CDL: Why Couldn't the United States Bomb Its Way to Victory in Vietnam?

The Vietnam War marked a point in history where the United States had dropped even more bombs than they ever had during World War II. While military officials believed that Operation Rolling Thunder should have been used to relentlessly drop bombs on North Vietnam to force them into submission, civilian decision makers made it more difficult for the military to fully take advantage of their arsenal. Moreover, President Johnson carefully gave orders as to how the war was fought so as not to involve other communist parties that the United States might regret going to war with. In so doing, he banned bombing missions and strikes on key locations (airfields and missile sites) that could have conceivably [at the time] weighed the war in the U.S.'s favor but also risk going to war with nations carrying a nuclear threat. Johnson's desire to spare civilians also played a large role in how the war was fought, with no proposal of striking dikes and dams that could have disrupted food production and cause flooding in towns.

Instead, bombing campaigns were focused almost entirely on transportation sources, industry sites, and electrical power plants. North Vietnam's ability to direct and mobilize citizens severely counteracted the United States' efforts to tip the war in the allies favor. North Vietnam had an amazing ability to adapt to the situations they were faced with and kept their nation functioning despite the efforts of the United States to disrupt them.

Regardless of America's inability to disrupt the North Vietnamese and short of decimating the civilian population, it was questionable whether massive, full-scale bombing could have affected the North Vietnamese ability to support the Vietcong.

1.) How might have the American public reacted to the war if President Johnson had been more cavalier during Operation Rolling Thunder?

2.) How did President Johnson's foreign policy reflect the way he actually fought the war?

3.) How did the Vietnam War reflect on more recent conflicts in the Middle East, namely Iraq? (i.e. Civilian casualties, public reception, and rules of engagement.)