Comments on: Iraq Less Popular than Vietnam at Comparable Period

By: Derrek

Derrek — Thu, 11 May 2006 04:34:34 +0000

Vietnam was unpopular, and so was the Civil War, but to really show the lack of logic in a war of popularity, look at how unpopular the Revolutionary War was. Should we have avoided that fight because the Loyalists said so?

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 10 May 2006 17:59:47 +0000

kaos: A good point, to be sure. I guess an endowed chair in an endowed chair.

Still, while I don't share his politics, Mueller is a first rate IR scholar. If there's a more noteworthy voice on war and public opinion, I don't know who it is.

By: kaos

kaos — Wed, 10 May 2006 17:45:11 +0000

The "Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies"? What the heck did Woody ever have to do with National Security? Next thing you'll have is the "Robert Knight Chair at the Center for Anger Management". I'd discount this guys view just based on his association with Woody.

By: yetanotherjohn

yetanotherjohn — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:46:24 +0000

If you follow the logic to its conclusion, we would be a split country. The war of northern aggression (why yes, I am from the south, why do you ask?) was very unpopular up north (e.g. rioting is a good example). If the idea is that an unpopular war should be stop independent of the facts, then cotton would still be king. But I doubt that many of the anti-war crowd would have liked that "rule" applied to the American civil war. Make the case that getting the US out of Iraq now will make the US safer 50 years from now and I'll agitate to see us leave. But everything I have seen says the terrorists are relying on the "paper tiger" view of America as the only way they can survive now and win later. Pulling out now would absolutely make us a paper tiger. But staying the course until the job is done would go a long way to dispelling the paper tiger idea.

By: PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts

PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:45:03 +0000

31% (Again)...

Earlier in the week, the USAT/Gallup Poll had Bush’s approval rating at 31%. Now the NYT/CBS News Poll has the number at 31% as well: Bush’s Public Approval at New Low Point.
As if often the case, many on the President’s side are ...

By: The Glittering Eye

The Glittering Eye — Wed, 10 May 2006 13:30:38 +0000

The popularity of the war in Iraq...

James Joyner notes a Gallup poll has found that a smaller proportion of Americans support the war in Iraq than did the Viet Nam war three years in:
May 9 (Bloomberg) — Three years into major combat in Vietnam, 28,500 U.S. service members had peri...

By: LJD

LJD — Wed, 10 May 2006 11:28:53 +0000

Apparently VietNam was not the only place we allowed Communism to gain a stronghold.

All we have to do know is surrender to the enemy and the (Communists) plan will be complete.