--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the beginning of his administration…" description: "\"At the beginning of his administration, Reagan tried set the basis for American military intervention in El Salvador - which is about what Kennedy did ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/noam-chomsky-42_administration_at-the-beginning-of-his-administration-r_2258414.jpg" --- # At the beginning of his administration, Reagan tried set… ![“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…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/noam-chomsky-42_administration_at-the-beginning-of-his-administration-r_2258414.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/noam-chomsky-42_administration_at-the-beginning-of-his-administration-r_2258414.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/noam-chomsky-42_administration_at-the-beginning-of-his-administration-r_2258414.jpg) > “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.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Administration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administration/) [Administration Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administration-reagan-5187746/) [American military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-military/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Bombing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bombing/) [Collections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collections/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [El salvador](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/el-salvador/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Gangsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gangsters/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [Indirect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indirect/) [Intervention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervention/) [Involving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involving/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military intervention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-intervention/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Reagan Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reagan-began-840159/) [Reagan Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reagan-tried-5187744/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) [Vietnam 1962](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam-1962-5187747/) [Vietnam Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam-kennedy-5187745/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [It was Reagan who began the realignment of American politics, making the Republicans into internationalist Jeffersonians with his speech in London at the Palace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/it-was-reagan-who-began-the-realignment-of-american-politics-making/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [ President \[Ronald\] Reagan never has tried to become an expert on military matters. He never has endeavored to learn the most important details in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-schmidt/president-ronald-reagan-never-has-tried-to-become-an-expert-on/) [Helmut Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-schmidt/) > [I don't believe that military intervention is always the right approach. What we need is a comprehensive strategy, one that advances democratization, economic reforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zalmay-khalilzad/i-don-t-believe-that-military-intervention-is-always-the-right/) [Zalmay Khalilzad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zalmay-khalilzad/) > [It's alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/it-s-alarming-that-military-intervention-in-internal-conflicts-in/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [I'm so thankful a significant majority of Americans are saying no to military intervention. We've got to find a solution that will in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-m-so-thankful-a-significant-majority-of-americans-are-saying-no-to/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I definitely think America should seek to lead and shape the world and make it safe for liberal democracy. 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Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [We are not afraid of economic sanctions or military intervention. What we are afraid of is Western universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruhollah-khomeini/we-are-not-afraid-of-economic-sanctions-or-military-intervention-what/) [Ruhollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruhollah-khomeini/) > [“Arabs and other Muslims generally agreed that Saddam Hussein might be a bloody tyrant, but, paralleling FDR's thinking, "he is our bloody tyrant." In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/arabs-and-other-muslims-generally-agreed-that-saddam-hussein-might-be/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [One of the characteristics of New Labour - and Miliband is irredeemably of that species - is that, in the guise of a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/one-of-the-characteristics-of-new-labour-and-miliband-is-irredeemably/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [I'm totally changed. I've been emancipated from all this Republican dogma. Whether it's being anti-immigration, being-anti gay, being militaristic and wanting to engage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ravenel/i-m-totally-changed-i-ve-been-emancipated-from-all-this-republican/) [Thomas Ravenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ravenel/) > [In 2013 I voted against military intervention in Syria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/in-2013-i-voted-against-military-intervention-in-syria/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. 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Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you want to serve in a Trump administration, you're going to serve this country, not yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-spicer/if-you-want-to-serve-in-a-trump-administration-you-re-going-to-serve/) [Sean Spicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-spicer/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. 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