Barry L. Reece: Don’t use fear to motivate

The fear factor was a dominant theme of the Republican Party convention. As David Brooks noted in his July 23 column “The Dark Knight” every aspect of the convention was oriented around conquest, success, supremacy and domination.

The fear factor can be especially problematical when it is used to influence foreign policy.

Prior to the invasion of Iraq the Bush administration began saber rattling. Once the war started it used the term “coalition of nations” to describe combat forces. As the war progressed it became apparent that only the United States was suffering the major human and economic costs of the war. Between 2003 and 2014 a total of 4,491 U.S. service members were killed. The combined casualty count for all other coalition nations was 318. The United States has provided nearly all of the financial support for the Iraq war.

Fear provides the motivation to make some really stupid decisions.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Barry L. Reece: Don’t use fear to motivate."