Evidence to support the point of view expressed in Passage 1 comes from the inordinate amount of media coverage of the conflict that made its way into people’s living rooms via the medium of television. This derived from the presence of on-the-ground reporters in Vietnam who were not bound by the same censorship that had existed during previous conflicts.

Another piece of evidence supporting the position in Passage 1 was the release and publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which detailed that the Johnson administration had consistently lied to the American people about the Vietnam War.

My Lai incident

March 16  Although it will not become public knowledge for more than a year, US ground troops from Charlie Company rampage through the hamlet of My Lai killing more than 500 Vietnamese civilians from infants to the elderly. The massacre continues for three hours until three American fliers intervene, positioning their helicopter between the troops and the fleeing Vietnamese and eventually carrying a handful of wounded to safety. View the BBC Special Report on the incident.

In regard to the nuclear threats of the Soviet Union, evidence may include Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), military build-up with massive budget expenditures, and the military–industrial complex.