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The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which occurred in the first days of August, 1964, led the government of President Lyndon Johnson to dramatically intensify its participation in the Vietnam War. The President and such advisors as Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, declared often that the United States "will seek no wider war". They insisted that the United States was only responding to the attacks of the North Vietnamese navy on United States destroyers. Yet, the United States response included daily bombing raids on both civilian and military targets in North Vietnam. Preparations were made to send more ground troops to South Vietnam, and military forces were strengthened throughout Southeast Asia. The United States military response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident increased Cold War tensions between the United States, China and the Soviet Union.

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