'Rolling Thunder' failed in Vietnam.

• Position: News

By Bruce G. Kauffmann

This week (Feb. 13) in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson approved the first-ever sustained bombing campaign, code-named "Rolling Thunder,'' against Communist North Vietnam. It was a major turning point in the Vietnam War but not a positive one for the U.S. government. Not only did it fail to achieve its objectives, it also had long-term consequences detrimental to both America and its ally, South Vietnam.

The rationale for bombing North Vietnam was simple. South Vietnam's military situation was deteriorating -- the South Vietnamese army was corrupt, inefficient and suffering from ever-increasing desertions, while the North's guerilla army, the Vietcong, was capturing and controlling the South Vietnamese countryside virtually at will. Thus Johnson thought bombing the North might convince its leaders to back off.

To say the least, many vehemently disagreed. The Vietnam War was going badly not because of the military situation in the North, they argued, but because of the political situation in the South.

At the time, South Vietnam was led by a military general, Nguyen Khanh, who had overthrown the previous military general, Duong Han Minh, who himself had overthrown South Vietnam's president, Ngo Dinh Diem, all in a three-year span.

So not only was the South Vietnamese government unstable, it also lacked support among its people, who were sick of both the war and their incompetent, ever-changing leaders. By contrast, North Vietnam's government in Hanoi was stable, widely supported and determined.

So determined that...