September 9, 2013

On Syria: Americans are War-Wary, Not Weary

By Shoshana Bryen
President Obama and supporters of an American strike on Syria have characterized negative American public opinion as "war-weariness."  They are trying to overcome it with exhortations about America's special responsibility, or America's credibility, or the president's credibility, or the terribleness of the fighting there.  The public isn't buying it, and thus far, neither is much of Congress. Americans are not "war-weary" because most are neither at war nor related to people at war.  They are, however, wary of war in Syria because a) Syria, although a rotten dictatorship, has not attacked the United States; b) the Obama administration has not laid out a military plan with achievable objectives; c) they don't trust the government to carry out a strike that will have a salutary effect on the situation; and d) they believe a strike may carry consequences to the U.S. that would require further military action and further potential casualties. In all these, they are...(Read Full Article)