Bombing campaign over North Vietnam, supposed to weaken enemy's ability and will to fight. Which term is this?

• A. Redrup v New York
• B. Operation Rolling Thunder
• C. 1965 Immigration Act
• D. February 1962

Answer: (B)

A sustained air campaign against North Vietnam, intended to degrade its ability to wage war and pressure its leadership to end support for the insurgency, is known as Operation Rolling Thunder. In 1965, after the United States increased its involvement in Vietnam, this broad bombing program targeted North Vietnamese industry, transportation, and military sites and continued through 1968. The aim was to weaken both the North’s capacity to fight and its will to resist, hoping to push Hanoi toward negotiations. While it caused significant damage and escalated U.S. pressure, it did not decisively stop North Vietnamese support or lead to the quick end of the war, and it sparked controversy over civilian harm and effectiveness. The other items are unrelated topics—a Supreme Court obscenity case, a 1965 immigration law, or an unrelated date—so they don’t fit the described campaign.