Deady: Ambiguous public opinion of the War on Terror
In an op-ed for the San Antonio Express-News, ASP adjunct fellow Carolyn Deady discusses the public opinion about the War on Terror. This piece was also featured in our latest collection of essays The War on Terror: One Year On.
The death of bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, had the approval of a majority of Americans and was considered a victory for the U.S. It would be expected that more Americans would perceive the U.S. and its allies as winning the war on terror.
Yet Americans were more guarded, realizing that removing the leader would wound but not eradicate al Qaeda therefore the threat of terrorism is still very real.
It remains to be seen how much longer the public will tolerate a war it can’t say “our side” is winning. Now that bin Laden is off the scene, it will probably become more difficult for the government to justify the enormous scope of the war over the past 10 years.
So, the real question is how long the public’s patience will last.
Read the full op-ed here
Take a look at our latest collection of essays on the War on Terror here.
