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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Halberstam define the flash point?
(a) The point at which the American people were no longer going to support the war.
(b) The point to which the U.S. could escalate without going to war.
(c) The location at which forces could engage face to face.
(d) The point at which he would convince the American people to support the war.

2. What does Halberstam say was the outcome of the report on the bombing attacks?
(a) The report was ignored, although it delayed the bombings.
(b) The report led to sanctions against the American military.
(c) The report resulted justifiying sending more troops and bombers to Vietnam.
(d) The report resulted in the withdrawal of American combat troops.

3. What does Halberstam say was the result of the Spring Offensive?
(a) General Harkin withdrew from his post.
(b) General Westmoreland raised troop levels to 200,000.
(c) The military employed more bombers.
(d) American troop levels were reduced to 20,000.

4. What does Halberstam say happened when control shifted out of Taylor's hands in March and April 1965?
(a) Reports began to be issued with greater frequency.
(b) Reports began to be closer to actual realities.
(c) Reports began to reduce estimations of Vietcong troop strength.
(d) Reports began to describe American troops' atrocities.

5. What evidence does Halberstam say the President was presented with to make the case for bombing?
(a) U.S. soldiers' atrocities.
(b) Test results from the bomb manufacturers.
(c) Jobs reports in districts where bombs were manufactured.
(d) U.S. soldiers' casualty rates.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Halberstam say Johnson conducted planning for the Vietnam war?

2. What happened in the Gulf of Tonkin as a part of 34A?

3. Who traveled to Vietnam after the 1965 inauguration?

4. When did McNamara say the U.S. would be out of Vietnam, when he visited the country?

5. What event does Halberstam say triggered bombing operations against the North?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the reality of the war become public information?

2. What was President Johnson's position with regard to bombing?

3. What happened to Diem and Nhu during the coup?

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

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

6. What happened during the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

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

8. What issues were discussed as there started to be struggles over Vietnam strategy in mid-1965?

9. Describe what Halberstam calls 'the Bundy trip' to Vietnam.

10. What does Halberstam say began to change in early 1964?

(see the answer keys)

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