CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Directorate of Intelligence

INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM

Rolling Thunder: The 1967 Campaign Against LOC's

Summary

During 1967 the Rolling Thunder program changed
 significantly in its scope and intensity. North
 Vietnam's major industrial targets were neutralized,
 and new targets in the restricted areas
 around Hanoi and Haiphong and in the China border
 areas were attacked for the first time. Since
 June 1967 the program has put a renewed emphasis
 on the interdiction of lines of supply. The
 interdiction campaign has been enlarged to include
 intensive and repeated attacks against multiple
 targets on the vital lines of communication (LOC's)
 in the northern areas of North Vietnam.

Transport operations have been seriously disrupted,
 losses of transport equipment have increased
 sharply, and the costs and difficulties
 of maintaining traffic movements have multiplied.
 But as a result of countermeasures, the use of
 alternate routes, and foreign assistance, North
 Vietnam's logistic capabilities have not been
 reduced, and there is convincing evidence that
 the military and economic goods needed to support
 the war have continued to move.

Note: This memorandum was produced by CIA. It
 was prepared by the Office of Economic Research
 and was coordinated with the Office of Current
 Intelligence and the Special Assistant for Vietnamese
 Affairs; the estimates and conclusions
 represent the best judgment of the Directorate of
 Intelligence as of 29 September 1967.

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