In North Vietnam, the immediate result of the bombing was to make its government less tractable. The White House was promoting the falsehood that Hanoi had broken off the Paris talks, thus necessitating the air strikes. In truth, Le Duc Tho had been clear that he was returning home to obtain more flexible instructions and was leaving his technical advisors in Paris to continue work on the protocols. Ironically, on the day that American bombs started to fall, the Politburo had acceded to his recommendation. But now the North Vietnamese were enraged.
