Dominic Tierney: Do Americans Love War?

[Dominic Tierney is assistant professor of political science at Swarthmore College. He is the author of How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War.]

Of course not, goes the traditional answer. Americans have always been reluctant warriors."Of all the enemies to public liberty," wrote James Madison in 1795,"war is, perhaps the most to be dreaded." Our literary heritage is full of anti-war classics like Ernest Hemingway's A Farwell to Arms. U.S. military campaigns have often been unpopular, sparking protest movements. Americans didn't love fighting in Korea in the 1950s, or Vietnam in the 1960s -- and neither do they enjoy battling insurgents today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Absolutely, Americans love war, responds Andrew Bacevich. As the author of the recent Washington Rules puts it, we've"fallen prey to militarism." Enthralled by the sword, Americans have a"penchant for permanent war." After all, the U.S. defense budget almost matches the rest of the world's military spending put together. Many of America's wars were popular -- at least at first. In 2001, around 80 percent of Americans backed the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Two years later, about seven in 10 Americans supported the invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein.

But neither of these views is completely right. The truth is that we do love war -- but only a certain kind of war....

This is the type of war we love, where we fight for decisive victory, regime change, and the noblest of ideals -- in short, a magnificent crusade."Good" wars like the Civil War and World War II produce epic heroes like Grant, MacArthur, and Patton, and stirring anthems like"The Battle Hymn of the Republic."...