Free Republic

WASHINGTON - A spy-agency analysis released Thursday contends a second attack on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin never happened, casting further doubt on the leading rationale for escalation of the Vietnam War. Much as faulty U.S. intelligence preceded the invasion of Iraq, the mishandling of intercepted communications 40 years earlier is blamed in the National Security Agency paper for giving President Johnson carte blanche in the conflict. The agency put out more than 140 long-secret documents in response to requests from researchers trying to get to the bottom of an episode that unfolded in the South China Sea...

DETROIT - Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry (news - web sites) said Thursday that the Sept. 11 commission's report clearly shows President Bush (news - web sites) "rushed to war for a purpose that it now turns out is not supported by the facts." Bush continued to insist Thursday that there was a link between Iraq (news - web sites) and al-Qaida, despite the independent commission's finding that there is no evidence to support a collaborative relationship. Bush said no one in his administration has said the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, were orchestrated between Saddam Hussein (news -...