What was the name of the secret US bombing campaign in Cambodia in 1969-1970?

The secret U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia in 1969–1970 was called Operation Menu. Authorized by President Richard Nixon, it targeted suspected North Vietnamese and Viet Cong sanctuaries and supply bases in eastern Cambodia near the South Vietnamese border.

Operation Menu began on March 18, 1969, with B-52 strikes against a target known as Base Area 353. Its individual missions were given meal-related code names, including Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Supper, and Dessert; this naming pattern produced the campaign’s title. The operation was kept secret through falsified or divided reporting systems because Cambodia was officially neutral.

The bombing was intended to disrupt communist logistics and support Nixon’s broader Vietnam strategy. It did not prevent North Vietnamese forces from operating in Cambodia, and its civilian impact remains debated by historians. Operation Menu is distinct from Operation Ranch Hand, the herbicide campaign, and from Rolling Thunder and Linebacker, which primarily targeted North Vietnam.