 The new commander of the US Military Assistance Command , Vietnam ( MACV ) , General Creighton W. Abrams , recommended to President Richard M. Nixon shortly after his inauguration that the Cambodian Base Areas be attacked by aerial bombardment utilizing B @-@ 52 <unk> bombers . The president initially refused , but the breaking point came with the launching of PAVN 's " Mini @-@ <unk> " Offensive of 1969 within South Vietnam . Nixon , angered at what he perceived as a violation of the " agreement " with Hanoi after the cessation of the bombing of North Vietnam , authorized the covert air campaign . The first mission of Operation Menu was dispatched on 18 March and by the time it was completed 14 months later more than 3 @,@ 000 sorties had been flown and 108 @,@ 000 tons of ordnance had been dropped on eastern Cambodia . 
