Public Opinion of Military Force in Times of National Threat Consensus.

This study uses polling data from the current post-9/11 and the early Cold War time periods to gauge the short term and long term effects of national adversity on policy preferences of military force. It supports that notion that public opinion is rational, and reflects predisposed policy preferences, even in the face of a national consensus of threat perception caused by major crises. Initially, there will be a relatively short term reaction in which the public will support wider range of military operations, but over time it will gradually revert back to a predisposed set of preferences for the principle policy objectives of military force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]