Americans are Severely Tired of War
Published in De Standaard
(Belgium) on 6/17/2011
by Evita Neefs (link to original)
(Belgium) on 6/17/2011
by Evita Neefs (link to original)
Translated from
by Tom Van Boven.
Edited by Jennifer Pietropaoli.
War in Libia unpopular and illegal, according to some
American’s eagerness to engage into military adventures has strongly diminished since the onset of the economic crisis. They dream more and more of retreating back into their own borders and want to finalize the 9/11 era.
Americans increasingly want to pull themselves back into their cocoons. The eagerness for military adventures has cooled off. In the last half-century, the isolation mentality has never reached higher levels than during these days.
Over the last 10 years, the United States has been involved in three conflicts: Iraq, Afghanistan, and, most recently, Libya. The idea that this is financially impossible to maintain is gaining ground. The war in Afghanistan costs about $2 billion a week, and the results have been downright poor. According to parliamentary research last week, the reconstruction that has been dompleted will probably collapse the moment the troops leave.
The expenses for these wars are seen as the primary cause for the enormous amount of national debt. Sixty percent of Americans place the blame on military expenses. That’s two and a half times more than the number of people who see expenses for domestic programs as the main cause of the economic crisis.
Blood bath
The economic crisis, which exploded in 2008 and forced the U.S. to conduct very painful budget cuts, weighs heavily on the minds of many Americans. Isolationist inclinations got an extra boost after Obama’s decision to participate in the intervention in Libya. During the first two months, the air offense against the troops of Muammar Gaddafi cost $716 million, an amount that will increase to $1.1 billion by September, according to White House estimates.
After a long period of debate, Obama gave in to pressing pleas from politicians from both parties to help NATO prevent a massacre in Libya. But today, more than half of Americans believe the U.S. should not be there, while barely a third of the people think the U.S. is doing the right thing by getting involved.
With these numbers, it is not surprising that 10 members of Congress have demanded an immediate end to U.S. participation in the NATO operation in Libya. This poll also explains why not a single Republican presidential candidate defends the Libyan war.
Bin Laden
Obama promised to start pulling troops from Afghanistan next month and is currently considering the timeline by which he will execute this promise. He is receiving significant pressure from his fellow party members to move quickly. Even most Republican presidential candidates – Mitt Romney leading the pack – were pleading for a fast retreat in large numbers during their TV debate.
The increase of isolationist feelings within the Republican Party is striking. Today, 44 percent plead for a decrease in military missions, while three years ago, that number was only 29 percent.
Over the last 30 years, the hawks and isolationists have constantly fought to gain influence in the party. Occasionally, this fight meant a certain amount of cattiness, but the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 meant a full triumph for the hawks. Today, the party of George W. Bush, the hawk who invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, is barely recognizable. The party that traditionally sees America as a global military force and wants to make that power felt is now adjusting toward an isolationist standpoint.
Charles Kupchan of the influential think tank, Council on Foreign Relations, concludes from all this that, with the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, a line can finally be drawn under the 9/11 wars.
American’s eagerness to engage into military adventures has strongly diminished since the onset of the economic crisis. They dream more and more of retreating back into their own borders and want to finalize the 9/11 era.
Americans increasingly want to pull themselves back into their cocoons. The eagerness for military adventures has cooled off. In the last half-century, the isolation mentality has never reached higher levels than during these days.
Over the last 10 years, the United States has been involved in three conflicts: Iraq, Afghanistan, and, most recently, Libya. The idea that this is financially impossible to maintain is gaining ground. The war in Afghanistan costs about $2 billion a week, and the results have been downright poor. According to parliamentary research last week, the reconstruction that has been dompleted will probably collapse the moment the troops leave.
The expenses for these wars are seen as the primary cause for the enormous amount of national debt. Sixty percent of Americans place the blame on military expenses. That’s two and a half times more than the number of people who see expenses for domestic programs as the main cause of the economic crisis.
Blood bath
The economic crisis, which exploded in 2008 and forced the U.S. to conduct very painful budget cuts, weighs heavily on the minds of many Americans. Isolationist inclinations got an extra boost after Obama’s decision to participate in the intervention in Libya. During the first two months, the air offense against the troops of Muammar Gaddafi cost $716 million, an amount that will increase to $1.1 billion by September, according to White House estimates.
After a long period of debate, Obama gave in to pressing pleas from politicians from both parties to help NATO prevent a massacre in Libya. But today, more than half of Americans believe the U.S. should not be there, while barely a third of the people think the U.S. is doing the right thing by getting involved.
With these numbers, it is not surprising that 10 members of Congress have demanded an immediate end to U.S. participation in the NATO operation in Libya. This poll also explains why not a single Republican presidential candidate defends the Libyan war.
Bin Laden
Obama promised to start pulling troops from Afghanistan next month and is currently considering the timeline by which he will execute this promise. He is receiving significant pressure from his fellow party members to move quickly. Even most Republican presidential candidates – Mitt Romney leading the pack – were pleading for a fast retreat in large numbers during their TV debate.
The increase of isolationist feelings within the Republican Party is striking. Today, 44 percent plead for a decrease in military missions, while three years ago, that number was only 29 percent.
Over the last 30 years, the hawks and isolationists have constantly fought to gain influence in the party. Occasionally, this fight meant a certain amount of cattiness, but the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 meant a full triumph for the hawks. Today, the party of George W. Bush, the hawk who invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, is barely recognizable. The party that traditionally sees America as a global military force and wants to make that power felt is now adjusting toward an isolationist standpoint.
Charles Kupchan of the influential think tank, Council on Foreign Relations, concludes from all this that, with the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, a line can finally be drawn under the 9/11 wars.
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