Operation Rolling Thunder was initially designed as a brief, targeted bombing campaign to compel North Vietnam to negotiate. However, it extended into a 3.5-year operation, marked by hundreds of thousands of sorties, and substantial financial cost without successful persuasion. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara applied a metrics-driven approach to the campaign, viewing it as a balance sheet that ultimately oversimplified the complex reality of the conflict, leading to the perception of the bombing campaign as a representation of American miscalculations during the Vietnam War.
Operation Rolling Thunder was initially intended as a strategic bombardment to pressure North Vietnam into negotiations, yet it became a lengthy and costly campaign, ultimately failing to persuade.
The campaign demonstrated the failure of metrics-driven strategies in conflict, as Secretary of Defense McNamara's rigid approach underestimated the complexities of the Vietnam War.
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