The Venezuelan leader was spirited to New York to face an indictment on drug charges while President Trump pledged that the United States would "run" Venezuela until a safe transition could be arranged. He offered "boots on the ground" if necessary and invoked the Monroe Doctrine to justify an operation condemned as a violation of sovereignty. Within hours, social media feeds filled with profile pictures draped in the Stars and Stripes and statements like "FAFO." The mission's execution and talk of "restoring democracy" tapped a familiar chord in the American psyche. The reactions to this raid highlight an ugly truth about the United States: Americans love war. They do not like higher taxes, a debased currency, or flag?draped coffins, but they love war. And our short memory ensures we will learn nothing from the disasters we have created.

A pattern of initial enthusiasm

After nearly every U.S. military intervention since World War II, public opinion has followed the same trajectory: overwhelming support when the bombs first fall, then waning approval once casualties mount and victory proves elusive. Just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Gallup polls found 59 percent of Americans favored sending troops to remove Saddam Hussein while 37 percent opposed it. Pew Research surveys that spring reported that 77 percent believed the United States made the right decision to use force. Support for President Bush's handling of the war peaked at 71 percent in the days after the televised fall of Baghdad. A comparable rally occurred in January 1991: before Operation Desert Storm, 55 percent said they favored using force to expel Iraq from Kuwait; two weeks after the bombing began, 77 percent agreed the decision was right.

The invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 triggered even stronger approval. In the first weeks after U.S. forces toppled Taliban positions, Gallup found that 88 percent supported military action. At that moment, only about a quarter believed the campaign was going "very well," and fewer than half believed the Taliban would be ousted or Osama bin Laden captured. For the American public, the emotional satisfaction of striking back after 9/11 outweighed prudence or realism.

Even a limited campaign like the 2011 NATO airstrikes in Libya generated a rally. A Gallup survey conducted days after U.S. aircraft began enforcing a no?fly zone found that 47 percent approved and 37 percent disapproved of the mission. The same article noted that support for the Libya intervention was lower than for any prior campaign but still produced a majority of Americans in favor. On March 20 2023, as talk of intervening in Syria dominated cable news, polls indicated that roughly six in ten Americans favored airstrikes; fear of chemical weapons made war appear necessary. Time and again, Americans greet new conflicts with the assumption they will be short, decisive, and morally unambiguous.