“The Original Purpose Of “Operation Rolling Thunder” (1965-68) Was Bolster The Morale Of The South Vietnamese And To Serve As A Signaling Device To Hanoi. U.S. Airpower Would Act As A Method Of “Strategic Persuasion,” Deterring The North...

A. Plan of the Investigation
This investigation aims at exploring to what extent Operation Rolling Thunder has fulfilled its dual objective of bolstering South Vietnamese morale, as well as acting as a signal and method of strategic persuasion to deter North Vietnam politically. Section B summarizes the nature of North Vietnamese army, the mentality of North Vietnamese, the political imperatives, weakness, and losses of the US, and the social situation in South and North Vietnam. The origin, purpose, value and limitations of the two major sources: Vietnam: A History written by journalist Stanley Karnow, selected for its comprehensive analysis of the Vietnam War, and Rolling Thunder 1965: Anatomy of a Failure is written by Colonel Dennis M. Drew, selected for it in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of the Operation will be assessed in Section C. In Section D, an analysis will be provided to show how the Operation only fulfilled its objectives to a very limited extent by demonstrating how Operation was already deemed ineffective in the beginning, and by analyzing various indications revealing the Operation’s failures and inefficiencies.
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B. Summary of Evidence
Background of Operation Rolling Thunder
The operation was instituted aimed at, through strategic persuasion, deter North Vietnam politically, as well as bolstering the morale of the South Vietnamese community. Initially, the Operation aims to coerce North Vietnam into abandoning its support for the Southern insurgency or by reducing, if not stop, the infiltration of man and material being sent to the South.
Needs, advantages and support for the North Vietnamese military
The North Vietnamese military is composed largely of guerilla forces that did not possess artillery, electrical generation and industrial plants that are vital to its war efforts.   To facilitate and safeguard the transfer of foreign aid, North Vietnamese had constructed concealed webs of canals and rivers...