Although the Soviet KGB broke up into its foreign and domestic
component parts upon the dissolution of the Soviet Unionin 1991, the
GRU continues today virtually unchanged from its Soviet days. Ac-
cording to various sources, GRU now is a cohesive, highly efficient,
and professional military organization, with far greater resources for
collecting foreign intelligence than its civilian counterparts.GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION.The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
was a congressional bill passed on 7 August 1964, authorizing the
president to use armed force to repel North Vietnamese attacks on
American military vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China
Sea. The Lyndon B. JohnsonWhite House used the resolution to
justify air attacks over North Vietnam and, eventually, to escalate
American involvement in the Vietnam War. Critics suggest that the
resolution’s premise, that North Vietnamese gunboats attacked Amer-
ican naval ships, was really a hoax to justify American military in-
volvement and that there were no such attacks.GUZMAN, JACOBO ARBENZ. See ARBENZ GUZMAN, JACOBO.– H –
HALE, NATHAN (1755–1776). Nathan Hale probably was the first
American to die at the hands of the enemy for spying for his country.
A Yale graduate and a schoolteacher, Hale joined the Continental
Army’s 19th Continental Regiment during the siege of Boston. In
1776, he was promoted to captain and was selected by Lieutenant
Colonel Thomas Knowlton to lead a company of rangers. When the
British forced the Americans to retreat from Long Island to Manhat-
tan, General George Washingtonasked for volunteers to infiltrate
behind British lines to gather intelligence information. The only vol-
unteer to step forward was Nathan Hale, an unlikely spy, with no
training in espionage, no coverstory, and no disguise. Yet, Hale
slipped behind enemy lines and managed to collect the information
General Washington needed but was captured by the British as he at-
tempted to return to his own lines. British general William Howe or-
dered that he be hanged. On 22 September 1776, Hale was brought84 • GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 84