Since the Vietnam War, the public's opinion has played major roles in how policymakers operate. Their opinions may not always support to choices which are best for the country, however they are still factored into the decision making. Richard Sobel discusses several cases on how the public's attitudes have affected policymaker's decisions in his book, "The Impact of Public Opinion on U.S. Foreign Policy Since Vietnam."
During the Persian Gulf War, public opinion ultimately shaped policy. How the policy was attained, not the goals of the policy were shaped by the public opinion. The Persian Gulf War would be the largest use of the U.S. military since Vietnam, thus causing the Bush administration to consider how the public would react when they presented the crisis. "A lack of consensus over issues such as the necessity, likely outcome, and cost of the war marked the period leading up to the actual fighting in January of 1991." The struggle within the Bush administration to......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1702
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |