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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the outcome of the first confrontation between Vietcong and U.S. troops?
(a) 900 Vietcong casualties and 450 American casualties.
(b) 2,000 Vietcong casualties and 60 American casualties.
(c) 1,200 Vietcong casualties and 200 American casualties.
(d) 600 Vietcong casualties and no American casualties.

2. What does Halberstam say the military had been telling President Johnson when he sent an investigative team to Vietnam?
(a) They had been telling him that conditions were improving.
(b) They had been telling him to send more troops.
(c) They had been telling him to bomb.
(d) They had been telling him to withdraw.

3. What event does Halberstam say triggered bombing operations against the North?
(a) The Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
(b) A North Vietnamese attack on American B-57 bombers.
(c) The Bay of Pigs invasion.
(d) A North Vietnamese success in the Mekong Delta.

4. What does Halberstam say was the Joint Chiefs of Staff's perception of the problem in Vietnam?
(a) They thought it could be resolved diplomatically.
(b) They thought it could be solved by bombing.
(c) They were planning to solve it with a coup.
(d) They thought it was a military problem.

5. What does Halberstam say was the result of Johnson's method of planning for the war?
(a) He often took the most effective actions.
(b) He missed opportunities to let his generals take actions that might have been decisive.
(c) He was compelled to water down his plans to accommodate his advisers' pet projects.
(d) He never raised taxes to pay for the war.

6. Who opposed the fact-finding trip to Vietnam in early 1965?
(a) The State Department.
(b) The military.
(c) The CIA.
(d) The President.

7. What does Halberstam say affected the American attitude toward the war?
(a) The American election schedule.
(b) The American media coverage.
(c) The civil rights struggle in America.
(d) International resistance to the war.

8. Who tipped off Senator Wayne Morse about the real situation of the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
(a) McGeorge Bundy.
(b) President Johnson.
(c) General Westmoreland.
(d) An anonymous caller.

9. Whose staff does Halberstam say outlined three responses to the American bombing campaign?
(a) General Harkin.
(b) Maxwell Taylor.
(c) McGeorge Bundy.
(d) General Westmoreland.

10. What does Halberstam say was the conclusion of the study that analyzed the results of a bombing attack against the north?
(a) The report concluded that bombing would break the Vietcong's supply routes, and end resistance.
(b) The report concluded that bombing would strengthen the North by building opposition to the Americans.
(c) The report concluded that bombing would deter any further guerilla-style attacks against the South.
(d) The report concluded that bombing would overwhelm the people, and drain support for further attacks.

11. What did the code 34A stand for in the White House?
(a) The covert actions that responded to the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
(b) Search and destroy missions.
(c) Diplomacy to end the war.
(d) The plan to bomb North Vietnam.

12. What evidence does Halberstam give for the deterioration of the mood in America?
(a) Confrontational anti-war protests.
(b) Seats being lost in mid-term elections.
(c) Budget fights in the Senate.
(d) Civil rights protests.

13. What does Halberstam say the administration had led the American people to believe about the war?
(a) That international consensus would build in support of America's actions.
(b) That American air power would win the war quickly.
(c) That the war would pay for itself.
(d) That it would not be a large war.

14. What does Halberstam say was going to cause the realities of the war to be made public?
(a) The media.
(b) Leaks from inside the government.
(c) Passage of the Freedom of Information Act.
(d) The process of paying for the war.

15. What problem does Halberstam say McNamara discovered in Vietnam?
(a) That America's allies in the region were opposed to further involvement.
(b) The war effort was hampered by corruption and inefficient military support.
(c) The government wasn't working out and the Vietcong were gaining strength.
(d) The government was unpopular and the U.S. mission was not clear.

Short Answer Questions

1. How was the situation changing in South Vietnam in early 1965?

2. What does Halberstam say was Lyndon Johnson's feeling about the coup?

3. Who does Halberstam say was making the case for bombing after the 1964 election?

4. When does Halberstam say that McNamara realized he had been misled about the conditions in Vietnam?

5. What does Halberstam say was decided at the April 20, 1965 meeting in Honolulu?

(see the answer keys)

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