Editing Robert McNamara (section)

====Nuclear weapons use proposal====
{{main|Battle of Khe Sanh#Westmoreland's plan to use nuclear weapons}}
On 21 January 1968, nine days before the [[Tet Offensive]] broke out, General William Westmoreland proposed planning for tactical nuclear weapons use in Vietnam; Air Force chief of staff General [[John P. McConnell (general)|John McConnell]] concurred. McNamara sent a secret memorandum to Lyndon Johnson on 19 February 1968 - ten days before he left office - which discounted the nuclear option. McNamara wrote: "because of terrain and other conditions peculiar to our operations in South Vietnam, it is inconceivable that the use of nuclear weapons would be recommended there against either Viet Cong or North Vietnamese forces".{{sfn|McNamara|1968a}}{{deadlink|date=May 2025}}