The War: Racing the Monsoon

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Ounce of Prevention. In Washington, committee rooms resounded with controversy over the efficacy of the bombing. But the Pentagon stuck to its guns. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, testifying before Senator John Stennis' Preparedness Subcommittee, reminded the Senators that despite the obvious payoff from air attack, bombing alone has never been expected to end the war (see box). Air Force Chief of Staff John McConnell offered statistics to show that the raids have prevented the Communists from doubling the size of their forces in the South.

To cope with such an enormous buildup, said McConnell, the U.S. would have had to spend $75 billion more than it has, and throw as many as 800,000 more men into the war. Said Admiral T. H. Moorer, the new chief of naval operations: "Now is not the time to terminate or decrease in any way this pressure on the enemy."