March 15, 2023
New Survey Suggests Americans Want to Learn About the Iraq War as Individuals, but Hold Conflicted Views on Whether the Country Needs to do More to Publicly Learn from the War.
March 15, 2023 — As the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom approaches on March 20, a new study from More in Common U.S. provides unique insights into how Americans view and remember the Iraq War, where they attribute credit for successes and blame for failures, and how they feel we should remember the war.
For a war that lasted eight years, cost over 4,400 American servicemembers’ lives, and fueled passionate and polarized domestic debates, data show that only about 4% of Americans “often” think about the Iraq War. Americans struggle to remember significant events from the war: while 79% remember the capture of Saddam Hussien, only 36% remember the 2007 Surge.
The Iraq War’s impacts are felt most significantly by the small percentage of Americans who served in the military, particularly those who deployed to the war, and by their families. One factor with Americans’ limited knowledge of the war is that few outside of the military community have talked with veterans about it. 49% of Americans don’t know anyone who served in the war, and 63% say they have not talked with an Iraq War veteran about his or her service.
“Though Americans appear to be done with the Iraq War, the war is not done with us. We continue to live in a country and world shaped, in significant measure, by this conflict,” said Dan Vallone, executive director of More in Common U.S. “As we observe the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it is incumbent on all Americans, veterans and non-veterans alike, to come together to share stories and lessons from the war. At stake is not just our capacity to better address future threats and conflicts, but also our ability to understand the moment we find ourselves in as a country.”
77% of Americans agree that it is important for individuals to learn about the Iraq War. However, only 41% agree that the country as a whole needs to do more to publicly learn about it. Nearly a third of Americans (32%) say “it’s best for America to put the Iraq War behind us and move on.” People who view the Iraq War as a failure are more likely to endorse that we need to learn more from it, and those who see it as a success are more likely to say that we need to move on.
“This report shows that many veterans and non-veterans aren’t speaking to one-another. Yet, everyone has a responsibility to come to terms and learn from this period,” said Scott Cooper, co-founder of the Veterans and Citizens Initiative and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. “Over 4,400 Americans gave the ultimate sacrifice, not to mention tens of thousands still carrying the mental or physical scars from their service. If we want to truly honor their service and support future generations willing to volunteer their lives, then we must find a way we can effectively teach and learn about this conflict.”
While Americans agree that servicemembers deserve credit for the aspects of the war that went well (42%), people split blame for elements of the war that went poorly along partisan lines. 53% of Democrats, versus 21% of Republicans, blame George W. Bush, whereas 38% of Republicans, versus 6% of Democrats, blame Barack Obama.
More in Common also released research last August pertaining to the war in Afghanistan and Americans’ collective memory surrounding that conflict.
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About More in Common U.S.
More in Common U.S. is a non-partisan research and civic nonprofit that studies the forces pulling America apart, seeking to disrupt polarization and forge a stronger sense of what Americans have in common. Through its Veterans and Citizens Initiative, it works to connect veterans and the broader civilian society.