American weaponry and economy.
After being advised to Johnson also began bombing North Vietnam in the notorious campaign: Operation Rolling Thunder. The campaign was intended to last a mere 8 weeks to destroy any links to the Ho Chi Minh trail. In reality, however, the campaign exceeded 3 years.
The conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular with American citizens as soldiers had begun returning home injured. Men had begun refusing to go to Vietnam so as a solution 550,000 men were drafted as a part of a policy. …show more content…
However, to achieve this, Nixon bombed Cambodia in order to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
In conclusion, despite Johnson having an anti-war policy he increased American involvement in the war, changing policies drastically to avoid a declaration of war. Nixon ended American involvement with his Vietnamisation policy and withdrew America from the conflict by