P.C.: Enhanced radiation weapons ("neutron bombs") in the Vietnam War?

IIRC, American research into ERWs began in the 1950s, and the first successful test was in 1963. I know that during his presidential campaign the following year, Barry Goldwater openly mulled over the concept of using low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam (though many argue that this was simply Cold War bluster, intended to intimidate China and/or the U.S.S.R.)

Is it possible to have an ATL Vietnam War where an American administration utilizes ERWs in lieu of chemical deforestation agents, and does so without triggering a wider nuclear exchange with China and/or the U.S.S.R.?
 
It is entirely possible that the Russians and/or the Chinese intentionally decided not to see a distinction between a neutron bomb and a conventional nuke. If the Americans use ERWs in Vietnam, the Russians will respond and then things will get ugly.
 
It is entirely possible that the Russians and/or the Chinese intentionally decided not to see a distinction between a neutron bomb and a conventional nuke. If the Americans use ERWs in Vietnam, the Russians will respond and then things will get ugly.
To be honest, I had actually assumed that was the most likely outcome, and had considered making this thread an "A.H.C." instead.

Is it possible that the U.S. could "get away with" using ERWs in Vietnam (strictly in the sense that it doesn't lead to a full-scale nuclear exchange in return), but this leads to either a) Chinese/Russian retaliation in kind elsewhere, and/or b) a "normalization" and proliferation of neutron bombs in lieu of conventional nuclear weapons?
 
I doubt that Russian would let them get away with that. At the very least, if the Americans use neutron bombs in Vietnam, even on the grounds that they are “humane,” the Russians might not be able to put nukes back in Cuba fast enough, and if the Americans complain, the Russians will simply tell them to fuck off.
 
Top