Are We In A Perpetual State Of War?

[SmartRafal]

I don't think so ... look at this on other sites. There is no war at all. We had made a atomic bomb witch all of countries has got it. If it would be the war it would be a last war and a last time of breathing earth.

 

[Foxfyre]

Can anyone on this Board right now, remember a time when our Nation wasn't involved in some sort of military action? Curious to see what you all think. Thanks.

Check the history books.....duh.

You will of course be kind enough to point us to the specific history books, chapter, and page numbers that you want us to read?

 

[Foxfyre]

I don't think so ... look at this on other sites. There is no war at all. We had made a atomic bomb witch all of countries has got it. If it would be the war it would be a last war and a last time of breathing earth.

Trust me, the guys and gals currently facing deadly hostilities every single day in Afghanistan, our murdered consulate people in Benghazi, the troops guarding the border between North and South Korea, those shadowing communist patrols in Cuba, 50,000 troops stationed in Kuwait with more arriving every day are more than painfully aware they could be deployed back to Iraq at any moment if hostilities and violence in iraq continues to escalate, etc. etc. etc.. . . .all these have no illusions that we are not at war. War does not require nuclear bombs or any bombs at all to be fought or imminent.

 

[Care4all]

How about addressing my question of whether we should have a declaration of war to commit the military for any peace keeping or military action on foreign soil? I thought of all people, you would be willing to risk an opinion on that.

That would be one way to change what we are doing.

Currently the President has the power to deploy troops anywhere he wants. The only recourse Congress has is to withhold funding for such deployment after it occurs, and so far it has been unwilling to do that.

Yeah, i've stated that many times on this Board. Following the Constitution would be a great start.

But the Constitution designates the President as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. He has full authority to deploy troops wherever he wishes for any reason he can improvise.

The only Constitutionally legal action that the Congress can take in ending the use of the military is through their authority of provision. They do have the Constitutional authority do de-fund military action which would force the Commander in Chief to end military action since he could no longer supply the Soldiers, Seaman, Marines and air Force with the necessary means to fulfill their duty in defense of The United States.

Any other action by the Congress to attempt to control any aspect of the military other then funding is in direct violation of the Constitution and therefor under United States law illegal.
The Constitution Series: THE CONSTITUTION PART XII - MILITARY APPROPRIATIONS

Congress has sole power to allocate funding for the military and to declare war, but there is no designation in the Constitution specifying what form that must take. So if Congress allows and funds foreign military operations whether aggressive or peace keeping, is that a de facto declaration of war?

And once more the really sticky wicket question: Does anybody want to remove the power from the President to deploy troops without explicit consent of Congress? Does anybody here have the courage of their convictions to speak to that?

I disagree with the blogger's opinion in your link Foxfyre.... when he says that a war resolution is the SAME as a declaration of war by congress that the Constitution requires....

A resolution of war is a vote where a mere majority of 1 can pass it, while the Constitution requires that 2/3's of congress in both the house and the senate is needed to send our military in to war...

IF the constitution was followed as it was written, with it taking 2/3's to pass a declaration of war, I don't think we would need the amendment you are suggesting.....

I do agree with your thoughts on this....and the amendment is perhaps needed due to these ''resolution of wars'' being the means being used the past few decades, but IF THE Constitution were followed as written, I don't think we would need it!

 

[SmartRafal]

Trust me, the guys and gals currently facing deadly hostilities every single day in Afghanistan, our murdered consulate people in Benghazi, the troops guarding the border between North and South Korea, those shadowing communist patrols in Cuba, 50,000 troops stationed in Kuwait with more arriving every day are more than painfully aware they could be deployed back to Iraq at any moment if hostilities and violence in iraq continues to escalate, etc. etc. etc.. . . .all these have no illusions that we are not at war. War does not require nuclear bombs or any bombs at all to be fought or imminent.

For that u can thanks to Ahmed Osama Bin Laden. He prolly Started but guess what ? Before he attacked the WTC, he had meeting with the J.Bush(The president of that years). We still don't know why it was true or even false.

 

[Foxfyre]

Yeah, i've stated that many times on this Board. Following the Constitution would be a great start.

But the Constitution designates the President as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. He has full authority to deploy troops wherever he wishes for any reason he can improvise.

The only Constitutionally legal action that the Congress can take in ending the use of the military is through their authority of provision. They do have the Constitutional authority do de-fund military action which would force the Commander in Chief to end military action since he could no longer supply the Soldiers, Seaman, Marines and air Force with the necessary means to fulfill their duty in defense of The United States.

Any other action by the Congress to attempt to control any aspect of the military other then funding is in direct violation of the Constitution and therefor under United States law illegal.
The Constitution Series: THE CONSTITUTION PART XII - MILITARY APPROPRIATIONS

Congress has sole power to allocate funding for the military and to declare war, but there is no designation in the Constitution specifying what form that must take. So if Congress allows and funds foreign military operations whether aggressive or peace keeping, is that a de facto declaration of war?

And once more the really sticky wicket question: Does anybody want to remove the power from the President to deploy troops without explicit consent of Congress? Does anybody here have the courage of their convictions to speak to that?

I disagree with the blogger's opinion in your link Foxfyre.... when he says that a war resolution is the SAME as a declaration of war by congress that the Constitution requires....

A resolution of war is a vote where a mere majority of 1 can pass it, while the Constitution requires that 2/3's of congress in both the house and the senate is needed to send our military in to war...

IF the constitution was followed as it was written, with it taking 2/3's to pass a declaration of war, I don't think we would need the amendment you are suggesting.....

I do agree with your thoughts on this....and the amendment is perhaps needed due to these ''resolution of wars'' being the means being used the past few decades, but IF THE Constitution were followed as written, I don't think we would need it!

While I know nothing of the credentials of my source, based on my preliminary view of what he has written, I'm pretty sure he knows what a formal declaration of war is, Care, but there is no disputing that we haven't had such a declaration since WWII. Yet we spent two bloody years in Korea, more than ten even bloodier years in Vietnam and surrounding countries, more than another costly decade in Afghanistan and Iraq plus numerous smaller excursion that have killed hundreds of our military and civilian personnel in addion to the tens of thousands we have lost in undeclared wars.

There is no difference to those who are being shot at, bombed, blown up, captured, tortured, or expecting a fatal bomb or bullet at any moment whether the war is declared or not. Nor to those dead, maimed,wounded, traumatized, and otherwise changed forever. War looks just the same to these people regardless of the process used to get us into the hostilities.

Currently the President has full authority, according to our Constitution, to deploy our troops whenever or to wherever he chooses for whatever reason he wants. We can argue until the cows come home that such authority and power was never intended but it exists nevertheless.

My question remains. Do we wish to continue to trust the President with such power? Or is it time to remedy that?

Currently we have approximately 140,000 U.S. military personnel deployed in roughly 150 countries around the world, and another 1.3 million or so on active duty here in the states; yet just under another million in the active reserves. And that doesn't even count all our contractors, embassy, and consulate personnel or others assigned to foreign duty.

It is a powerful lot of people that the President can order anywhere to do pretty much anything he wants. And there is absolutely nothing in the constitution that says he has to ask Congress or anybody else first before he does it. The ONLY power congress has is to withdraw funds for the mission, but by the time they could assemble to do that, we could already have another full blown shooting war in progress.

Is that too much power to allow one person?

And would we be in a perpetual state of war all these years since WWII if Congress had to declare war before we would be allowed to deploy troops anywhere outside the USA?

 

[Derideo_Te]

We used to have clear objectives when we used military force, and only responded in self-defense, or to protect our own interests. Now, we have presidents like Clinton and Obama who use military force selectively to serve their political agendas.

The "War on Terror" was started by Bush and so was the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. There was no "clear self defense objective" when Iraq was illegally invaded. Furthermore it turned into such a debacle that it required a "do-over". The mismanagement of Afghanistan ended up requiring a "do-over" too. If there had been "clear objectives" those would not have been necessary. Your revisionism flies in the face of the facts.

 

[Foxfyre]

We used to have clear objectives when we used military force, and only responded in self-defense, or to protect our own interests. Now, we have presidents like Clinton and Obama who use military force selectively to serve their political agendas.

The "War on Terror" was started by Bush and so was the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. There was no "clear self defense objective" when Iraq was illegally invaded. Furthermore it turned into such a debacle that it required a "do-over". The mismanagement of Afghanistan ended up requiring a "do-over" too. If there had been "clear objectives" those would not have been necessary. Your revisionism flies in the face of the facts.

The "War on Terror" was absolutely not started by George W. Bush. Consider the attack and taking hostage of 52 Americans at our Iranian embassy--those hostages were held for 444 consecutive days. That was Jimmy Carter.

The next President, Reagan, presided over a Muslim attack on our Marine barracks in Lebanon - 299 American and French personnel were killed. And there were other incidents during those eight years too. George H.W. Bush had to deal with a militant Saddam Hussein requiring deployment of troops in Desert Storm in addition to other incidents. Bill Clinton had to deal with Arafat (yet again), Kosovo, the first bombing of the World Trade Center and the attack on the USS Cole killing 17 naval personnel and wounding 39 others and maintaining the interminable sanctions on Iraq that in themselves most likely killed more than 50,000 civilians.

George W. Bush, in the aftermath of 9/11 for which he was completely innocent, simply gave a name to the terrorist phenomenon that had been going on for decades and he was determined to tolerate no further. Afghanistan had full sanction of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. Iraq had full sanction of the U.S. Congress and no objection from the U.N. that had been unable or unwilling to enforce its own sanctions against Iraq.

So you can please just stuff your righteous indignation that only one of those people is the evil one and all the others were wonderful saints or whatever it is you are trying to say there.

My point is, however, would we have engaged in ANY of those military operations if Congress was required to declare war before troops could be deployed?

Would you care to address that?

 

[georgephillip]

In his 2003 book, Wesley Clark reveals a conversation he had in the Pentagon in November of 2001 with a senior staff officer who claimed the US was "still on track" for invading Iraq and that was part of a much larger plan to topple the governments of seven Muslim states within in following five years. (Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan, and Somalia)

I'm wondering how much support there would have been in Congress for that plan?
What percentage of US voters would have endorsed that level of killing?

 

[Derideo_Te]

We used to have clear objectives when we used military force, and only responded in self-defense, or to protect our own interests. Now, we have presidents like Clinton and Obama who use military force selectively to serve their political agendas.

The "War on Terror" was started by Bush and so was the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. There was no "clear self defense objective" when Iraq was illegally invaded. Furthermore it turned into such a debacle that it required a "do-over". The mismanagement of Afghanistan ended up requiring a "do-over" too. If there had been "clear objectives" those would not have been necessary. Your revisionism flies in the face of the facts.

The "War on Terror" was absolutely not started by George W. Bush. Consider the attack and taking hostage of 52 Americans at our Iranian embassy--those hostages were held for 444 consecutive days. That was Jimmy Carter.

The next President, Reagan, presided over a Muslim attack on our Marine barracks in Lebanon - 299 American and French personnel were killed. And there were other incidents during those eight years too. George H.W. Bush had to deal with a militant Saddam Hussein requiring deployment of troops in Desert Storm in addition to other incidents. Bill Clinton had to deal with Arafat (yet again), Kosovo, the first bombing of the World Trade Center and the attack on the USS Cole killing 17 naval personnel and wounding 39 others and maintaining the interminable sanctions on Iraq that in themselves most likely killed more than 50,000 civilians.

George W. Bush, in the aftermath of 9/11 for which he was completely innocent, simply gave a name to the terrorist phenomenon that had been going on for decades and he was determined to tolerate no further. Afghanistan had full sanction of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. Iraq had full sanction of the U.S. Congress and no objection from the U.N. that had been unable or unwilling to enforce its own sanctions against Iraq.

So you can please just stuff your righteous indignation that only one of those people is the evil one and all the others were wonderful saints or whatever it is you are trying to say there.

My point is, however, would we have engaged in ANY of those military operations if Congress was required to declare war before troops could be deployed?

Would you care to address that?

With all due respect you are conflating war with CRIMES of terrorism. War is waged between NATIONS. Terrorism is a criminal act carried out for religious and/or political purposes. The huge mistake that Bush made was to PROMOTE terrorism from being a criminal act to the level of war. His second mistake was to promote terrorists to the status of "enemy combatants". We are still living with the dire consequences of those mistakes.

So your litany of "acts of terrorism" up to and including 9/11 were all just crimes. The NATO invasion of Iraq had the stated purpose of eliminating Al Queda (which was initially funded by Reagan and who praised them). Having failed to achieve that goal the smart move was to withdraw.

The invasion of Iraq was illegal for a number of reasons. Firstly the administration lied to both Congress and the American people in order to obtain their "consent". (They lied to the UN too as subsequently confirmed by Secretary Powell.) Secondly it was done under the umbrella of the "War on Terror" which named 3 nations as the "Axis of Evil". This was all bogus propaganda and done for the express purpose of misleading the people into supporting this illegal warmongering. The actual cost of the war was grossly underestimated as was the length. There was no consideration given to the aftermath or the plan to withdraw. (Probably because there was no intention of ever doing so.)

So with all of the above context what are the lessons learned? Firstly the criminal acts of terrorism perpetrated prior to the Bush administration were handled in accordance to the rule of law. Subsequently they were promoted to "enemy combatants" and have been denied due process rights in violation of the rulings by the Supreme Court. The waging of war against entire nations in order to root out terrorism costs trillions of taxpayer dollars and the lives and limbs of our finest troops while failing to reach the intended goals. Targeted drone strikes and the use of Seal Team 6 have done more to decimate terrorism at a fraction of the cost than the decade of the failed "War on Terror".

Finally to answer your question, no, we would not have done so had the Bush administration been honest as to the true nature of the threat of terrorism.

 

[Derideo_Te]

In his 2003 book, Wesley Clark reveals a conversation he had in the Pentagon in November of 2001 with a senior staff officer who claimed the US was "still on track" for invading Iraq and that was part of a much larger plan to topple the governments of seven Muslim states within in following five years. (Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan, and Somalia)

I'm wondering how much support there would have been in Congress for that plan?
What percentage of US voters would have endorsed that level of killing?

Probably less than 30%.

 

[boilermaker55]

See, that is how the demagogues work. They love re-writing history or forgetting it, to their convenience of course. No wonder no one takes them serious.
Hell, if we were not at war with someone or having some type of military intervention what would all those war profiteering defense contractors do? How would they make their billions.
Let alone put our soldiers in harms way. They have some deep twisted perversion to all of this.
All of this on Memorial weekend.



1980 Iran Special operations units land in Iranian desert. Helicopter malfunction leads to aborting of planned raid.
1981 Libya Naval jets shoot down two Libyan jets in maneuvers over the Mediterranean.
1981-1992 El Salvador CIA and special forces begin a long counterinsurgency campaign.
1981-1990 Nicaragua CIA directs exile "Contra" operations. US air units drop sea mines in harbors.
1982-1984 Lebanon Marines land and naval forces fire on local combatants.
1983 Grenada Military forces invade Grenada.
1983-1989 Honduras Large program of military assistance aimed at conflict in Nicaragua.
1984 Iran Two Iranian jets shot down over the Persian Gulf.
1986 Libya US aircraft bomb the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, including direct strikes at the official residence of President Muamar al Qadaffi.
1986 Bolivia Special Forces units engage in counter-insurgency.
1987-1988 Iran Naval forces block Iranian shipping. Civilian airliner shot down by missile cruiser.

We used to have clear objectives when we used military force, and only responded in self-defense, or to protect our own interests. Now, we have presidents like Clinton and Obama who use military force selectively to serve their political agendas.

Nice how you select only our most recent Democratic Presidents. God knows both Bushes and Reagan never started wars to serve their own political agendas. The truth is that since WW2 almost every President we have had has started wars based on political agendas. It is ignorant and short sighted to blame a single party.

 

[Wildman]

Are We In A Perpetual State Of War?


the answer is emphatically no - without the A-Bomb there would not have been a break in the real World Wars ... and that threat continues to sustain a period or relative peace.

Sorry, but i haven't seen the 'Peace' you speak of. We've been off around the World bombing & killing since WWII.

Who were we bombing and killing from April '75 to August '90?

you may be too young to know about the greatest rate of U.S.A. growth and prosperity from August 1945AD to June 25, 1950AD.., then from July 27, 1953AD to mid 1961AD, we had some form of peace........, although i do recall an incident when in 1957AD as a young sailor attached to VF-173, plane captain of FJ-3 Fury, #209 in the Mediterranean Sea was in a "shooting incident" with several other FJ-3's and 4 MIG -15'stwo MIG's were shot down and my beloved #209 was a casualty, the pilot survived.

below is the last known photo of my beloved #209

Four (4) FJ-3M Fury aircaft of VF-173 from the the deck of the USS Randolph (CVA-15) 1957

 

[editec]

War? Depends on who is defining the term.

Here's a thumbnail sketch of activity and troop deployments since WWII.

Does this list look like PEACE to any of us?

1945 – China. In October 50,000 U.S. Marines were sent to North China to assist Chinese Nationalist authorities in disarming and repatriating the Japanese in China and in controlling ports, railroads, and airfields. This was in addition to approximately 60,000 U.S. forces remaining in China at the end of World War II.[RL30172]
1945–49 – Occupation of part of Germany.
1945–55 – Occupation of part of Austria.
1945–52 – Occupation of Japan.
1944–46 – Temporary reoccupation of the Philippines during World War II and in preparation for previously scheduled independence.[citation needed]
1945–47 – U.S. Marines garrisoned in mainland China to oversee the removal of Soviet and Japanese forces after World War II.[3]
1945–49 – Post-World War II occupation of South Korea; North Korean insurgency in Republic of Korea[4]
1946 – Trieste (Italy). President Truman ordered the increase of US troops along the zonal occupation line and the reinforcement of air forces in northern Italy after Yugoslav forces shot down an unarmed US Army transport plane flying over Venezia Giulia..[citation needed] Earlier U.S. naval units had been sent to the scene.[RL30172] Later the Free Territory of Trieste, Zone A.
1947 - Greece. U.S. Marines land in Athens and assist in the re-establishment of monarchy and the arrest of Greek Communists.
1948 – Jerusalem (British Mandate). A Marine consular guard was sent to Jerusalem to protect the U.S. Consul General.[RL30172]
1948 – Berlin. Berlin Airlift After the Soviet Union established a land blockade of the U.S., British, and French sectors of Berlin on June 24, 1948, the United States and its allies airlifted supplies to Berlin until after the blockade was lifted in May 1949.[RL30172]
1948–49 – China. Marines were dispatched to Nanking to protect the American Embassy when the city fell to Communist troops, and to Shanghai to aid in the protection and evacuation of Americans.[RL30172]
1950–1959 [edit]


Map of military operations since 1950
1950–53 – Korean War. The United States responded to North Korean invasion of South Korea by going to its assistance, pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions. US forces deployed in Korea exceeded 300,000 during the last year of the conflict. Over 36,600 US military were killed in action.[RL30172]
1950–55 – Formosa (Taiwan). In June 1950 at the beginning of the Korean War, President Truman ordered the U.S. Seventh Fleet to prevent Chinese Communist attacks upon Formosa and Chinese Nationalist operations against mainland China.[RL30172]
1954–55 – China. Naval units evacuated U.S. civilians and military personnel from the Tachen Islands.[RL30172]
1955–64 – Vietnam. First military advisors sent to Vietnam on 12 Feb 1955. By 1964, US troop levels had grown to 21,000. On 7 August 1964, US Congress approved Gulf of Tonkin resolution affirming "All necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States. . .to prevent further aggression. . . (and) assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asian Collective Defense Treaty (SEATO) requesting assistance. . ."[Vietnam timeline]
1956 – Egypt. A marine battalion evacuated US nationals and other persons from Alexandria during the Suez crisis.[RL30172]
1958 – Lebanon. Lebanon crisis of 1958 Marines were landed in Lebanon at the invitation of President Camille Chamoun to help protect against threatened insurrection supported from the outside. The President's action was supported by a Congressional resolution passed in 1957 that authorized such actions in that area of the world.[RL30172]
1959–60 – The Caribbean. Second Marine Ground Task Force was deployed to protect U.S. nationals following the Cuban revolution.[RL30172]
1959–75 – Vietnam War. U.S. military advisers had been in South Vietnam for a decade, and their numbers had been increased as the military position of the Saigon government became weaker. After citing what he termed were attacks on U.S. destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf, President Johnson asked in August 1964 for a resolution expressing U.S. determination to support freedom and protect peace in Southeast Asia. Congress responded with the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, expressing support for "all necessary measures" the President might take to repel armed attacks against U.S. forces and prevent further aggression. Following this resolution, and following a communist attack on a U.S. installation in central Vietnam, the United States escalated its participation in the war to a peak of 543,000 military personnel by April 1969.[RL30172][not in citation given]
1960–1969 [edit]
1962 – Thailand. The Third Marine Expeditionary Unit landed on May 17, 1962 to support that country during the threat of Communist pressure from outside; by July 30, the 5,000 marines had been withdrawn.[RL30172]
1962 – Cuba. Cuban Missile Crisis On October 22, President Kennedy instituted a "quarantine" on the shipment of offensive missiles to Cuba from the Soviet Union. He also warned Soviet Union that the launching of any missile from Cuba against nations in the Western Hemisphere would bring about U.S. nuclear retaliation on the Soviet Union. A negotiated settlement was achieved in a few days.[RL30172]
1962–75 – Laos. From October 1962 until 1975, the United States played an important role in military support of anti-Communist forces in Laos.[RL30172]
1964 – Congo (Zaire). The United States sent four transport planes to provide airlift for Congolese troops during a rebellion and to transport Belgian paratroopers to rescue foreigners.[RL30172]
1965 – Invasion of Dominican Republic. Operation Power Pack. The United States intervened to protect lives and property during a Dominican revolt and sent 20,000 U.S. troops as fears grew that the revolutionary forces were coming increasingly under Communist control.[RL30172] A popular rebellion breaks out, promising to reinstall Juan Bosch as the country's elected leader. The revolution is crushed when U.S. Marines land to uphold the military regime by force. The CIA directs everything behind the scenes.
1967 – Israel. The USS Liberty incident, whereupon a United States Navy Technical Research Ship was attacked June 8, 1967 by Israeli armed forces, killing 34 and wounding more than 170 U.S. crew members.
1967 – Congo (Zaire). The United States sent three military transport aircraft with crews to provide the Congo central government with logistical support during a revolt.[RL30172]
1968 – Laos & Cambodia. U.S. starts secret bombing campaign against targets along the Ho Chi Minh trail in the sovereign nations of Cambodia and Laos. The bombings last at least two years. (See Operation Commando Hunt)
1970–1979 [edit]
1970 – Cambodian Campaign. U.S. troops were ordered into Cambodia to clean out Communist sanctuaries from which Viet Cong and North Vietnamese attacked U.S. and South Vietnamese forces in Vietnam. The object of this attack, which lasted from April 30 to June 30, was to ensure the continuing safe withdrawal of American forces from South Vietnam and to assist the program of Vietnamization.[RL30172]
1972 - North Vietnam - Christmas bombing Operation Linebacker II (not mentioned in RL30172, but an operation leading to peace negotiations). The operation was conducted from 18–29 December 1972. It was a bombing of the cities Hanoi and Haiphong by B-52 bombers.
1973 – Operation Nickel Grass, a strategic airlift operation conducted by the United States to deliver weapons and supplies to Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
1974 – Evacuation from Cyprus. United States naval forces evacuated U.S. civilians during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.[RL30172]
1975 – Evacuation from Vietnam. Operation Frequent Wind. On April 3, 1975, President Ford reported U.S. naval vessels, helicopters, and Marines had been sent to assist in evacuation of refugees and US nationals from Vietnam.[RL30172]
1975 – Evacuation from Cambodia. Operation Eagle Pull. On April 12, 1975, President Ford reported that he had ordered U.S. military forces to proceed with the planned evacuation of U.S. citizens from Cambodia.[RL30172]
1975 – South Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, President Ford reported that a force of 70 evacuation helicopters and 865 Marines had evacuated about 1,400 U.S. citizens and 5,500 third country nationals and South Vietnamese from landing zones in and around the U.S. Embassy, Saigon and Tan Son Nhut Airport.[RL30172]
1975 – Cambodia. Mayagüez Incident. On May 15, 1975, President Ford reported he had ordered military forces to retake the SS Mayagüez, a merchant vessel which was seized from Cambodian naval patrol boats in international waters and forced to proceed to a nearby island.[RL30172]
1976 – Lebanon. On July 22 and 23, 1976, helicopters from five U.S. naval vessels evacuated approximately 250 Americans and Europeans from Lebanon during fighting between Lebanese factions after an overland convoy evacuation had been blocked by hostilities.[RL30172]
1976 – Korea. Additional forces were sent to Korea after two American soldiers were killed by North Korean soldiers in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea while cutting down a tree.[RL30172]
1978 – Zaire (Congo). From May 19 through June 1978, the United States utilized military transport aircraft to provide logistical support to Belgian and French rescue operations in Zaire.[RL30172]
1980–1989 [edit]
1980 – Iran. Operation Eagle Claw. On April 26, 1980, President Carter reported the use of six U.S. transport planes and eight helicopters in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran.
1980 - U.S. Army and Air Force units arrive in the Sinai in September as part of "Operation Bright Star". They are there to train with Egyptians armed forces as part of the Camp David peace accords signed in 1979. Elements of the 101st Airborne Division, ( 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry) and Air Force MAC (Military Airlift Command) units are in theater for four months and are the first U.S. military forces in the region since World War II.
1981 – El Salvador. After a guerrilla offensive against the government of El Salvador, additional U.S. military advisers were sent to El Salvador, bringing the total to approximately 55, to assist in training government forces in counterinsurgency.[RL30172]
1981 – Libya. First Gulf of Sidra Incident On August 19, 1981, U.S. planes based on the carrier USS Nimitz shot down two Libyan jets over the Gulf of Sidra after one of the Libyan jets had fired a heat-seeking missile. The United States periodically held freedom of navigation exercises in the Gulf of Sidra, claimed by Libya as territorial waters but considered international waters by the United States.[RL30172]
1982 – Sinai. On March 19, 1982, President Reagan reported the deployment of military personnel and equipment to participate in the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai. Participation had been authorized by the Multinational Force and Observers Resolution, Public Law 97-132.[RL30172]
1982 – Lebanon. Multinational Force in Lebanon. On August 21, 1982, President Reagan reported the dispatch of 800 Marines to serve in the multinational force to assist in the withdrawal of members of the Palestine Liberation force from Beirut. The Marines left September 20, 1982.[RL30172]
1982–83 – Lebanon. On September 29, 1982, President Reagan reported the deployment of 1200 marines to serve in a temporary multinational force to facilitate the restoration of Lebanese government sovereignty. On September 29, 1983, Congress passed the Multinational Force in Lebanon Resolution (P.L. 98-119) authorizing the continued participation for eighteen months.[RL30172]
1983 – Egypt. After a Libyan plane bombed a city in Sudan on March 18, 1983, and Sudan and Egypt appealed for assistance, the United States dispatched an AWACS electronic surveillance plane to Egypt.[RL30172]
1983 – Grenada. Operation Urgent Fury. Citing the increased threat of Soviet and Cuban influence and noting the development of an international airport following a coup d'état and alignment with the Soviets and Cuba, the U.S. invades the island nation of Grenada.[RL30172]
1983–89 – Honduras. In July 1983, the United States undertook a series of exercises in Honduras that some believed might lead to conflict with Nicaragua. On March 25, 1986, unarmed U.S. military helicopters and crewmen ferried Honduran troops to the Nicaraguan border to repel Nicaraguan troops.[RL30172]
1983 – Chad. On August 8, 1983, President Reagan reported the deployment of two AWACS electronic surveillance planes and eight F-15 fighter planes and ground logistical support forces to assist Chad against Libyan and rebel forces.[RL30172]
1984 – Persian Gulf. On June 5, 1984, Saudi Arabian jet fighter planes, aided by intelligence from a U.S. AWACS electronic surveillance aircraft and fueled by a U.S. KC-10 tanker, shot down two Iranian fighter planes over an area of the Persian Gulf proclaimed as a protected zone for shipping.[RL30172]
1985 – Italy. On October 10, 1985, U.S. Navy pilots intercepted an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Sicily. The airliner was carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro who had killed an American citizen during the hijacking.[RL30172]
1986 – Libya. Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) On March 26, 1986, President Reagan reported on March 24 and 25, U.S. forces, while engaged in freedom of navigation exercises around the Gulf of Sidra, had been attacked by Libyan missiles and the United States had responded with missiles.[RL30172]
1986 – Libya. Operation El Dorado Canyon. On April 16, 1986, President Reagan reported that U.S. air and naval forces had conducted bombing strikes on terrorist facilities and military installations in the Libyan capitol of Tripoli, claiming that Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi was responsible for a bomb attack at a German disco that killed two U.S. soldiers.[RL30172]
1986 – Bolivia. U.S. Army personnel and aircraft assisted Bolivia in anti-drug operations.[RL30172]
1987 – Persian Gulf. USS Stark was struck on May 17 by two Exocet antiship missiles fired from an Iraqi F-1 Mirage during the Iran-Iraq War, killing 37 U.S. Navy sailors.
1987 – Persian Gulf. Operation Nimble Archer. Attacks on two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf by United States Navy forces on October 19. The attack was a response to Iran's October 16, 1987 attack on the MV Sea Isle City, a reflagged Kuwaiti oil tanker at anchor off Kuwait, with a Silkworm missile.
1987–88 – Persian Gulf. Operation Earnest Will - After the Iran-Iraq War (the Tanker War phase) resulted in several military incidents in the Persian Gulf, the United States increased U.S. joint military forces operations in the Persian Gulf and adopted a policy of reflagging and escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf to protect them from Iraqi and Iranian attacks. President Reagan reported that U.S. ships had been fired upon or struck mines or taken other military action on September 21 (Iran Ajr), October 8, and October 19, 1987 and April 18 (Operation Praying Mantis), July 3, and July 14, 1988. The United States gradually reduced its forces after a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq on August 20, 1988.[RL30172] It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.[5]
1987–88 – Persian Gulf. Operation Prime Chance was a United States Special Operations Command operation intended to protect U.S.-flagged oil tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran-Iraq War. The operation took place roughly at the same time as Operation Earnest Will.
1988 – Persian Gulf. Operation Praying Mantis was the April 18, 1988 action waged by U.S. naval forces in retaliation for the Iranian mining of the Persian Gulf and the subsequent damage to an American warship.
1988 – Honduras. Operation Golden Pheasant was an emergency deployment of U.S. troops to Honduras in 1988, as a result of threatening actions by the forces of the (then socialist) Nicaraguans.
1988 – USS Vincennes shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655
1988 – Panama. In mid-March and April 1988, during a period of instability in Panama and as the United States increased pressure on Panamanian head of state General Manuel Noriega to resign, the United States sent 1,000 troops to Panama, to "further safeguard the canal, US lives, property and interests in the area." The forces supplemented 10,000 U.S. military personnel already in the Panama Canal Zone.[RL30172]
1989 – Libya. Second Gulf of Sidra Incident On January 4, 1989, two U.S. Navy F-14 aircraft based on the USS John F. Kennedy shot down two Libyan jet fighters over the Mediterranean Sea about 70 miles north of Libya. The U.S. pilots said the Libyan planes had demonstrated hostile intentions.[RL30172]
1989 – Panama. On May 11, 1989, in response to General Noriega's disregard of the results of the Panamanian election, President Bush ordered a brigade-sized force of approximately 1,900 troops to augment the estimated 1,000 U.S. forces already in the area.[RL30172]
1989 – Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Andean Initiative in War on Drugs. On September 15, 1989, President Bush announced that military and law enforcement assistance would be sent to help the Andean nations of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru combat illicit drug producers and traffickers. By mid-September there were 50–100 U.S. military advisers in Colombia in connection with transport and training in the use of military equipment, plus seven Special Forces teams of 2–12 persons to train troops in the three countries.[RL30172]
1989 – Philippines. Operation Classic Resolve. On December 2, 1989, President Bush reported that on December 1, Air Force fighters from Clark Air Base in Luzon had assisted the Aquino government to repel a coup attempt. In addition, 100 marines were sent from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay to protect the United States Embassy in Manila.[RL30172]
1989–90 – Panama. Operation Just Cause. On December 21, 1989, President Bush reported that he had ordered U.S. military forces to Panama to protect the lives of American citizens and bring General Noriega to justice. By February 13, 1990, all the invasion forces had been withdrawn.[RL30172] Around 200 Panamanian civilians were reported killed. The Panamanian head of state, General Manuel Noriega, was captured and brought to the U.S.
1990–1999 [edit]
1990 – Liberia: On August 6, 1990, President Bush reported that a reinforced rifle company had been sent to provide additional security to the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, and that helicopter teams had evacuated U.S. citizens from Liberia.[RL30172]
1990 – Saudi Arabia: On August 9, 1990, President Bush reported that he launched Operation Desert Shield by ordering the forward deployment of substantial elements of the U.S. armed forces into the Persian Gulf region to help defend Saudi Arabia after the August 2 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. On November 16, 1990, he reported the continued buildup of the forces to ensure an adequate offensive military option.[RL30172]American hostages being held in Iran.[RL30172]
1991 – Iraq and Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm: On January 16, 1991, in response to the refusal by Iraq to leave Kuwait, U.S. and Coalition aircraft attacked Iraqi forces and military targets in Iraq and Kuwait in conjunction with a coalition of allies and under United Nations Security Council resolutions. In February 24, 1991, U.S.-led United Nation (UN) forces launched a ground offensive that finally drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within 100 hours. Combat operations ended on February 28, 1991, when President Bush declared a ceasefire.[RL30172]
1991–1996 – Iraq. Operation Provide Comfort: Delivery of humanitarian relief and military protection for Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq during the 1991 uprising, by a small Allied ground force based in Turkey which began in April 1991.
1991 – Iraq: On May 17, 1991, President Bush stated that the Iraqi repression of the Kurdish people had necessitated a limited introduction of U.S. forces into northern Iraq for emergency relief purposes.[RL30172]
1991 – Zaire: On September 25–27, 1991, after widespread looting and rioting broke out in Kinshasa, Air Force C-141s transported 100 Belgian troops and equipment into Kinshasa. American planes also carried 300 French troops into the Central African Republic and hauled evacuated American citizens.[RL30172]
1992 – Sierra Leone. Operation Silver Anvil: Following the April 29 coup that overthrew President Joseph Saidu Momoh, a United States European Command (USEUCOM) Joint Special Operations Task Force evacuated 438 people (including 42 Third Country nationals) on May 3. Two Air Mobility Command (AMC) C-141s flew 136 people from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to the Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany and nine C-130 sorties carried another 302 people to Dakar, Senegal.[RL30172]
1992–1996 – Bosnia and Herzegovina: Operation Provide Promise was a humanitarian relief operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars, from July 2, 1992, to January 9, 1996, which made it the longest running humanitarian airlift in history.[6]
1992 – Kuwait: On August 3, 1992, the United States began a series of military exercises in Kuwait, following Iraqi refusal to recognize a new border drawn up by the United Nations and refusal to cooperate with UN inspection teams.[RL30172]
1992–2003 – Iraq. Iraqi no-fly zones: The U.S., United Kingdom, and its Gulf War allies declared and enforced "no-fly zones" over the majority of sovereign Iraqi airspace, prohibiting Iraqi flights in zones in southern Iraq and northern Iraq, and conducting aerial reconnaissance and bombings. Oftentimes, Iraqi forces continued throughout a decade by firing on U.S. and British aircraft patrolling no-fly zones.(See also Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch) [RL30172]
1992–1995 – Somalia. Operation Restore Hope. Somali Civil War: On December 10, 1992, President Bush reported that he had deployed U.S. armed forces to Somalia in response to a humanitarian crisis and a UN Security Council Resolution in support for UNITAF. The operation came to an end on May 4, 1993. U.S. forces continued to participate in the successor United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II).(See also Battle of Mogadishu)[RL30172]
1993-1995 - Bosnia. Operation Deny Flight: On April 12, 1993, in response to a United Nations Security Council passage of Resolution 816, U.S. and NATO enforced the no-fly zone over the Bosnian airspace, prohibited all unauthorized flights and allowed to "take all necessary measures to ensure compliance with [the no-fly zone restrictions]."
1993 – Macedonia: On July 9, 1993, President Clinton reported the deployment of 350 U.S. soldiers to the Republic of Macedonia to participate in the UN Protection Force to help maintain stability in the area of former Yugoslavia.[RL30172]
1994: Bosnia. Banja Luka incident: NATO become involved in the first combat situation when NATO U.S. Air Force F-16 jets shot down four of the six Bosnian Serb J-21 Jastreb single-seat light attack jets for violating UN-mandated no-fly zone.
1994–1995 – Haiti. Operation Uphold Democracy: U.S. ships had begun embargo against Haiti. Up to 20,000 U.S. military troops were later deployed to Haiti to restore democratically-elected Haiti President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from a military regime which came into power in 1991 after a major coup.[RL30172]
1994 – Macedonia: On April 19, 1994, President Clinton reported that the U.S. contingent in Macedonia had been increased by a reinforced company of 200 personnel.[RL30172]
1995 – Bosnia. Operation Deliberate Force: In August 30, 1995, U.S. and NATO aircraft began a major bombing campaign of Bosnian Serb Army in response to a Bosnian Serb mortar attack on a Sarajevo market that killed 37 people in August 28, 1995. This operation lasted until September 20, 1995. The air campaign along with a combined allied ground force of Muslim and Croatian Army against Serb positions led to a Dayton agreement in December 1995 with the signing of warring factions of the war. As part of Operation Joint Endeavor, U.S. and NATO dispatched the Implementation Force (IFOR) peacekeepers to Bosnia to uphold the Dayton agreement.[RL30172]
1996 – Liberia. Operation Assured Response: On April 11, 1996, President Clinton reported that on April 9, 1996 due to the "deterioration of the security situation and the resulting threat to American citizens" in Liberia he had ordered U.S. military forces to evacuate from that country "private U.S. citizens and certain third-country nationals who had taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy compound...."[RL30172]
1996 – Central African Republic. Operation Quick Response: On May 23, 1996, President Clinton reported the deployment of U.S. military personnel to Bangui, Central African Republic, to conduct the evacuation from that country of "private U.S. citizens and certain U.S. government employees", and to provide "enhanced security for the American Embassy in Bangui."[RL30172] United States Marine Corps elements of Joint Task Force Assured Response, responding in nearby Liberia, provided security to the embassy and evacuated 448 people, including between 190 and 208 Americans. The last Marines left Bangui on June 22.
1996 - Bosnia. Operation Joint Guard: In December 21, 1996, U.S. and NATO established the SFOR peacekeepers to replace the IFOR in enforcing the peace under the Dayton agreement.
1997 – Albania. Operation Silver Wake: On March 13, 1997, U.S. military forces were used to evacuate certain U.S. government employees and private U.S. citizens from Tirana, Albania.[RL30172]
1997 – Congo and Gabon: On March 27, 1997, President Clinton reported on March 25, 1997, a standby evacuation force of U.S. military personnel had been deployed to Congo and Gabon to provide enhanced security and to be available for any necessary evacuation operation.[RL30172]
1997 – Sierra Leone: On May 29 and May 30, 1997, U.S. military personnel were deployed to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to prepare for and undertake the evacuation of certain U.S. government employees and private U.S. citizens.[RL30172]
1997 – Cambodia: On July 11, 1997, In an effort to ensure the security of American citizens in Cambodia during a period of domestic conflict there, a Task Force of about 550 U.S. military personnel were deployed at Utapao Air Base in Thailand for possible evacuations. [RL30172]
1998 – Iraq. Operation Desert Fox: U.S. and British forces conduct a major four-day bombing campaign from December 16–19, 1998 on Iraqi targets.[RL30172]
1998 – Guinea-Bissau. Operation Shepherd Venture: On June 10, 1998, in response to an army mutiny in Guinea-Bissau endangering the U.S. Embassy, President Clinton deployed a standby evacuation force of U.S. military personnel to Dakar, Senegal, to evacuate from the city of Bissau.[RL30172]
1998–1999 – Kenya and Tanzania: U.S. military personnel were deployed to Nairobi, Kenya, to coordinate the medical and disaster assistance related to the bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.[RL30172]
1998 – Afghanistan and Sudan. Operation Infinite Reach: On August 20, President Clinton ordered a cruise missile attack against two suspected terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical factory in Sudan.[RL30172]
1998 – Liberia: On September 27, 1998, America deployed a stand-by response and evacuation force of 30 U.S. military personnel to increase the security force at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia. [1] [RL30172]
1999–2001 - East Timor: Limited number of U.S. military forces deployed with the United Nations-mandated International Force for East Timor restore peace to East Timor.[RL30172]
1999 – Serbia. Operation Allied Force: U.S. and NATO aircraft began a major bombing of Serbia and Serb positions in Kosovo in March 24, 1999, during the Kosovo War due to the refusal by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to end repression against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. This operation ended in June 10, 1999, when Milosevic agreed to pull out his troops out of Kosovo. In response to the situation in Kosovo, NATO dispatched the KFOR peacekeepers to secure the peace under UNSC Resolution 1244.[RL30172]
2000–2009 [edit]
2000 – Sierra Leone. On May 12, 2000 a U.S. Navy patrol craft deployed to Sierra Leone to support evacuation operations from that country if needed.[RL30172]
2000 - Nigeria. Special Forces troops are sent to Nigeria to lead a training mission in the county.[7]
2000 – Yemen. On October 12, 2000, after the USS Cole attack in the port of Aden, Yemen, military personnel were deployed to Aden.[RL30172]
2000 – East Timor. On February 25, 2000, a small number of U.S. military personnel were deployed to support the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). [RL30172]
2001 – On April 1, 2001, a mid-air collision between a United States Navy EP-3E ARIES II signals surveillance aircraft and a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) J-8II interceptor fighter jet resulted in an international dispute between the United States and the People's Republic of China called the Hainan Island incident.
2001 – War in Afghanistan. The War on Terrorism begins with Operation Enduring Freedom. On October 7, 2001, U.S. Armed Forces invade Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks and "begin combat action in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda terrorists and their Taliban supporters."[RL30172]
2002 – Yemen. On November 3, 2002, an American MQ-1 Predator fired a Hellfire missile at a car in Yemen killing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, an al-Qaeda leader thought to be responsible for the USS Cole bombing.[RL30172]
2002 – Philippines. OEF-Philippines. January 2002 U.S. "combat-equipped and combat support forces" have been deployed to the Philippines to train with, assist and advise the Philippines' Armed Forces in enhancing their "counterterrorist capabilities."[RL30172]
2002 – Côte d'Ivoire. On September 25, 2002, in response to a rebellion in Côte d'Ivoire, U.S. military personnel went into Côte d'Ivoire to assist in the evacuation of American citizens from Bouake.[8]
[RL30172]
2003–2011 – War in Iraq. Operation Iraqi Freedom. March 20, 2003. The United States leads a coalition that includes Britain, Australia and Spain to invade Iraq with the stated goal being "to disarm Iraq in pursuit of peace, stability, and security both in the Gulf region and in the United States."[RL30172]
2003 – Liberia. Second Liberian Civil War. On June 9, 2003, President Bush reported that on June 8 he had sent about 35 U.S. Marines into Monrovia, Liberia, to help secure the U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and to aid in any necessary evacuation from either Liberia or Mauritania.[RL30172]
2003 – Georgia and Djibouti. "US combat equipped and support forces" had been deployed to Georgia and Djibouti to help in enhancing their "counterterrorist capabilities."[9]
2004 – Haiti. 2004 Haïti rebellion occurs. The US first sent 55 combat equipped military personnel to augment the U.S. Embassy security forces there and to protect American citizens and property in light. Later 200 additional US combat-equipped, military personnel were sent to prepare the way for a UN Multinational Interim Force, MINUSTAH.[RL30172]
2004 – War on Terrorism: U.S. anti-terror related activities were underway in Georgia, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Eritrea.[10]
2004–present: Drone attacks in Pakistan
2005–06 – Pakistan. President Bush deploys troops from US Army Air Cav Brigades to provide Humanitarian relief to far remote villages in the Kashmir mountain ranges of Pakistan stricken by a massive earthquake.
2006 – Lebanon. U.S. Marine Detachment, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit[citation needed], begins evacuation of U.S. citizens willing to leave the country in the face of a likely ground invasion by Israel and continued fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military.[11][12]
2007 – Somalia. Battle of Ras Kamboni. On January 8, 2007, while the conflict between the Islamic Courts Union and the Transitional Federal Government continues, an AC-130 gunship conducts an aerial strike on a suspected al-Qaeda operative, along with other Islamist fighters, on Badmadow Island near Ras Kamboni in southern Somalia.[13]
2008 – South Ossetia, Georgia. Helped Georgia humanitarian aid,[14] helped to transport Georgian forces from Iraq during the conflict. In the past, the US has provided training and weapons to Georgia.
2010–present [edit]
2010-11 War in Iraq. Operation New Dawn. On February 17, 2010, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that as of September 1, 2010, the name "Operation Iraqi Freedom" would be replaced by "Operation New Dawn". This coincides with the reduction of American troops to 50,000.
2011 - Libya. Operation Odyssey Dawn. Coalition forces enforcing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 with bombings of Libyan forces.
2011 - War on Terrorism. Osama Bin Laden is killed by U.S. military forces in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear.
2011 - Drone strikes on al-Shabab militants begin in Somalia.[15] This marks the 6th nation in which such strikes have been carried out, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.[citation needed]
2011 - Uganda. US Combat troops sent in as advisers to Uganda.[16]
2012 - Jordan. 150 US troops deployed to Jordan to help it contain the Syrian Civil War within Syria's borders.
2012 - Turkey. 400 troops and two batteries of Patriot missiles sent to Turkey to prevent any missile strikes from Syria.
2012 - Chad. 50 U.S. troops have deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate U.S. citizens and embassy personnel from the neighboring Central African Republic's capital of Bangui in the face of rebel advances toward the city.
2013 - Mali. US forces assisted the French in Operation Serval with air refueling and transport aircraft.
2013 - Somalia. US Air Force planes supported the French in the Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt. However, they did not use any weapons.
2013 - North Korea crisis

 

[Billo_Really]

Does anybody want to remove the power from the President to deploy troops without explicit consent of Congress? Does anybody here have the courage of their convictions to speak to that?

I do. The President does not have that Constitutional power. In fact, the Constitution is clear that only Congress can declare war. And it also states...

Section. 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;

...which means he is not CINC when not called.

And that means he is not the one doing the "calling".

This is the job of Congress and that power cannot be delegated to another branch of government.

 

[Billo_Really]

Can anyone on this Board right now, remember a time when our Nation wasn't involved in some sort of military action? Curious to see what you all think. Thanks.

Yes, were are in a perpetual state of war, even though 70% of the country is against them.

More proof the country is run by a corporate oligarchy and not representative of the people.

 

[Skull Pilot]

We as a nation are addicted to war.

To deny that is naive to the point of stupidity.

 

[Kondor3]

No, not really...

Especially when we filter-out the lightweight stuff... (Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, etc.)

We DO seem to have developed a knack for pissing people off in recent decades.

But how much of that is Superpower Envy versus Partisan Alignment versus legitimate angst is a matter for debate.

And we DO have a hungry Military-Industrial Complex monster to feed, don't we?

 

[Billo_Really]

No, not really...

Especially when we filter-out the lightweight stuff... (Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, etc.)

We DO seem to have developed a knack for pissing people off in recent decades.

But how much of that is Superpower Envy versus Partisan Alignment versus legitimate angst is a matter for debate.

And we DO have a hungry Military-Industrial Complex monster to feed, don't we?

I think the fact that we won't stop bombing the shit out of ME country's has a lot to do with it.

 

[Kondor3]

"...I think the fact that we won't stop bombing the shit out of ME country's has a lot to do with it."

I dunno. Mebbe. Although we didn't go into there (Afghanistan) until provoked beyond bearing. But, if there's any merit to that, it's still just the latest in a long line of symptoms (occasions for war-making or one kind or another).