57: US Foreign Policy & The Propaganda of War

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," - Hermann Göring.

Since the fallout from our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ongoing cleanup, we have heard a lot from various pundits about “the will” to win wars and the failure of politicians to explain American interests in the Middle East. The result, or so the reasoning goes, is that we clearly should have stayed but our presence there was wildly unpopular with voters. Some pundits have gone so far as to say that we ought to embrace the reality of our empire so we can start doing a decent job of it.

But foreign engagements have always been more appealing for those at the top than those at the bottom. In this episode, we discuss the process through which people at the top persuade ordinary Americans to support some of the biggest wars in American History. In particular, we explore the propaganda that served as official reasons for entering the war presented to the public and the reality on the ground. 

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod
Photo: Joel Rivera-Camacho on Unsplash