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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Halberstam say was the purpose of operation Rolling Thunder?
(a) To display American airpower.
(b) To demonstrate the benefits of democracy.
(c) To open North Vietnamese markets.
(d) To force Hanoi to capitulate.

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

3. Who oversaw domestic operations of the operation code named 34A?
(a) McGeorge Bundy.
(b) General Harkins.
(c) General Westmoreland.
(d) Maxwell Taylor.

4. What does Halberstam say conditions were like in South Vietnam by the end of 1964?
(a) Settling into a war of attrition.
(b) Deteriorating.
(c) Stabilizing.
(d) Improving.

5. The war continued until which President took office?
(a) Ford.
(b) Nixon.
(c) Reagan.
(d) Carter.

6. What does Halberstam say was Lyndon Johnson's feeling about the coup?
(a) He proposed it.
(b) He turned a blind eye to it.
(c) He endorsed it.
(d) He opposed it.

7. What does Halberstam say was the military's opinion after the start of Rolling Thunder?
(a) The military predicted a war of attrition.
(b) The military wanted to keep experimenting with saturation bombing techniques.
(c) The military expected the campaign to bring victory in 3-5 years.
(d) The military thought the war would last six months.

8. How does Halberstam say the Americans responded when the Vietcong attacked Pleiku?
(a) They put more troops on the ground.
(b) They decided to retaliate.
(c) They decided to reevaluate their strategy.
(d) They decided to withdraw.

9. What feeling does Halberstam say Americans were feeling as the war went on and on?
(a) Numbness.
(b) Aggression.
(c) Urgency.
(d) Disgust.

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

11. How did McNamara's position on bombing change over time?
(a) After a year, he reversed his position entirely.
(b) After the first weeks, he was sure that bombing would end the war.
(c) Years later, he would say that he had doubts about how useful bombing would be.
(d) After a few months, he was convinced of bombing's effectiveness.

12. In what way does Halberstam say that Lyndon Johnson resembled Kennedy in his management style?
(a) Johnson trusted the military's reports.
(b) Johnson did not seek a wide variety of opinions.
(c) Johnson sought out expert opinions beyond his cabinet.
(d) Johnson used a cabinet of enemies.

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

14. Who does Halberstam say was especially vocal in calling for a change in U.S. Vietnam policy?
(a) McGeorge Bundy.
(b) Maxwell Taylor.
(c) Averell Harriman.
(d) General Westmoreland.

15. When does Halberstam say the Johnson administration realized that Bundy was necessary to their planning?
(a) When McNamara's plans were ineffectual.
(b) When they had a hard time while he was on vacation.
(c) When Diem was overthrown, as Bundy had predicted he would be.
(d) When Taylor's theories were proven wrong.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Halberstam say set the tone for Vietnam policy for the beginning of the Johnson administration?

2. What had USAID done in Vietnam at the beginning of Chapter 15?

3. What was McNamara beginning to suspect in Vietnam?

4. What did the code 34A stand for in the White House?

5. What kind of problem does Halberstam say the cost of the war caused for the Johnson administration?

(see the answer keys)

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