The Dover test is an informal test and a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
ic phrase to describe whether the general population of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
is supporting the participation of the United States in a
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
or other
military action
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
by the public reaction to returning war casualties. The test is usually used to support a
partisan position concerning the United States government's actions rather than to actually determine the level of public support for the war.
Description
The test's name refers to
Dover Air Force Base
Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. 436th AW is the host wing and runs the busiest and largest a ...
in
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
in the United States. The base is home to the Department of Defense's
Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs
Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations (AFMAO) is a U.S. Air Force mortuary affairs unit located in the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. AFMAO combines the functions of both Air Force Mort ...
. 50,000
U.S. casualties have arrived at this airport since 1955. An early use of the term "Dover test" was uttered by Senator
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
(D-Ohio) in 1994.
The Dover test was also explicitly mentioned by Gen.
Hugh Shelton
Henry Hugh Shelton (born January 2, 1942) is a former United States Army officer who served as the 14th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001.
Early life, family and education
Shelton was born in Tarboro, North Carolina and g ...
in 1999, and again on January 19, 2000 when he said:
The Dover test is not a formal test, and the consequences are difficult to measure. Some say that certain deduction from the tests can be attained, though. If the United States population continues to support the war after the news coverage, then the
U.S. government has passed the Dover test, and continued warfare probably does not reduce the popularity of the government.
If the American population does not continue to support the war, then the government has failed the test, and continued warfare may reduce the popularity of the government. Differing factions may use reactions to the results to further their own motives. Subsequently, the test is used more often to support someone's opinion or to question government actions than to actually determine the level of public support for the war.
History
Early examples
The return of American war casualties created difficulties for the U.S. government for the first time during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, where the public opinion changed against the war during the conflict. On December 21, 1989, during the
invasion of Panama
The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos– ...
, President
George Herbert Walker Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
prohibited media coverage of returning casualties, apparently angered by a
split screen
Split screen may refer to:
* Split screen (computing)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into adjacent (and possibly overlapping) parts, typically as two or four rectangular ...
, showing him giving a news briefing on one half of the screen, and returning caskets on the other half.
In the first Iraq War, the government banned media outlets from showing any returning deceased at Dover.
Recent examples
Operation Restore Hope
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...
in
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, could be said to have failed the Dover test after the
Battle of Mogadishu on October 3, 1993, when the mutilated bodies of US soldiers were shown on the news. Public support quickly fell and U.S. forces were soon withdrawn. During November 2000, the
Clinton administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...
established a rule prohibiting any press coverage of returning US war casualties. However, this rule was rarely enforced. During the
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operation ...
in 2001, photos of returning war casualties were frequently shown on the news.
Iraq war and post-occupation
The Dover test was most recently mentioned by the
press
Press may refer to:
Media
* Print media or news media, commonly called "the press"
* Printing press, commonly called "the press"
* Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers
* Press TV, an Iranian television network
People
* Press (surname), a fam ...
in regard to the
invasion
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
and
occupation
Occupation commonly refers to:
*Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, th ...
of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. The
Bush administration tried to avoid having to pass the Dover test by enforcing the rule from the end of the Clinton administration. Tami Silicio, a worker for a military contractor in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
took photos of the coffins of returning casualties, which made their way to the front pages. Subsequently she and her husband were terminated by the contractor. Shortly thereafter a journalist fro
The Memory Holerequested casualty photos under the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
, and received a number of pictures. Some photographs at the site were later identified as the coffins of
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the Columbia Rediviva, first American ship to circumnavigate the upper North American Pacific coast and the ...
crewmembers, not military casualties. The Bush administration was displeased, and prohibited the further release of photos to the media.
References
External links
* https://nppa.org/news/797 National Press Photographers Association reporting 14 out of 19 families have agreed to media coverage of returning casualties.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dover Test
Iraq War
Censorship in the United States
Political terminology of the United States
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
Military–industrial complex
Public opinion in the United States