Confidence in US military at 60%, lowest since 1997

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Gallup
31 Jul 2023 23:43

The decline is attributed, according to Gallup, to the failure of the two most significant military legacies of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US - the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

About 130 soldiers with the US Army’s 87th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, wait to board a chartered plane during their deployment to Europe, March 11, 2022, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, US. (AP)

A Gallup poll that took place from June 1 to June 22 showed that confidence in the US military was recorded at 60%, the lowest it has been since 1997, and it was lower at 58% in 1988.

During the Cold War and threats to US power from the late 1970s to the 1980s, between 50% and 58% of Americans were confident in the military, and it generally improved during former US president Ronald Reagan’s term in the 1980s.

After victory in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, it recorded a high of 85% in 1991 and jumped again after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It kept above 70% for the next two decades until it plunged to 69% in 2021 and has been declining further since the exit from Afghanistan.

For the past 48 years, Republicans have shown to represent those with the most confidence in the military, but that number has declined by over 20 percentage points in three years, from 91% to 68%.

Independents’ confidence dropped by 13 points, from 68% to 55, meanwhile, Democrats’ confidence soared after current President Joe Biden assumed office in comparison.

The decline is attributed, according to Gallup, to the failure of the two most significant military legacies of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US - the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

This trend has also witnessed low numbers of recruits, leaving the army to resort to methods such as using 'e-girls' to drive up recruits.

Due to the failure to reach its recruitment target, the #US military tried something different, enlisting students into their J.R.O.T.C. military program without their permission. pic.twitter.com/f4OgW4gpO7
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 17, 2022

MintPress News explained in a report back in June how recruiting Gen-Z is aimed at increasing numbers.

Hailey Lujan is the most prominent of these "appealing" young ladies in uniform who publish sexually suggestive material and subliminal (and occasionally not-so-subliminal) appeals to enlist. The 21-year-old creates footage for her 731,000 TikTok fans that extols the pleasure of Army life in between thirst traps and memes.

Given that Lujan's job is to persuade, and propagandize in innovative new ways, the fact that she is a psychological operations specialist with the Army raises even more questions about the entire issue, the report added. The report linked what the Army recruitment website description wrote about the role of a Psychological Operations Specialist sounds to Lujan's own content.