For the American public, military conflict is the new normal
By Dina Smeltz and Elizabeth Shackelford, Opinion Contributors — 10/15/21 03:30 PM EDT
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill
A new survey shows that Americans are somewhat desensitized to U.S. military action abroad — unless that action includes having U.S. boots on the ground. This means that there is very little popular pressure for the American military to curtail violent campaigns in countries across the globe in the name of counterterrorism.
According to the 2021 Chicago Council Survey, U.S. troops engaged in combat abroad is the only action which a majority of Americans identify as an act of war (71 percent). Only minorities of Americans, though they are substantial, say that drone strikes or assassinations against other countries’ government officials (44 percent), airstrikes against anti-government insurgents in other countries (41 percent) and drone strikes against suspected terrorists in other countries (39 percent) count as acts of war. Just a third believe deploying U.S. special operations is an example of war (34 percent). There are few differences across political affiliation.
But the United States has been engaging in conflict in these more remote or limited-footprint ways extensively. Today, we are active participants in conflicts without large-scale troop deployments in dozens of countries across the globe.
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/576921-for-the-american-public-military-conflict-is-the-new-normal
