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Murphy's Law in Action Discussion Board
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Subject: the American public and war
Sir Tristam    7/13/2001 12:12:10 PM
Your article on how willing the public is to bear combat losses was very interesting but I'd like
to contadict certain statements. I'm not convinced, for example, that Washington attempted
to avoid battle to reduce losses. I've wargamed the American revolution and this not
a part of American strategy in the game. I'm
not convinced that the Democratic party in the
Civil war was a peace party. Maybe, but this isn't certain. I don't think that Eisenhower
was elected because he advocated peace without
victory in Korea but because he was a popular war
hero. I haven't heard mention of war weariness
in America being a significant factor in WWII.
I don't think that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was
faked. I don't think that Nixon was elected to
get America out of Viet Nam at any price and his handling of the Nam war was probably a factor in his resignation. Speaking of the Vietnam war
I think that a significant factor in the war's
unpopularity was a Viet Cong front in the U.S. of A. Finally, I don't that fear of taking losses
influenced American commanders in the Civil war
and WWI and WWII.

 
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Show Only Poster Name and Title     Sort in Reverse Order Posted
evlstu    RE:the American public and war   7/28/2001 6:20:29 PM
Losses don't matter as much as results.
 
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D.H.Hill    RE:the American public and war   7/29/2001 12:46:44 AM
Please start reading Col.David Hackworth,s column at his website.
 
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John    The American public and war   7/29/2001 2:07:50 AM
Washington certainly avoided conflict to maintain the integrity of the continental army. If the army had been lost the revolution would have been effectively over. Whether it was done for public opinion or sound strategic reasons is another question. Wargaming a conflict doesn't usually bring out the politic aspects of that conflict. The Democrats were the "peace" party in the civil War at least in the sense that they were opposed to the Republicans who supported the war. (incidentally I'm surprised that ST doesn't wargame the Civil War, having read his post on the Congo, I bet I know which side he'd choose). It was precisely because Eisenhower was a war hero that he was able to get out of Korea without a victory, it's like Nixon, with his anti-communist credentials was able to go to China, but a democrat wouldn't have been able to. In WWII and all conflicts since the US has tried hard, but not always successfully, to keep its own casualties to an absolute minimum. This is something that you have to admire the Americans for, but it has been such a feature of US tactical operations that I didn't think anyone could argue the point. I didn't think anyone could argue about the Gulf of Tonkin incident either. I thought that the US had effectively admittted it faked the whole thing. Can anyone give more info? I think Vietnam was something of a triumph for Nixon. His downfall was due to basic dishonesty and the fact that he had too many enemies in the liberal establishment. A vietcong front in the USA? That's bollocks isn't it? You could be anti-war without being pro-communist. Apart from that Sir T I agree with everything you said!
 
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