Since the Vietnam War, the public's opinion has played major roles in how policymakers operate. Their opinions may not always support to choices which are best for the country, however they are still factored into the decision making. Richard Sobel discusses several cases on how the public's attitudes have affected policymaker's decisions in his book, "The Impact of Public Opinion on U.S. Foreign Policy Since Vietnam."
During the Persian Gulf War, public opinion ultimately shaped policy. How the policy was attained, not the goals of the policy were shaped by the public opinion. The Persian Gulf War would be the largest use of the U.S. military since Vietnam, thus causing the Bush administration to consider how the public would react when they presented the crisis. "A lack of consensus over issues such as the necessity, likely outcome, and cost of the war marked the period leading up to the actual fighting in January of 1991." The struggle within the Bush administration to overcome the doubt which the American people had shows how public opinion clearly affects foreign policy. When creating foreign policy, policymakers were sure to maintain the backing of the American people. "As Bush and his advisers tried to shape public opinion through it's foreign policy, public opinion actually shaped foreign policy. Public opinion did not specifically determine the destination of the policy, but it had a lot to do with how the administration got there."
Saddam Hussein sent troops into Kuwait on August 2, overtaking it and renaming it Kuwait City, Iraq's 19th province. Bush sent 50,000 troops to the Gulf on August 8 and ordered a naval blockade on August 12. This increased the support from the American people to 80 percent. ...
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...c opinion (Carlucci, 6/18/93)." Carlucci felt that while it may suggest possible options, public opinion should not influence decisive military action abroad. While making policy, Carlucci tried ignoring public and Congressional opinions.
Reagan Pollster Richard Wirthland agreed with Carlucci that the President should create public opinion rather than follow it. Although some issues may be unpopular, the President must still consider implementing them. According to Wirthland, "public opinion lacks the strength of influencing policy itself." Congressman John Spratt was aware of his constituent's opposition to contra aid, but did not let that determine his voting. Since nearly fifty percent of his constituents were undecided, he had leeway without deliberation. Public opinion did not to play a major role in the Nicaragua case due to their lack of knowledge.
Kuwait has the 3rd most oil in the Middle East. Iraq was very poor and needed money. They had just suffered a war with Iran. (Stroilov)They invaded Kuwait in hopes of getting oil to sell and get some money. America was the number 1 country buying oil from Kuwait so we put troops on Kuwait's grounds to defend them.(Stroilov) The deadline for Iraq to leave was Jan. 15, 1991, so Iraq needed to leave and America took action and forced them out of Kuwait. Although before they left they set over 600 oil wells on fire. It took over 1 year to extinguish the fires. In the Gulf War USA played a big part to defend Kuwait. (Stroilov)In 1990 USA defended Kuwait from Iraq invading them for oil to sell it. Later Iraq did get into Kuwait and Desert Storm
Chris Appy’s s American Reckoning is a book-length essay on the Vietnam War and how it changed the way Americans think of ourselves and our foreign policy. This is required reading for anyone interested in foreign policy and America’s place in the world, showing how events influence attitudes, which turn to influence events.
September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.
The Vietnam War was a vicious conflict predominately between the United States and Australia against The Viet Cong and The North Vietnamese. Initially the public supported the war, however the American president of the time, Lyndon B. Johnson, exaggerated how easy and worldwide the war was to attract further support. When he called for “more flags” to be represented in South Vietnam only the Philippines, the Republic of South Korea, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand indicated a willingness to contribute some form of military aid. By doing this “it enabled Johnson to portray the developing war as international to show it must be dealt with and gain support,” (Hastings, 2003). The outcome of the Vietnam War was ensured because the governments of the United States and Australia could not maintain their publics’ support due to the popular culture of the time. This was because much of the war was shown on television or other popular culture, so events like the Battle of Long Tan could be seen by families and people of all ages in their living rooms; this was the first time they could see how bad a war can actually be.
Saddam Hussein’s main purpose of sending troops to take over Kuwait was to take control of their oil fields, which Hussein believed would be an easy task; however, he failed to understand that the United States and United Nations were keeping a very close watch on the Iraqi’s actions. Hussein also had other motives, such as freeing himself from the debt he was drowning in from the Iran-Iraq War just two years earlier. He set the pretense for war with Kuwait by defining their refusal to give land to Iraq as an act of military belligerence. President Bush ordered the United States to respond just five days after Iraq had invaded Kuwait. If the United States had not taken action, Hussein would have possibly continued to invade other oil producing countries and take control of the United States main sources of oil as well as threaten a number of innocent people’s lives.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
The human race has long been assumed to have a warlike nature, involving itself in many violent endeavors. Philosophers such as Hobbs firmly asserted such an ideal throughout their teachings, their theories revolving around said notion. Yet some occasions throughout history point to the contrary, specifically those in which war was the unpopular choice. Perhaps the most exemplary of unpopular wars was the Vietnam War, which spurred a myriad of anti-war sentiment. These ideals manifested themselves in a wide variety of protests and draft evasion. Despite its unpopularity, the government pushed forward with its efforts to remain involved for a number of years, drawing more negative attention to the divide that existed between the popular opinion
Peterson, Paul E. "The President's Dominance in Foreign Policy Making." Political Science Quarterly 109.2 (Summer, 1994): 215-234.
Nothing can impact society like war. War can be viewed as noble and just, or cruel and inhuman, as well as everything in between. War affects everyone in society whether they are fighting in a foreign country or waiting at home for a loved one to return. War is an indispensable part of civilization; found at every chapter of human history. It is the culmination of the basic survival instinct when provoked. As has the technique of battle; society's view on war has changed as well. Today the act of war has become almost shameful, whereas in earlier eras war was glorified and heroic. American society's view on war has changed also. Our history, even as a young country has seen a great deal of conflict.
This book details the discussion of government policy in the stages of the Vietnam crisis from 1961-July 1965. It examines the main characters of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara, in addition to the military, which included the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It began in the Kennedy era amidst the Bay of Pigs incident and how that led to mistrust of the military planning by advisors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It continues with Johnson and his administration making decisions over and over that continued to commit more and more involve...
So many things influenced our involvement in the Vietnam War, and Lawrence examines the decisions we made in a greater context than just our own. He argues that international pressures controlled the attitudes and ideas of the United States, for the most part.
The U.S. Public Opinion as a Major Factor in the Withdrawal of American Troops from Vietnam
Soon after the Tet Offensive, citizens of the United States began having second opinions about concentrating our troops in Vietnam: “Within weeks [of the Tet attacks], many average Americans who previously were supporters had turned against the war” (Omicinski 2). A small cluster of Vietcong forces made their way into the compound of the United States embassy located in Saigon, proving to Americans that even though there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting in Vietnam, the U.S. had progressed only slightly (Dudley 131). The people were constantly being told that the conflict would soon end, however, increased need of military assistance had U.S. citizens questioning the veracity of our government. The phrase "credibility gap" surfaced to describe the growing public scepticism (Gerdes 14). This factor led to the government’s loss of support from most of the population. Ano...
Self-Interest and Civilians' Attitudes Toward the Vietnam WarRichard R. Lau, Thad A. Brown and David O. SearsThe Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Winter, 1978), pp. 464-483
Public Opinion is a collection of different individual’s attitudes about a specific issue. The public opinion is important to see what and how these individuals formed their attitude and concerns as towards certain issues. As in every specific issue, there is a specific of the attitudes of the public Political Knowledge refers to what we know about the government and politics as an individual. Political Preposition defines it a person who lacks in political information and will have a difficult time in understanding the aspects of and relating to the issue. In the reading Influencing Public Opinion, “The Nature of Origins of Mass Opinion (1992), Political Scientist John Zaller observed that only a few of us easily forms attitudes when questioned by an interviewer. Most individuals find that task extremely difficult because they lack political knowledge or information.” (Hernandez 2015c, 1) I found this experiment to be true because with the lack of knowledge or information you will find it extremely difficult in answering just a simple question about our government and politics. If we are informed about government and politics, we would see this question easy to relate