Iraq & Vietnam: Promoting the War
The Pentagon and the supporters of the Iraq War have learned an important lesson from the Vietnam War: how to manipulate the media, public opinion and politics to force America to take an unpopular course of action.
During the Vietnam War the majority of Americans supported the war and the general strategy behind it, yet US ally South Vietnam eventually fell to Communism. This occurred because war opponents were a vocal and well-organized minority that was passionately dedicated to its’cause. War supporters; however, were a passive and disorganized majority whose support for the war was lukewarm at best.
The opposition to the Vietnam was a textbook example of the success of a minority that never gave up. The Vietnam opponents had a simple message, they stuck to it, and they kept spreading the message. War supporters meanwhile ignored the antiwar movement or dismissed it as a collection of leftist cranks and hippies.
By being passionate and dedicated the war opponents could give strong and effective support to those few politicians who opposed the war. When mainstream media figures came out against the war, they could be portrayed as courageous.
The situation seems to be reversed in the present conflict, war supporters are a vocal and passionate minority while opponents a passive and disinterested majority. We now have the reverse of Vietnam, America is being manipulated into maintaining an unpopular war effort.
Iraq War supporters are a small and sophisticated ideologically-charged minority who are adept at manipulating the media, public opinion and politics to promote their cause. In other words the Iraq War supporters are much like the Vietnam War opponents who were determined, sophisticated and dedicated. In some notable cases they are the same people, aging leftists turned Neoconservatives.
America is being manipulated into participating in an unpopular war much as it was manipulated into pulling out of another conflict over 30 years ago. Where this will lead, I don’t know but I have feeling the end results will be nothing like those in Vietnam.
During the Vietnam War the majority of Americans supported the war and the general strategy behind it, yet US ally South Vietnam eventually fell to Communism. This occurred because war opponents were a vocal and well-organized minority that was passionately dedicated to its’cause. War supporters; however, were a passive and disorganized majority whose support for the war was lukewarm at best.
The opposition to the Vietnam was a textbook example of the success of a minority that never gave up. The Vietnam opponents had a simple message, they stuck to it, and they kept spreading the message. War supporters meanwhile ignored the antiwar movement or dismissed it as a collection of leftist cranks and hippies.
By being passionate and dedicated the war opponents could give strong and effective support to those few politicians who opposed the war. When mainstream media figures came out against the war, they could be portrayed as courageous.
The situation seems to be reversed in the present conflict, war supporters are a vocal and passionate minority while opponents a passive and disinterested majority. We now have the reverse of Vietnam, America is being manipulated into maintaining an unpopular war effort.
Iraq War supporters are a small and sophisticated ideologically-charged minority who are adept at manipulating the media, public opinion and politics to promote their cause. In other words the Iraq War supporters are much like the Vietnam War opponents who were determined, sophisticated and dedicated. In some notable cases they are the same people, aging leftists turned Neoconservatives.
America is being manipulated into participating in an unpopular war much as it was manipulated into pulling out of another conflict over 30 years ago. Where this will lead, I don’t know but I have feeling the end results will be nothing like those in Vietnam.
posted by great one at 5:49 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home