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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did the Spring offensive start in Vietnam?

2. Why did President Johnson authorize bombing attacks on North Vietnam, in Halberstam's account?

3. What does Halberstam say the U.S. assured its generals during their meeting in Vietnam?

4. What does Halberstam say the Kennedy administration found out after the coup?

5. What does Halberstam say was the conclusion of the study that analyzed the results of a bombing attack against the north?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened during the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

2. What were the questions people were asking on the issue of bombing the North?

3. What were the alternatives the staff in Vietnam laid out for Maxwell Taylor when he visited Vietnam in the fall of 1964?

4. What does Halberstam say Maxwell Taylor said were the three issues confronting the U.S. in its Vietnam planning?

5. What was President Johnson's position regarding Vietnam in the early days of his presidency?

6. What was the public story of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and what was the truth?

7. What does Halberstam say happened when Westmoreland assumed control?

8. What does Halberstam say became clear to the American government after Diem's death?

9. What was the result of the Spring Offensive?

10. What program did Maxwell Taylor call for in the paper he wrote on his way back from Vietnam?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Argue for the appropriateness or the inappropriateness of executive secrecy as it was used during the Johnson administration. What factors and evidence mitigates the need for executive transparency? What factors and evidence makes transparency an absolute requirement?

Essay Topic 2

How does the containment of the 1960s differ from the preemptive foreign policy of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. How has American foreign policy changed since the 1960s?

Essay Topic 3

How did the Vietnam war affect the U.S. government's bureaucratic organization? Analyze Halberstam's history and describe the changes that were made in the roles and structure of the government as a result of or in reaction to the situation in Vietnam. How did Kennedy and Johnson create special positions or grant special powers to individuals around them? How did the system of checks and balances work in relationship to the privacy and secrecy of the war planners?

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This section contains 847 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample