 Ever present in the minds of diplomats, military officers, and politicians was the possibility of a spiraling escalation of the conflict into a superpower confrontation and the possibility of a nuclear exchange.Therefore, there would be no invasion of North Vietnam, the "neutrality" of Laos and Cambodia would be respected, and "Rolling Thunder" would not resemble the bombing of Germany and Japan during the Second World War.These limitations were not foisted upon the military as an afterthought.