USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Credibility gap is a term that came into wide use with journalism, political and public discourse in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, it was most frequently used to describe public scepticism about the Lyndon B. Johnson administration’s statements and policies on the Vietnam War.

Detailed explanation-2: -The U.S. had stationed advisory military personnel in South Vietnam since the 1950s, but Johnson presided over a major escalation of the U.S. role in the Vietnam War. After the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, he obtained congressional approval to use military force to repel future attacks by North Vietnam.

Detailed explanation-3: -Many Americans opposed the war on moral grounds, appalled by the devastation and violence of the war. Others claimed the conflict was a war against Vietnamese independence, or an intervention in a foreign civil war; others opposed it because they felt it lacked clear objectives and appeared to be unwinnable.

Detailed explanation-4: -Why did the Tet Offensive contribute to the credibility gap during the Vietnam War? Although North Vietnam was technically the loser in the TET Offensive, in its aftermath American citizens realized that North Vietnam would not be as easy to defeat as government and military leaders had claimed.

Detailed explanation-5: -A credibility gap is a difference in perception between the government and its people. It occurs when there is a disconnect between what is being told to the people and what they actually believe. It became part of American culture during the Vietnam War.