Tiger, Tiger,BurningBright 22 IT
hosewhoprefertobelievethatthepresentglobalhegemonyof
theUnitedStatesemergedthrougha processof"immaculate
conception" avert theireyesfrom many distressing momentsinthe
Americanascension.YetstudentsofAmericanpowercannotignoreone
ofthechiefelementsinAmericansuccess:TheUnitedStatesoveritshis-
toryhasconsistentlysummonedthewillandthemeanstocompelits
enemiestoyieldtoitsdemands.Attacksonciviliantargetsandthe
inflictionofheavycasualtiesonenemycivilianshaveconsistentlyplayed
a vitalpartinAmericanwarstrategies.
ThroughthelongsweepofAmericanhistorytherehavebeenmany
occasionswhenpublicopinion,oratleastanimportantpartofit,got
aheadofthepoliticiansinWashingtonindemandingwar.Manyofthe
IndianwarswerecausedlessbyIndianaggressionthanbymovementsof
frontierpopulationshungryforlandandwillingtoprovokeandfight
warswithIndian tribes underWashington'sprotection-contrary to
boththepolicyandthewishesofthenationalgovernment.TheWarof
1812 cameaboutlargelybecausepopulistso-calledWarHawkpoliti-
ciansintheSouthandMiddleWestwantedit.Asnotedearlier,Lincoln
justbarelymanagedtopreventa warwithBritainovertheTrentaffair
duringtheCivilWar;outraged,hawkishpublicopinionmadeitdifficult
forhimtofindanacceptableface-savingsolutiontotheproblem.More
recently,PresidentsKennedy,Johnson,andNixonwereallhauntedby
fearsthatpullingoutoftheVietnamWarwouldtriggera popularback-
lash;withoutthepopularpressureforthismostunpopularofwars,itis
likelythattheAmericaninvolvementinVietnamwouidhavebeenless
deepandmorequicklyended.Asradiostationsblaredout"BombIran"
tothetuneoftheBeachBoys'hitsong"BarbaraAnn,"JimmyCarter
struggledformonthstokeeptheUnitedStatesoutofa warwithIran
overthe1979-80hostagecrisis,beforedispatchinganill-fatedrescue
mISSIOn.
Oncewarsbegin,a significantelementofAmericanpublicopinion
supportswagingthematthehighestpossiblelevelofintensity.Thedev-
astatingtacticsofthewarsagainsttheIndians,GeneralSherman'scam-
paignof1864-65,theunprecedentedaerialbombardmentsofWorld
WarII,culminatinginthegreatestsingleactsofviolenceeverperpetrated
byhumanbeings-theatomicattacksonHiroshimaandNagasaki-
wereallbroadlypopularintheUnitedStates.DuringboththeKorean
andVietnamwars,presidentscameunderintensepressurenotonlyfrom
militaryleadersbutalsofrompublicopiniontohittheenemywithall
availableforcesinallavailableplaces.Generally,throughouttheCold