The Iraq Syndrome

AMERICAN TROOPS have been sent into harm's way many times since 1945, but in only three cases-Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq-have they been drawn into sustained ground combat and suffered more than 300 deaths in action. American public opinion became a key factor in all three wars, and in each one there has been a simple association: as casualties mount, support decreases. Broad enthusiasm at the out set invariably erodes. The only thing remarkable about the current war in is how pre cipitously American public support has dropped off. Casualty for casualty, support has declined far more quickly than it did during either the Korean War or the Vietnam War. And if history is any indication, there is little the Bush administration can do to reverse this decline. More important, the impact of deteriorating support will not end when the war does. In the wake of the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the American public developed a strong aversion to embarking on such ventures again. A similar sentiment-an Iraq syndrome-seems to be developing now, and it will have important consequences for U.S. for eign policy for years after the last American battalion leaves Iraqi soil.