The Soviet Union didn't fall until 1991.
D is the answer ( for cutting off our trade with parts of the world )
I think that the best answer is the geographic location: many other countries (Sweden for example) have tried being neutral at different times but did not manage to: but the fact that the US has only two boundaries, and that both other countries also have a history of fighting from independence from a European power, makes it possible that unless US decideds to get involved in international politics, it can be "left alone".
Answer: It allowed President Johnson to use military force in Vietnam without declaring war.
The major provision of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was authorization for the US President to do what he felt necessary to bring peace to Southeast Asia.
Detail:
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a measure passed by US Congress that allowed the US President to make military actions, like increase troops, without formal declaration of war. It led to huge escalation of US involvement in the Vietnam War. The resolution was passed by Congress in August, 1964, after alleged attacks on two US naval ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. The key wording in the resolution said:
- <em>Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.</em>
That resolution served as a blank check for President Johnson to send troops to whatever extent he deemed necessary in pursuance of the war. Between 1964 and the end of Johnson's presidency in 1969, US troop levels in Vietnam increased from around 20,000 to over 500,000.
