Answer:
It was certainly convenient as a reason for expanding American involvement in the Vietnam War.
Explanation:
In 1964, the American government claimed that American naval ships had been attacked in territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. The attacks were unprovoked.
President Jonson took these claims to Congress which subsequently passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This, in effect, gave Johnson carte blanche to escalate US involvement in Vietnam without the restrictions of declaring war.
The Pentagon Papers, published in the 1970's subsequently proved that the claims, along with the rest of the information published by the American government justifying US involvement in Vietnam were falsehoods.
