Right before we entered WWII the United States was a self-avowed isolationist nation, and happy to be that way. While a minority of "hawks" wanted to get involved against Hitler most Americans thought of the war as something that affected Europe and not us. Warnings about a global expansion of the hostilities were met with skepticism and arguments about the distance that Germany would have to cover in order to be a threat to the USA. Fortunately, some forward-thinking dudes in the War Department were able to convince Congress to mobilize National Guard units for one year of training and for the defense of the Western Hemisphere as well as the territories and possessions of the United States - which included the Philippines at that time. So units from New Mexico; California; New York and other states were in various locations in the Philippine Islands when Pearl Harbor happened and the Japanese started their systematic takeover of European colonies. One big point to take in here is that the National Guard units sent to the Philippines we all either Anti-Aircraft or Tank Destroyer units - which should illustrate what we were expecting from Japan a full year before Pearl Harbor. The fact that Japan had allied with Germany and the way they were treating American prisoners (not just Chinese and Islanders) galvanized the American population against the Axis Powers and the cries for war started.
We had no real Army at that time and our Navy was nowhere near what would be needed to wage a war against two powers in two different theaters. So President Roosevelt, encouraged by Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the very unpopular decision to minimize our exposure in the Pacific and work on eliminating the European threat (Nazi Germany and Italy) first. While you may see historical footage that indicates otherwise; know that if we had only been fighting the Japanese, with the fervor our population was willing to expend, the war would have been over in the Pacific much more quickly. The decision to pursue the Nazis first is still unpopular in certain circles. The belief is that we kowtowed to Churchill and Stalin by fighting their war first. Our involvement in Sicily and Italy after a shaky African campaign did tie up a significant number of German units that would otherwise have been fighting Russians - so while not popular it did serve a good purpose in the European theater and start the process of hardening American Soldiers for the eventual invasion of France.
So in 1942, 1943 and half of 1944 we were pushing most of our effort against the Nazis in Northern Africa, Sicily and Italy and only providing the necessary resources to work one island campaign at a time in the Pacific. Naval battles were being fought and the historic raid on Tokyo by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his raiders on April 18th, 1942 was designed to let the public know that Japan was not forgotten while we pursued Germans in the Mediterranean. Marines, Soldiers and Sailors were actively engaging Japanese forces but not to the extent we could have been had we been able to concentrate on the Pacific and let the rest of the allies work the European problem.
So what is my point? Well - my point is that Roosevelt was a master at manipulation of information. First, we must remember that there was no Internet and no quick way of getting actual information out of the government without their express permission and cooperation. So news was slow and censored. Some photographs of casualties in the Pacific were never published until nearly the end of the war. And they were released at a time when it was necessary to engender American rage so that the population would continue to support the effort against Japan when it was becoming common knowledge about the plans to invade the Japanese Islands. With the estimates of American casualties for that invasion exceeding one million, Roosevelt knew it would be necessary to get the Americans to hate the Japanese enough to support so costly an invasion. So, in essence, the President manipulated public opinion in order to maintain support of the war. The same thing happened with Iwo Jima, a costly battle in terms of American lives and injuries. The photo of the flag raising accompanied by a a press release about a flag being raised on Japanese soil was released weeks before the casualty reports.
Roosevelt was a popular President in most circles. But he made decisions that would normally cause a dip in popularity in order to win the war. He managed his popularity by ensuring timely release of negative and positive information. A look at the Roper polls taken during the war will highlight the peaks and dips in his popularity when compared to a chronological sequence of wartime events. He also was a wordsmith. He coined the term "United Nations" when speaking of the allies. When that term was included in a Roper poll in 1943 it was used to ask John Q. Public if the United States should be counted on to assist the United Nations in getting countries weakened by the war "to get back on their feet". More than 70% of Americans agreed that we should; and more than 75% said we should assume a more global role after the war. This is only two years after we were a happy isolationist nation and at a time where we were not even in control of Europe or the Pacific and the outcome of the war was in question. I'll say it again; President Roosevelt was really good at manipulating information.
So here we are, pulling all of our troops out of Iraq after eight and a half years and trying to draw down the number of troops in Afghanistan after ten plus years there. Is it a political move or is it one that we are ready for? It all depends on who you talk to.
Questions for you...
Was President Obama popular after the take-down of bin Laden? You bet!
Did he do anything other than approve the final move? No way!
Presidents don't look for terrorists - they pay professional to do that. If Mickey Mouse had been in office as President he would have had to make the same decision. Jimmy Carter is the only former President that I don't think would have approved of what was done by SEAL Team 6. The President had to make that call - especially after his indecision on the pirate take down following the Maersk Alabama hijacking in April 2009. Somehow our President felt he knew more about international terrorism and piracy than those who deal with it every day. Had the SEALs been given orders to solve that problem it would have ended quickly and properly. So what I'm saying is the President said "Go" on bin Laden and his popularity soared for a few weeks. Now, with a re-election looming out there, he needs to capitalize on any positive press he can get. Lord knows he's getting enough bad print lately. So what he's going to do now is keep doing things to make his popularity spike at appropriate times. He will time it for September and November - just watch and see. Because he knows that we are a fickle bunch and the truth can be challenged or stonewalled with sufficient energy to make what he's doing seem good, especially to the sheep that still think he is a capable President.
Sarmajor
We had no real Army at that time and our Navy was nowhere near what would be needed to wage a war against two powers in two different theaters. So President Roosevelt, encouraged by Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the very unpopular decision to minimize our exposure in the Pacific and work on eliminating the European threat (Nazi Germany and Italy) first. While you may see historical footage that indicates otherwise; know that if we had only been fighting the Japanese, with the fervor our population was willing to expend, the war would have been over in the Pacific much more quickly. The decision to pursue the Nazis first is still unpopular in certain circles. The belief is that we kowtowed to Churchill and Stalin by fighting their war first. Our involvement in Sicily and Italy after a shaky African campaign did tie up a significant number of German units that would otherwise have been fighting Russians - so while not popular it did serve a good purpose in the European theater and start the process of hardening American Soldiers for the eventual invasion of France.
So in 1942, 1943 and half of 1944 we were pushing most of our effort against the Nazis in Northern Africa, Sicily and Italy and only providing the necessary resources to work one island campaign at a time in the Pacific. Naval battles were being fought and the historic raid on Tokyo by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his raiders on April 18th, 1942 was designed to let the public know that Japan was not forgotten while we pursued Germans in the Mediterranean. Marines, Soldiers and Sailors were actively engaging Japanese forces but not to the extent we could have been had we been able to concentrate on the Pacific and let the rest of the allies work the European problem.
So what is my point? Well - my point is that Roosevelt was a master at manipulation of information. First, we must remember that there was no Internet and no quick way of getting actual information out of the government without their express permission and cooperation. So news was slow and censored. Some photographs of casualties in the Pacific were never published until nearly the end of the war. And they were released at a time when it was necessary to engender American rage so that the population would continue to support the effort against Japan when it was becoming common knowledge about the plans to invade the Japanese Islands. With the estimates of American casualties for that invasion exceeding one million, Roosevelt knew it would be necessary to get the Americans to hate the Japanese enough to support so costly an invasion. So, in essence, the President manipulated public opinion in order to maintain support of the war. The same thing happened with Iwo Jima, a costly battle in terms of American lives and injuries. The photo of the flag raising accompanied by a a press release about a flag being raised on Japanese soil was released weeks before the casualty reports.
Roosevelt was a popular President in most circles. But he made decisions that would normally cause a dip in popularity in order to win the war. He managed his popularity by ensuring timely release of negative and positive information. A look at the Roper polls taken during the war will highlight the peaks and dips in his popularity when compared to a chronological sequence of wartime events. He also was a wordsmith. He coined the term "United Nations" when speaking of the allies. When that term was included in a Roper poll in 1943 it was used to ask John Q. Public if the United States should be counted on to assist the United Nations in getting countries weakened by the war "to get back on their feet". More than 70% of Americans agreed that we should; and more than 75% said we should assume a more global role after the war. This is only two years after we were a happy isolationist nation and at a time where we were not even in control of Europe or the Pacific and the outcome of the war was in question. I'll say it again; President Roosevelt was really good at manipulating information.
So here we are, pulling all of our troops out of Iraq after eight and a half years and trying to draw down the number of troops in Afghanistan after ten plus years there. Is it a political move or is it one that we are ready for? It all depends on who you talk to.
Questions for you...
Was President Obama popular after the take-down of bin Laden? You bet!
Did he do anything other than approve the final move? No way!
Presidents don't look for terrorists - they pay professional to do that. If Mickey Mouse had been in office as President he would have had to make the same decision. Jimmy Carter is the only former President that I don't think would have approved of what was done by SEAL Team 6. The President had to make that call - especially after his indecision on the pirate take down following the Maersk Alabama hijacking in April 2009. Somehow our President felt he knew more about international terrorism and piracy than those who deal with it every day. Had the SEALs been given orders to solve that problem it would have ended quickly and properly. So what I'm saying is the President said "Go" on bin Laden and his popularity soared for a few weeks. Now, with a re-election looming out there, he needs to capitalize on any positive press he can get. Lord knows he's getting enough bad print lately. So what he's going to do now is keep doing things to make his popularity spike at appropriate times. He will time it for September and November - just watch and see. Because he knows that we are a fickle bunch and the truth can be challenged or stonewalled with sufficient energy to make what he's doing seem good, especially to the sheep that still think he is a capable President.
Sarmajor
