Julian Zelizer: The Historical Cost of Partisanship on National Security

[Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. His new book is"Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security: From World War II to the War on Terrorism," published by Basic Books. Zelizer writes widely about current events.]

The White House has become increasingly frustrated with the continued Republican attacks on President Obama's national security policies. Since early in his administration, Republicans, led by former Vice President Richard Cheney, have tapped into the familiar argument that the Democrats are weak on defense....

While the intensity of these kind of partisans battles on national security may seem shocking, in fact, politics has never stopped at the water's edge. Indeed, even when President Harry Truman and Republican Sen. Arthur Vandenberg entered into their historic bipartisan alliance in 1947 and 1948 to build America's national security state, their colleagues were ramping up their rhetoric about the failures of the other party....

...[W]e must remember that these political battles over foreign policy have had devastating effects. This was the case between 1949 when China fell to communism and 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson "Americanized" the war in Vietnam by escalating the number of troops sent to the region.

Johnson's decision to expand the war in Vietnam and ignore the many advisors who warned that the conflict posed great risks to the United States and was not essential to the Cold War grew out of the politics of Cold War America.

Johnson was part of an entire generation of Democrats who were scarred by the political gains that Republicans made in the 1950s through the issue of anti-communism. These Democrats all feared repeating the 1952 elections when the GOP, with a military hero at the top of the ticket, won control of the White House and Congress by focusing on corruption, anti-communism and Korea....

Today, we should remember the lessons of Vietnam and the immense costs of the political battles that rocked Cold War America. While it can be healthy to hash out differences over national security policies, politicians must be extremely cautious. The impact of a heated political environment can be extremely damaging and skew policy in dangerous directions.