 On 27 February , Secretary of State Dean Rusk had proposed that a partial bombing halt be implemented in North Vietnam and that an offer to negotiate be extended to Hanoi . On 4 March , Rusk reiterated the proposal , explaining that , during the rainy season in the North , bombing was less effective and that no military sacrifice would thus occur . This was purely a political ploy , however , since the North Vietnamese would probably again refuse to negotiate , casting the onus on them and " thus freeing our hand after a short period ... putting the monkey firmly upon Hanoi 's back for what was to follow . " 
