US casualties returning to Dover AFB from Iraq 2004. Photo by US Air Force.

The Dover test is an informal test and a journalistic phrase to describe whether the general population of the United States is supporting the participation of the United States in a war or other military action 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 than to actually determine the level of public support for the war. US war causalties in a C-17 Globemaster III at Dover AFB This photo and 361 others have been released by the Air Force due to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Memory Hole, and can also be found at this site. ... US war causalties in a C-17 Globemaster III at Dover AFB This photo and 361 others have been released by the Air Force due to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Memory Hole, and can also be found at this site. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The United States detonated an atomic bomb over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, effectively ending World War II. The bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima (on August 6) immediately killed between 100,000 and 200,000 people and are the only known instances nuclear weapons have ever been used in war. ... For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). ... Look up Partisan (political) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In politics, a partisan is a person who supports a cause, party, or goal fervently, usually to the exclusion of all others. ...

Description

The test's name refers to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware in the United States. The base is home to the Department of Defense's Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs. 50,000 U.S. casualties have arrived at this airport since 1955. The earliest use of the term "Dover test" so far found was uttered by Senator John Glenn (D-Ohio) in 1994. The Dover test was also explicitly mentioned by Gen. Hugh Shelton in 1999, and again on January 19, 2000 when he said: Dover Air Force Base (Dover AFB) is a base of the United States Air Force in the state of Delaware. ... Motto: Nickname: The State Capital since 1777 Map Political Statistics Founded 1683 Incorporated 1717 Kent County Mayor Stephen R. Speed Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 58. ... Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  Ranked 49th  - Total 2,491 sq. ... Military casualties suffered by the United States of America in war or deployments: * Some reported KIA may have been held as POWs[1] ** Does not include nearly 8,000 listed as MIA. See also: Military history of the United States, Dover test External links Fact Sheet on American Wars... John Herschel Glenn Jr. ... Henry H. Shelton Henry Hugh Shelton (born January 2, 1942) is a retired American career military officer. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

"...(M)ust be subjected to what I call the 'Dover test.' Is the American public prepared for the sight of our most precious resource coming home in flag-draped caskets into Dover Air Force Base in Delaware – which is a point entry for our Armed Forces?"

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 US government has passed the Dover test, and continued warfare probably does not reduce the popularity of the government. If the United States 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. This law-related article does not cite its references or sources. ...

History

Early examples

The return of US casualties created difficulties for an US government for the first time during the Vietnam War, where the public opinion changed against the war during the conflict. On December 21 1989, during the invasion of Panama, President George Herbert Walker Bush prohibited media coverage of returning casualties, apparently angered by a split screen, showing him giving a news briefing on one half of the screen, and returning caskets on the other half. Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... Combatants United States Panama Commanders General Carl W. Stiner Manuel Noriega Strength 27,684+ 3,000+ Casualties 23 Dead, 324 Wounded 450 Military, 200-4,000 Civilian U.S. Army Rangers prepare to take La Comandancia in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City, December 1989. ... George H. W. Bush - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... In film, split screen is the combination of two actions filmed separately by copying them onto the same negative-- the usual way, for example, of having an actor talk to himself in a dual role. ...

Recent examples

Operation Restore Hope in Mogadishu, Somalia, 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 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 2001, photos of returning war casualties were frequently shown on the news. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mogadishu Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho, Italian and Spanish: Mogadiscio), a city in East Africa on the Indian Ocean, serves as the nominal capital of anarchic Somalia. ... Combatants U.S. Special Operations Forces Mogadishu Local Militia, Citizens Commanders Major General William F. Garrison, Joint Task Force Command Center Unknown Strength 160 2,000+ Casualties 18 Killed 73 Wounded 1,000+ The Battle of Mogadishu was fought between forces of the United States by order of U.S... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Combatants al-Qaeda, Taliban Northern Alliance, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Italy, Germany Commanders Mohammed Omar Osama bin Laden Tommy Franks Mohammed Fahim Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} The United States invasion of Afghanistan occurred in October 2001, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Iraq war and post-occupation

The Dover test was most recently mentioned by the press in regard to the invasion and occupation of 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 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 from The Memory Hole requested casualty photos under the Freedom of Information Act, and received a number of pictures. Some photographs at the site were later identified as the coffins of Space Shuttle Columbia crewmembers, not military casualties. The Bush administration was displeased, and has prohibited the future release of photos to the media. A newspaper is a publication containing news and information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. ... Combatants Coalition Forces (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Poland) Iraq Commanders Tommy Franks Saddam Hussein Strength 263,000 375,000 The 2003 invasion of Iraq, termed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the US administration, began on March 20. ... This article deals with the post-invasion period in Iraq and its occupation. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and a former governor of Texas. ... Nearly sixty countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation, which sets rules on governmental secrecy. ... Space Shuttle Columbia (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space shuttle in NASAs orbital fleet. ...