Americans will commit to fighting on to victory in a war. But there must be more than just a good reason for the war. There must also be, for the lack of a better term, a focusing point.
Here’s what I mean. In WW2, the focusing point was Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor rallied the nation. Americans supported FDR, and for the long haul
There is no focusing point for this Iran conflict. None. You can fairly argue that most Americans are not seeing the big picture here. No matter. Support will collapse for this war. It’s inevitable.
How did that focus point (9-11) work out for Iraq?
But Trump and his supporters say this is not a war. Which is why, they say, no Congressional declaration of war is necessary.
WW2 was the last time Congress declared a war. It was the last official war. Since then, Americans have been told that this or that conflict is "not really" a war.
So you can't really call on Americans to act as if this was a war, can you?
If the Iranians were somehow able to arrange a mass casualty event on the order of Pearl Harbor or 9-11, a large portion of the American population would blame the CIA, Israel, or some other party than Iran for the destruction. The level of cynicism about official government reports has slowly risen over the decades, since the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. It is common to hear conservatives and other rightists quote George Carlin, a lifelong left winger, in his cynical statements about government and powerful people who are behind the scenes. The COVID pandemic and the overreach of governments and Big Tech in reaction to the pandemic accelerated the distrust.
The American people were grumbling about the Pacific War in 1945 and would never have tolerated the planned invasion of Japan. “Focus point” or not. The losses to American military forces would have approached the horrific losses suffered(often in a single week of battle!)by the totalitarian Soviets in WWII.
Americans will never again commit to an extended, all-out war unless it’s a foreign invasion or civil war. And I’m not too sure about that.
Good points. However, along with them is the fact that Trump did not make a public relations setup in advance of the phase after the B2 bombing of the nuke sites.
There should have been propaganda to sway the masses in advance of the next wave of bombings.
As the Dems did with Obamacare “This family has to choose doctor’s appointments and prescriptions or food” and “Millions have no healthcare” and “She lost her job and lost her family’s health plan” before the Dems said “The GOP will let someone die rather than allow the government to save them with our care plan.”
I saw Larry King say that to a GOP Congressman: “You would let him die. Is that true? You would let him go without health care if he couldn’t afford it?”
Without the buildup of support he started off behind and hasn’t been able to catch up. Media pounding about Trump’s War Costing You At the Gas Pump and the Supermarket and Retail Stores has been a top story every day.
And the sad news story of “it will be over really soon” “The Iranians have no bases, no anti air defense and no navy— which we sank” followed by “New demands set down by Iran or Strait will remain closed.”