 At his confirmation hearing, he told the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Senate that the limited objective of the U.S. was to guarantee to the people of South Vietnam the right of self-determination.He opposed ending the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam at the time, but acknowledged that the situation could change.In fact, on March 31, 1968, just a month after Clifford arrived at The Pentagon, Johnson, in an effort to get peace talks started, ordered the cessation of bombing north of the 20th parallel, an area comprising almost 80 percent of North Vietnam's land area and 90 percent of its population.