Elites and Government Not the American People Start War

AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE PEACEFUL, IT IS AMERICA'S LEADERS AND ELITES WHO MAKE WAR

It is the objective of this study to examine the statement that American people are peaceful, it is America's leaders and elites who make war.

The statement that the American people are peaceful and that it is the American leaders and elites who make war is a true statement because the normal everyday American individual has no say in the starting of any war and the majority of wars started by the United States are not condoned by the American people.

Public Opinion

The work of Dugan (2013) reports that on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War 53% of Americans view the war as a mistake. Specifically Dugan states "Americans initially supported the war, with substantial majorities in 2003 saying the U.S. decision to get involved in Iraq was not a mistake. However, attitudes changed relatively quickly, and by the summer of 2004, a majority of Americans called the war a mistake." (2013, p. 1) The work of Holsti (2011) reports according to Michael Schneider in his review of the work entitled 'American Public on the Iraq War" that there have been "few conflicts [that] have so engaged, or enraged, American public opinion as the war in Iraq." (p.1) This is clearly evidenced in a report published by CBS News reporter Jeff Roberts in a 2005 report which states "Public support for U.S. involvement in Iraq continues to fall. By two to one, Americans reject financing the war through an increased federal deficit, and 62% would finance paying for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast by cutting spending in Iraq, More than half of Americans think Iraq is not secure enough to hold its constitutional referendum in just under a week, and many doubt that country will ever become a stable democracy." (p.1) The fact is that everyday normal Americans were not supportive of the war in Iraq and even the military itself did not see that the war in Iraq had anything to do with life in the United States. It is reported by the website Iraq Veterans Against War located online at www.ivaw.org that members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) "were disgusted to witness the Republic party engage in acts of cynical political maneuvering." (p.1) The fact is that the Veterans who participated in a war driven by the government and the elite are not even being taken care of or compensated properly for their service to their country during wartime.

The Economist reported on August 31st, 2010 that the view of the Iraq War by Americans has significantly changed and specifically stated is

"When George Bush prematurely declared an end to major combat operations in May 2003 most Americans were behind the war, with only a quarter saying it was a mistake according to Gallup polling data. But the public's mood turned when allegations of torture by U.S. soldiers came to light in early 2004. The bloody terror campaign by Sunni militia groups, which began in earnest in 2006 and killed Iraqis by the thousands and American troops by the hundreds, also had a profound effect on opinion." (The Economist, 2010, p. 1)

The following image published by The Economist and adapted for this work in writing clearly shows the progression of the American public opinion during the Iraq War.

Figure 1: The Iraq War and Its Progression in American Public Opinion

Source: The Economist

II. Reason Number One

According to a report published by the Huffington Post, a former Bush official reports that American went to war because "We were looking for somebody's Ass to kick." (Lavender, 2013, p. 1) Not a good reason to start a war and to lose the lives of 4,000 plus servicemen and 500,000 other lives would be the likely opinion of American everyday people. Specifically stated in the book written by New York Times reporter Peter Baker is the following:

"A senior official from former President George W. Bush's administration is quoted in "Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House" saying American troops went into Iraq because the U.S. was looking for a fight. The only reason we went into Iraq, I tell people now, is we were looking for somebody's ass to kick. Afghanistan was too easy," the anonymous official said, according to Politico." (Lavender, 2013, p.1)

Indeed, this is a horrific thought to the average everyday American individual who is living their life in relative peace and has no will or thought of going to war with a country so far removed from the homeland. If this were the simple truth then at least peaceful Americans would know where to begin to correct this flaw in the system but it is not quite so simple.

III. Reason Number Two

It is reported by CNN News that the real reason that the United States started the war with Iraq was 'for oil'. In fact, it is reported by CNN News specifically as follows:

"Yes, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners: Big Oil. It has been 10 years since Operation Iraqi Freedom's bombs first landed in Baghdad. And while most of the U.S.-led coalition forces have long since gone, Western oil companies are only getting started.

Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq's domestic oil industry was fully nationalized and closed to Western oil companies. A decade of war later, it is largely privatized and utterly dominated by foreign firms." (Juhasz, 2013, p. 1)