Why do Americans have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a war? (pearl harbor, September 11th)?

Question

Are they becoming too fat to be an effective fighting force so they are scared of war? Also if you look at the outcome of many US conflicts it ends in complete disaster.

Answer 1

Young men were stampeding the recruiting office after Pearl was bombed, and after 9-11, their was no shortage of volunteers joining either, get your facts right.

Answer 2

Americans are dragged into wars, that is for sure, but "kicking and screaming" ? I don't think so. The vast majority of Americans, seem to think of their military might as a good thing for the world, regardless of how brainwashed they are as to the real agenda of the military and the politicians backing them. Military personnel, even those who have lost conflicts in Vietnam and elsewhere are treated as heroes and not murderers. In a very similar way, Rome would have justified ruling the known world by force 2000 years ago.

Why must ignorant citizens in powerful empires always believe that whatever wars they enter is necessary for the common good, regardless of the human and material costs of the war?

Answer 3

The only war we entered voluntarily in the 20th Century was World War One. The carnage which came about from trench warfare and the insane stupidity of frontal attacks made us pretty much pacifistic after that war. We disarmed big time and even became one of the co-creators of the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 which outlawed war. Even after German u-boats attacked two of our Navy war ships before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, we weren't stirred to war.
But, this war poses a special challenge. Only 15% of our adult males between 17 and 25 years of age can meet the physical, mental and moral standards for enlistment in the armed forces. And this war will probably take decades more to diminish or eliminate any threat to the homeland.
Fortunately, the nature of this war doesn't call for massive formations of troops, planes and ships to go head to head with equal formations on the other side. Most of this war will be fought by small troop units landing on some hostile shore, kicking in some doors and shooting people in the head, away from the prying cameras of CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

Answer 4

You ask as if war is something simple that is just done at the drop of a hat.

You make it seem so trivial, as if mobilizing and sending hundreds of thousands of people far away from home is a simple thing.

People DIE in wars, and that's not the only part of it. People come back maimed, mutilated, and mentally scarred. The ones they leave behind suffer too. They must constantly worry and mourn. That's on top of the unspeakable destruction that wars cause.

Have you ever fought in a war or had to have a loved one go and fight one? You might think twice if was you or someone close to you putting your neck on the line.

Wars are sometimes necessary, but even necessary ones are paid for with the same price as unnecessary ones. People need to be extremely careful about going into war, and it must only be used as the last resort.

Answer 5

I don't know. It certainly isn't because we are a peaceful nation when it comes to war. Since just prior to the Revolution until now, mentally figure out how many war, big or little, we have participated in. Hell, the Marine Corps alone has made 180 amphibious landings.

People here just don't want to be bother with all that worrying and death. They would rather sit around and play with their toys.

They wouldn't even know a just war (what an oxymoron that is) if it came knocking on their door at three in the morning.

Answer 6

There WAS NO war before September the 11th. That is when an alliance decided to oppose the Taliban. I've worked with our colonial cousins' military on many occasions, and they are anything but scared. The President during World War II (was it Ike?) was funding our war effort in any way he could manage without getting in trouble with congress before the Americans were officially involved, and he played a big part in that as well. If it was not for them (and Hitler's tactical ineptitude) we would all be eating sausages and wearing laederhosen ( I don't care if I spelt that wrong) so be grateful they had the minerals to get stuck in at all.

Answer 7

No one likes war, unless you're an idiot. Sometimes they're necessary, but sometimes people need a big example set in front of them on why we need to fight.

For example, WWII was seen as a European War of no concern to the US until Japan declared war on us and consequently so did Germany and Italy.

As for 9/11, most Americans were blissfully unaware of major terrorism. Again, nothing of that scale had happened before.

As for kicking and screaming, that part is false. After Pearl and 9/11 we were galvanized to reap revenge against our foes.

Answer 8

Americans have always been reluctant to go to war. You can go further back than Pearl Harbor. The Lucitania and the Maine, for instance.

America has long had isolationist tendencies, and, even the position of 'leadership' it was forced to take up in the Cold War, and the growing forces of globalization haven't completely gotten rid of them. It's that tendency to think of other nations as 'not our problem' or 'none of our business' that leads Americans to ignore international issues that concern them, until they finally boil over in an attack or provocation that could lead to war.

Answer 9

Because War is as it should be...the LAST resort.

There are no winners in a war , only lesser degrees of losers.

Everyone loses in war and Americans hate to lose.

We hate to lose lives, we hate to lose money, and we hate to lose our friends over these terrible situations that are forced upon us.

All that being said...there are times when war is unavoidable. When the enemy comes right to our shores as in Pearl Harbour and 9-11 we will fight and fight to win.

Within 1 year of 9-11 America had defeated Saddam Husane, the Taliban. Libya capitulated. Syria became quiet as a church mouse. North Korea thought they could buffalo us but failed, and the only foolish country left is Iran and that's because their president is a psychopath.

Answer 10

Actually, it's just the opposite. America is a lean efficient fighting force capable of humiliating virtually every other force on the planet in two weeks or less. America draws its strength from its frontier history and the value of its citizens.

We CHOOSE to go to war reluctantly because we know the terrible cost of war on both the victors and the defeated. In addition, it is counter to our preferred method of foreign relations - trade. America has avoided conflicts by tying both sides to an economic link. That way it is too costly to waste time fighting when there is money to be made.

Besides, every other nut on this site is quick to call us trigger-happy warmongers. Now you claim we are slow, lazy cowards. You both can't be right. The truth lies somewhere in between.

Finally, all wars have unintended consequences. But your statement is wrong. I don't think WWI and WWII were disasters. And losing Viet Nam (politically) hurt the Vietnamese more than us. In fact, I kind of like the outcome of the Civil War for MY people. Which wars are you referring to anyway?