Just some food for thought...

Approaching the fourth year American troops have been involved in the war in Iraq, President Bush continues to preach that a victory in Iraq is still possible. Today, Bush has continually struggled with convincing Americans that going to war with Iraq was necessary. Despite hopes of an early date, the President has yet to set any time frame for a return of American troops to their country. He has, however, hinted that forces are most likely going to remain in Iraq until 2009, the next election. With little information to give Americans, President Bush struggles maintain American support for the “War on Terrorism”.

As displayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, large groups of people are often easily persuaded to view a situation a certain way if given any reason to support it, known as “mob mentality”. Politicians are also infamous for their swift ability to “sweet talk” an audience and gain popularity without ever truly discussing the matter at hand. Today, some Americans could not fully agree on the reasons for supporting the War in Iraq. Answers would vary between the Iraqi trade with gas to a personal vendetta Saddam Hussein for family threats. This seems to have been a common characteristic between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. Although citizens originally supported both wars, after several years of fighting, the Americans soon questioned if their reasoning for battle was worth the consequences. My questions is, has the “mob mentality” of the American citizens influenced the later disapproval of the wars or were Presidents Kennedy and Bush able to use their skills as politicians to advance in wars that the United States may have been able to avoid?