Administration Quote by Noam Chomsky
“At the beginning of his administration, Reagan tried set the basis for American military intervention in El Salvador - which is about what Kennedy did when he came into office in regard to Vietnam. Well, when Kennedy tried it in Vietnam, it just worked like a dream. Virtually nobody opposed American bombing of South Vietnam in 1962. It was not an issue. But when Reagan began to talk of involving American forces in El Salvador there was a huge popular uproar. And he had to choose a much more indirect way of supporting the collection of gangsters in power there. He had to back off.”
About This Quote
The passage compares public reaction to US interventions in Vietnam and El Salvador, highlighting differing levels of opposition.
In simple terms: Public support varies for US foreign actions.
Key Takeaway
Assess how context shapes protest.
Themes
foreign policy
public opinion
historical comparison
Mood
analytical
historical
Type
political
reflective
When to use this quote
- government decision-making
- activist movements
Key Concepts
interventionism
media framing
political legitimacy
Questions to Reflect On
- Why was Vietnam less contested?
- What changed by 1980?
A Different Perspective
Opposition can be suppressed or ignored.
![“President [Ronald] Reagan never has tried to become an expert on military matters. He never has endeavored to learn the most important details in that field, which lead to a situation in which his aides played a much greater roles than aides would have played under President Ford or let us say in…” quote by Helmut Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cae/helmut-schmidt-23706_details_president-ronald-reagan-never-has-tried_724412.jpg)
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
