History questions, about LBJ and vietnam?

i answered your questions but not in order. a href="http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vietnamwar/p/VietnamBrief.htm" rel="nofollow"http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/viet…/a The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the Geneva Accords. Vietnam had been split into two, with a communist government in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho launched a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of uniting the country under communist rule. The United States, seeking to stop the spread of communism, trained the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to help combat the guerillas. Causes of the Vietnam War a href="http://www.marxist.com/tet-offensive-part-one.htm" rel="nofollow"http://www.marxist.com/tet-offensive-par…/a In the early hours of 31st January 1968, 70,000 North Vietnamese soldiers, together with guerrilla fighters of the NLF, launched one of the most daring military campaigns in history. The Tet Offensive was the real turning point in the Vietnam War. On its 40th anniversary( you can read all the details) a href="http://www.vvaw.org/about/warhistory.php" rel="nofollow"http://www.vvaw.org/about/warhistory.php/a involvement in Vietnam did not begin in the 1960's or even the 1940's, but in 1845. That's right -- 1845. In that year the people of Da Nang arrested a French missionary bishop for breaking local laws. The U.S. commander of "Old Ironsides" (the U.S.S. Constitution) landed U.S. Navy and Marines in support of French efforts to reclaim their missionary. Mad Jack Percival, the ship's captain, fired into the city of Da Nang, killing 3 dozen Vietnamese, wounding more, and taking the local mandarins hostage. He then demanded that the Catholic Bishop be freed in exchange for his hostages. The Vietnamese were unimpressed. They refused his demand and waited. "Mad Jack" got tired of waiting, released his hostages, and sailed away leaving the Bishop behind. One hundred and thirty years later, Americans would again become tired of their involvement and leave Vietnam. Unfortunately we would leave behind far more than 3 dozen a href="http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/frus/summaries/960603_FRUS_III_1964-68.html" rel="nofollow"http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/frus/summa…/a On July 8 and July 9, the President received strong support for his impending decision for escalation in Vietnam from the so-called "Wise Men," distinguished informal Presidential advisers. The Wise Men met and concluded that Vietnam was a crucial test of the American ability to counter Communism. They suggested the stakes were important enough for the President to authorize whatever combat forces were necessary to prevent defeat. At the same time, the JCS reported that the air strikes were having a minimal impact upon the enemy's ability to wage war. Because of its disappointing results, the air campaign was becoming secondary to the war on the ground. Therefore, the President should proceed with the 34 U.S. battalion (and 10 allied battalion) plan soon, dispatching the troops gradually so as to minimize the impact of the decision. He could even mobilize the reserves, since a joint resolution in Congress could be attached to pending domestic legislation.