[Oldexpat]

Exactly. The first nvn attack was real. They were going after what they thought were Marops SVN Nasty class Pt boats. The second attack was nervous sonar men.

[Lazamataz]

Sontagged The first No. Vietnamese attack in the Gulf of Tonkin was real. Hanoi admitted it and even featured a torpedo in their War Museum in Hanoi like the ones used in that attack. The torpedo and its sign was photographed by Prof. Ed. Moise, a leftist liberal, during one of his trips to No. Vietnam. After he published it, they took the exhibit down. DUH!!! There are some real questions as to whether there was a second attack, or just radar imaging problems. I think LBJ screwed up on that one and the rest is history.

LBJ didn't screw up, he (and others) acted in bad faith.

From the US Naval Institute:

The Truth About Tonkin: Questions about the Gulf of Tonkin incidents have persisted for more than 40 years. But once-classified documents and tapes released in the past several years, combined with previously uncovered facts, make clear that high government officials distorted facts and deceived the American public about events that led to full U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

So yeah, in this age where seamless videos can be produced that have people saying things they never said, yyyyyeeeeeahhhhh it is a good idea to have skepticism. Especially when the government asserts something.