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America 's Current War Narrative Essay

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Second Think Piece The United States of America has always had an invested interest in the Middle East: from a religious perspective to a financial one. America has always ensured that it will have an official war narrative for becoming involved with the Middle East. As the United States evolved, so did the war narratives. Nowadays, technology allows most people to have access to information in little to no time. Unfortunately, we often forget that there are many influences on the war narrative. For example, this nation’s past, the public’s expectations, and personal bias are just a few influencers of America’s narrative. America’s current war narrative is still influenced by the public perspective of the Vietnam War. Vietnam was the first time what happened during a war could be broadcasted at home. This played a huge part in the growth of the public’s anti-war sentiment. Thus, control of what the American public saw was necessary. During the Gulf War, the government made sure to account for this new form of narrative, and this caution has affected the media’s portrayal of the Middle East.
The lack of cohesive public narrative is caused in part by the United States not having a clear reason for being in the Middle East. Over time, the reasons have changed, from finding weapons of mass destruction to ending Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, and then to bringing democracy and stability to Iraq and other countries in the region. Any claims of bringing stability to the Middle

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