Office of the Historian

299. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense McNamara to President Johnson1

Washington, November 9, 1966.

SUBJECT

  • JCS Recommendations for Military Actions Against North Vietnam

Attached is a summary of the changes in the Rolling Thunder and associated programs which the Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed to me in a [Page 818] memorandum dated November 8,2 a copy of which I sent to you yesterday.

I recommend approval of the items checked in blue and disapproval of the items checked in red.3 My recommendations are based on my belief that we should limit our attacks to military targets, and within the category of military targets, attack only those which can be successfully destroyed without substantial civilian casualties and the destruction of which will more than offset our probable strike losses.

Because the military value of the targets and the possible strike losses may be expected to change with time, I may wish to recommend later that you authorize attack on certain of the targets presently checked in red.

The Secretary of State concurs in my recommendations.4

Robert S. McNamara5

Attachment

LIST OF CHANGES IN Rolling Thunder AND ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS PROPOSED BY THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF

1.
Reduce the restricted area around Hanoi from a 30-mile circle to a 10-mile “race track” pattern and reduce the restricted area round Haiphong from a 10-mile to a 4-mile circle in order to: [Page 819]
a.
Permit strikes on approximately 36 identified military targets around Hanoi and approximately 8 such targets around Haiphong—these targets include bridges, supply depots, and similar facilities.
b.
Carry out unlimited strikes against vehicles and other forms of military traffic on the approximately 284 miles of roads and waterways between the present and proposed circles around Hanoi and Haiphong.
c.
Permit search for and destruction of dispersed military supply installations lying between the present and proposed circles.
2.
Attack 3 surface-to-air missile support facilities: Kinh No SAM Storage (16 strike sorties); Hanoi SAM Storage (16 strike sorties); Haiphong SAM Assembly (40 strike sorties).
3.
Strike fixed POL storage facilities at Ha Gia (40 strike sorties) and Cam Thon (54 strike sorties).
4.
Strike Thai Nguyen steel plant (28 strike sorties).
5.
Strike Haiphong cement plant (18 strike sorties).
6.
Strike Haiphong thermal power plant west (4 strike sorties).
7.
Strike Haiphong thermal power plant east (4 strike sorties).
8.
Strike 4 waterway locks: Thanh Hoa (24 strike sorties), Ben Thuy (24 strike sorties), Xom Trung Hoa (24 strike sorties), Trung Luong (24 strike sorties).
9.
Strike Cam Hoa Port (selected areas only—22 strike sorties).
10.
Strike Haiphong Port (selected areas only—24 strike sorties).
11.
Strike Xuan Mai highway bridge (34 strike sorties).
12.
Strike Yen Bien railroad yard (4 strike sorties).
13.
Strike Van Dien vehicle depot (56 strike sorties).
14.
Extend the area in which naval gunfire is authorized against coastal shipping from 17 degrees 30ʼ N to 20 degrees N.
  1. Source: Department of State, EA/VN-Vietnam Working Group: Lot 72 D 219, Rolling Thunder Memos, 1966. Top Secret. See Document 298 regarding the transmission of this memorandum to the President.↩
  2. Document 295.↩
  3. Items 2, 3, 11, and 12 were checked in blue. Items 1a, 1b, 1c, and 4–10 were checked in red. The last part of item 14, “17 degrees 30ʼ N to 20 degrees N,” was checked in red, but an emendation handwritten just below the typed item, “extend from 17 degrees 30ʼ N to 18 degrees N,” was checked in blue.↩
  4. McNamara, Wheeler, and Rostow met with the President at the LBJ Ranch in Texas on November 10. (Johnson Library, Presidentʼs Daily Diary) No record of their discussion has been found but see Document 298. Also, a note of November 9 to the President from his secretary, Mary Slater, indicates that Wheelerʼs memorandum and Rostowʼs cable, Documents 295 and 296, were among the papers that the President wanted to discuss with McNamara on November 10. (Johnson Library, Presidentʼs Appointment File) Presumably a decision was made regarding Rolling Thunder 52. Strikes were authorized in JCS telegrams 7735 and 7783 to CINCPAC, November 10 and 11, against the targets indicated in items 2, 3, 11, 12, and 13 on the attached “List of Changes.” Item 14, as amended by McNamara, was also authorized. Strikes on the targets indicated in items 4, 5, and 6 were authorized but deferred. (Department of Defense, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 9155 (18 Feb 65), Section 13, Rolling Thunder 52) McNamara recommended the deferment (tentatively until November 25), and the President approved, during a telephone conversation that began at 9:44 a.m. on November 11. (Johnson Library, Recordings and Transcripts, Recording of a Telephone Conversation between Johnson and McNamara, Tape F66.31, PNO 2) Rolling Thunder 52 was initiated on November 22.↩
  5. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩