Chapter 8 - General War
Vietnam War
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Introduction to the Vietnam War - read this for the
history
What are other conflicts with roots in colonial
empires?
What would winning have meant?
Vietnam is now communist - does that matter?
Why don't we worry about communists any more?
Key points
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Once the dominos were safe, Vietnam was only a proxy
for the US/Communist Block conflict
 The same conflicts played out in the mideast
Johnson and Nixon lied about the conduct of the war
 How did this change the relationship between the
Congress and the President?
Vietnam was the first modern media war
 Lying to the media became dangerous
 How have we managed the media in the Iraq wars?
The Tokin Gulf Resolution
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How is the Tokin Gulf incident like WMDs in the Iraq war?
Is the Tokin Gulf Resolution a declaration of war?
 Is it anything at all, legally?
 If not, what does that tell us about presidential power?
Why didn't it matter when Congress repealed the Tokin
Gulf Amendment?
 What did Congress keep doing?
Orlando v. Laird United States Court of Appeals,
443 F.2d 1039, cert. denied, 404 U.S. 869 (1971)
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Who are plaintiffs?
What is their claim?
Why do they have standing when other citizens do not?
What is the ‘‘mutual participation’’ standard for
prosecution of the war?
What is plaintiff's theory on why Congress was not free
to reject the war?
Why is resolving this a political question?
Pentagon Papers
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What were the Pentagon Papers?
What was their political significance?
They are discussed more fully in Chapter 37
Their publication and the attempts to stop it were
a major national drama
Holtzman v. Schlesinger, 484 F.2d 1307
(1973)?
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What did the district court order that was being
appealed?
Sec. 108. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on
or after August 15, 1973, no funds herein or heretofore
appropriated may be obligated or expended to finance
directly or indirectly combat activities by United States
military forces in or over or from off the shores of North
Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia. and not a
judicial question. . . ."
How does this show congressional support for the
bombing at issue in this case? (Was it before 15 Aug?)