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Americans Still Tend to Favor Military Aggression But Have Limits

7/7/2009, by Proloy Bhatta

HIGHLIGHTS

• 94% feel that Korea is a threat.
• 92% would support military action against North Korea if they attempted to hit the US with a missile.
• 34% favor the war in Iraq, 50% favor the war in Afghanistan.

The United States is currently in two theaters of war: Iraq and Afghanistan.

The numbers are all over the place with respect to our overseas presence but here is what Global Research reported on July 2007. A) The US has military bases in 63 other countries. B) Over a quarter of a million personnel are deployed abroad.

And despite our military juggernaut, the United States still feels threatened by other nations, most notably North Korea, Iran, China, and Russia. CNN has recently polled 1026 adults from June 26 to 28, and below is a listing of the percentage of individuals that feel each country is a threat.

1. Korea - 94%
2. Iran - 93%
3. China - 82%
4. Russia - 69%

Let's look at the polling archives.

Afghanistan

A May 2009 poll by CNN found that 50% of adults still favored the war in Afghanistan.

North Korea

The same June 2009 CNN poll cited at the beginning of this article found that 92% of adults would favor military action against North Korea if they attempted to hit the US with a missile. 52% said they thought North Korea was a very serious threat.

As much of an anti-war candidate Ron Paul was, he still voted to authorize military action against Afghanistan after 9-11. Politicians like Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich believe that our military should be reserved to protect our borders and engage in military action only if provoked. So 92% does not surprise us at all because it is in response to a provocation.

Pakistan

In mid-May, CNN found that 59% of adults would favor military action against Pakistan if it appeared likely the Taliban or members of Al Qaeda would take power in the country.

Israel

In January, CNN found that 63% of adults thought that Israel was justified in taking military action against Palestinians and Hamas in Gaza. Ipsos found during the same time frame that 53% of Americans do not make a distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people. That would be like saying there is no distinction between those who pulled off 9-11 and the Muslim people.

The Pew Research Center found that on July 7-11, 2009 when the conflict was at its peak; 85% of adults found the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians to be a threat.

Syria and China

Syria - Friendly 27%, Unfriendly 35%. CNN May 2007.
China - 70% say China is an economic threat, 51% say they are a military threat. CNN July 2008.

Iraq

Americans want military aggression in Iraq to end. In the same CNN poll cited at the beginning of the article, only 34% favored the war in Iraq. And despite the fact that 52% expected a withdrawal from cities to result in increased violence, 63% said the US should not resend forces into those cities.

Cuba

Americans want economic sanctions with Cuba to end. In April 2009, CBS News found that 67% of adults thought the US should reestablish diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba. That was substantiated by an ABC news poll in the same month that had 66%. ABC news found that 57% wanted the US to end its trade embargo and allow US companies to do business there.

Iran

Results are mixed but Americans are overall very cautious about Iran. When asked if the USA should take military action with regards to the country's controversial election, Americans were 82% against this. Americans are more open to military action if Iran continues with their nuclear program but when asked of their preference, 73% favored economic and diplomatic efforts to military action (Gallup Nov 2007). And 87% of adults were concerned that military action would be taken too early against Iran.

Conclusions

Learning their lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans are cautious about an unprovoked war with Iran.

Their view of North Korea is different. They already have nuclear weapons and are actively engaging us in a military pickle. And if provoked Americans feel like a war is justified.

Afghanistan played a role in 9-11 and for that, they are considered to have provoked us. That's why Americans still favor the war in Afghanistan.

Americans consider a potential Taliban/Al-Qaida take over of the country as provocation, and are thus willing to support military action.

Iraq did not actively provoke us so Americans want that war to end.

And with CUba, Americans no longer see the justification in having a trade embargo with them.

One view from all of this data would be to conclude that Americans are better at making the distinction between a justification for war and a pre-emptive strike that is done too early or by choice.

But another view would be that Americans are still too prone to support wars outside of our borders. Case in point, 59% would want to send ground troops into Pakistan or the fact that 63% supported Israel's unprovoked act of aggression in the Gaza strip.

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