NSA History of Gulf of Tonkin Incident

[Tom Odom]

Folks,

This is worth the read. The NSA released it last evening. You can download the report at http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/releases/relea00012.pdf

Best all,
Tom

[Roguish Lawyer]

Thanks very much for the link, Tom. I am printing it now, although probably won't read the whole thing for a while.

[Hugh]

FYI -- There's quite a bit more information, to include some raw traffic, available on the NSA website here - http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/

[Bill Harsey]

Just a little something nawing at me, why is it being released now?

[CoLawman]

Just a little something nawing at me, why is it being released now?

This might answer that, and your instincts were correct I believe!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/31/news/war.php

Critique of intelligence on Vietnam kept secret
By Scott Shane The New York Times

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2005


The research by the NSA historian was detailed four years ago in an in-house article. It remains classified, in part because agency officials feared its release might prompt uncomfortable comparisons with the flawed intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq, according to an intelligence official familiar with some internal discussions of the matter.

Matthew Aid, an independent historian who has discussed Hanyok's Tonkin Gulf research with current and former NSA and CIA officials who have read it, said he had decided to speak publicly about the findings because he believed they should have been released long ago.

"This material is relevant to debates we as Americans are having about the war in Iraq and intelligence reform," said Aid, who is writing a history of the NSA. "To keep it classified simply because it might embarrass the agency is wrong."

Aid's description of Hanyok's findings was confirmed by the intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the research remains classified.

Both men said Hanyok believed the initial misinterpretation of North Vietnamese intercepts was probably an honest mistake. But after months of detective work in the NSA's archives, he concluded that midlevel agency officials had discovered the error almost immediately but covered it up and doctored documents so that they appeared to provide evidence of an attack.

"Rather than come clean about their mistake, they helped launch the United States into a bloody war that would last for 10 years," Aid said.

Asked about Hanyok's research, an NSA spokesman said the agency intended to release the material in late November. The release had been "delayed," said Don Weber, the spokesman, "in an effort to be consistent with our preferred practice of providing the public a more contextual perspective."

[Tom Odom]

I don't find this surprising at all. A colleague of mine, COL (ret) Fred Wagoner wrote an excellent monograph on the diplomatic and strategic asspects of the 64 Congo Hostage Crisis. He turned over all his research to me as I wrote Leavenworth Paper 14 on the military and tactical aspects of the crisis. His monograph was ready for print in 1978 but because it was on hostages, NDU was not allowed to publish it until after the Iran Hostage crisis was resolved. My own mongraph on the 64 hostage crisis got held up for a year by the CIA because I put together the covert side of the picture. That was in 1987.
The NSA has in the past few years been making an effort to be more accessible to the public. I suspect this also has to do with maintaining that momentum.

Best all,
Tom