Casualties and consensus

by Eric V. Larson

Casualties and Consensus is a revealing new study of U.S. public opinion on U.S. military operations. Based upon an examination of U.S. experiences in the Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, Panama, and Somalia, it finds that, contrary to widely held belief, public support for U.S. military operations does not respond to casualties alone but ultimately reflects a sensible weighing of ends and means that is greatly influenced by events and conditions on the battlefield and by U.S. political leaders in Washington. Casualties and Consensus is an important and insightful discussion of the recurring patterns in the American public's support for wars and military operations, and seems certain to provoke renewed discussion and debate in U.S. academic, political and military circles about the prospects for a post-Cold War consensus on the role of force in American foreign policy.