 Knowing of Johnson's hesitance, on 1 December 1964 McNamara recommended a "graduated" response program, urging Johnson to launch Operation Barrel Roll, a bombing offensive against the part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the southern part of neutral Laos, which was approved by the president.On Christmas Eve 1964, the VC bombed the Brinks Hotel in Saigon killing two Americans.Despite McNamara's recommendations to bomb North Vietnam, Johnson still procrastinated.