During his 34 years of Marine Corps service, Butler was awarded numerous medals for heroism including the Marine Corps Brevet Medal (the highest Marine medal at its time for officers), and subsequently the Medal of Honor twice. Notably, he is one of only 19 people to be twice awarded the Medal of Honor, and one of only three to be awarded a Marine Corps Brevet Medal and a Medal of Honor, and the only person to be awarded a Marine Corps Brevet Medal and a Medal of Honor for two different actions.
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Although I can appreciate Smedleys’ passion, and his ideology is quaint. The facts are that it is that very “racket” that has fed more, housed more, clothed more, educated more, healed more, politically liberated more and forgiven more debt world wide than any other cultures’ or country’s “racket” in history. This is all just an accident to liberals.
Anyone who is so naïve to think that we go to war for any other reason is doomed to a life of confusion. Always wondering why we can’t all just get along.
I didn’t make it this way, but the economic engine of the world has been the U.S. for the last 70 years. The last financial meltdown is the perfect example of how the whole world looks to us for financial security. Our “racket” called the free and open market is what has been the envy of that same world for 2 generations. Now numbskulls like you pull out goofy (albeit fun to watch) dated ideological pabulum and decide the U.S. is wrong to be in any type of conflict for any reason.
You will see what happens in the next generation or 2. Your standard of living…no, I take that back. The whole flippin worlds standard of living is going to tank and your silly, however passionate, ideology will be to blame. You guys, driven by naïve’ ideology, will kill the goose and then wonder why you have no eggs.
If you want to read a couple of good books, read “The Myth of Victory: What is Victory in War?” by Richard Hobbs, “The Good News Is, The Bad News Is Wrong.” It was written by A PBS correspondent, Ben Wattenberg. He also wrote “The First Measured Century”.
I know you are a die hard lib, just by how you write and how you condescend to everyone you write to. That’s too bad. You seem like a sharp mind. Too bad you have been sipping the silly lefty Kool-aid for too long. I fear there is no hope.
Even those links you sent me are biased to a fault. Any Economics 101 student knows that it was conservative policies that caused the growth even if the growth was during other administrations. Only an inexperienced mind would believe that any administration is responsible for the growth that happens during its tenure.
By the way, since you are so flippin against war.
Which is more important? Saving lives or growing the economy? Because in Viet Nam, 50,000 people died under Kennedy and Johnson. Only 8,000 died under Nixon and he was there for the same amount of time as both of them.
The conflict in Iraq, has been the single most successful military operation is history. Read about why the Allies invaded Normandy. Then compare those same reasons to the Iraqi conflict and if you are honest with yourself and not so blinded by your sophomoric ideology, you see that it was all about the “racket” and that is a GOOD thing. Peace.
I didn’t make it this way, but the economic engine of the world has been the U.S. for the last 70 years."
I find William Blum's explanation of the reasons we are always at war far more realistic, factual, and veritable than yours:
"The engine of American foreign policy has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by the necessity to serve other imperatives, which can be summarized as follows:
* making the world safe for American corporations;
* enhancing the financial statements of defense contractors at home who have contributed generously to members of congress;
* preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model;
* extending political and economic hegemony over as wide an area as possible, as befits a "great power."
Furthermore, I will cite this listing of american military intervention:
A History of American Wars
The mother of all terrorists...to be taken quite literally!
For those of you who want facts and figures and have the intellect to judge 'good' from 'evil' and the courage to know and say out the truth....for the rest, don't bother reading any further!
Ever since the United States Army massacred 300 Lakotas in 1890, American forces have intervened elsewhere around the globe 100 times. Indeed the United States has sent troops abroad or militarily struck other countries' territory 216 times since independence from Britain. Since 1945 the United States has intervened in more than 20 countries throughout the world.
Since World War II, the United States actually dropped bombs on 23 countries. These include: China 1945-46, Korea 1950-53, China 1950-53, Guatemala 1954, Indonesia 1958, Cuba 1959-60, Guatemala 1960, Congo 1964, Peru 1965, Laos 1964-73, Vietnam 1961-73, Cambodia 1969-70, Guatemala 1967-69, Grenada 1983, Lebanon 1984, Libya 1986, El Salvador 1980s, Nicaragua 1980s, Panama 1989, Iraq 1991-1999, Sudan 1998, Afghanistan 1998, and Yugoslavia 1999.
Post World War II, the United States has also assisted in over 20 different coups throughout the world, and the CIA was responsible for half a dozen assassinations of political heads of state.
The following is a comprehensive summary of the imperialist strategy of the United States over the span of the past century:
Argentina - 1890 - Troops sent to Buenos Aires to protect business interests.
Chile - 1891 - Marines sent to Chile and clashed with nationalist rebels.
Haiti - 1891 - American troops suppress a revolt by Black workers on United States-claimed Navassa Island.
Hawaii - 1893 - Navy sent to Hawaii to overthrow the independent kingdom - Hawaii annexed by the United States.
Nicaragua - 1894 - Troops occupied Bluefield's, a city on the Caribbean Sea, for a month.
China - 1894-95 - Navy, Army, and Marines landed during the Sino-Japanese War.
Korea - 1894-96 - Troops kept in Seoul during the war.
Panama - 1895 - Army, Navy, and Marines landed in the port city of Corinto.
China - 1894-1900 - Troops occupied China during the Boxer Rebellion.
Philippines - 1898-1910 - Navy and Army troops landed after the Philippines fell during the Spanish-American War; 600,000 Filipinos were killed.
Cuba - 1898-1902 - Troops seized Cuba in the Spanish-American War; the United States still maintains troops at Guantanamo Bay today.
Puerto Rico - 1898 - present - Troops seized Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War and still occupy Puerto Rico today.
Nicaragua - 1898 - Marines landed at the port of San Juan del Sur.
Samoa - 1899 - Troops landed as a result over the battle for succession to the throne.
Panama - 1901-14 - Navy supported the revolution when Panama claimed independence from Colombia. American troops have occupied the Canal Zone since 1901 when construction for the canal began.
Honduras - 1903 - Marines landed to intervene during a revolution.
Dominican Rep 1903-04 - Troops landed to protect American interests during a revolution.
Korea - 1904-05 - Marines landed during the Russo-Japanese War.
Cuba - 1906-09 - Troops landed during an election.
Nicaragua - 1907 - Troops landed and a protectorate was set up.
Honduras - 1907 - Marines landed during Honduras' war with Nicaragua.
Panama - 1908 - Marines sent in during Panama's election.
Nicaragua - 1910 - Marines landed for a second time in Bluefields and Corinto.
Honduras - 1911 - Troops sent in to protect American interests during Honduras' civil war.
China - 1911-41 - Navy and troops sent to China during continuous flare-ups.
Cuba - 1912 - Troops sent in to protect American interests in Havana.
Panama - 1912 - Marines landed during Panama's election.
Honduras - 1912 - Troops sent in to protect American interests.
Nicaragua - 1912-33 - Troops occupied Nicaragua and fought guerrillas during its 20-year civil war.
Mexico - 1913 - Navy evacuated Americans during revolution.
Dominican Rep 1914 - Navy fought with rebels over Santo Domingo.
Mexico - 1914-18 - Navy and troops sent in to intervene against nationalists.
Haiti - 1914-34 - Troops occupied Haiti after a revolution and occupied Haiti for 19 years.
Dominican Rep 1916-24 - Marines occupied the Dominican Republic for eight years.
Cuba - 1917-33 - Troops landed and occupied Cuba for 16 years; Cuba became an economic protectorate.
World War I - 1917-18 - Navy and Army sent to Europe to fight the Axis powers.
Russia - 1918-22 - Navy and troops sent to eastern Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution; Army made five landings.
Honduras - 1919 - Marines sent during Honduras' national elections.
Guatemala - 1920 - Troops occupied Guatemala for two weeks during a union strike.
Turkey - 1922 - Troops fought nationalists in Smyrna.
China - 1922-27 - Navy and Army troops deployed during a nationalist revolt.
Honduras - 1924-25 - Troops landed twice during a national election.
Panama - 1925 - Troops sent in to put down a general strike.
China - 1927-34 - Marines sent in and stationed for seven years throughout China.
El Salvador - 1932 - Naval warships deployed during the FMLN revolt under Marti.
World War II - 1941-45 - Military fought the Axis powers: Japan, Germany, and Italy.
Yugoslavia - 1946 - Navy deployed off the coast of Yugoslavia in response to the downing of an American plane.
Uruguay - 1947 - Bombers deployed as a show of military force.
Greece - 1947-49 - United States operations insured a victory for the far right in national "elections."
Germany - 1948 - Military deployed in response to the Berlin blockade; the Berlin airlift lasts 444 days.
Philippines - 1948-54 - The CIA directed a civil war against the Filipino Huk revolt.
Puerto Rico - 1950 - Military helped crush an independence rebellion in Ponce.
Korean War - 1951-53 - Military sent in during the war.
Iran - 1953 - The CIA orchestrated the overthrow of democratically elected Mossadegh and restored the Shah to power.
Vietnam - 1954 - The United States offered weapons to the French in the battle against Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh.
Guatemala - 1954 - The CIA overthrew the democratically elected Arbenz and placed Colonel Armas in power.
Egypt - 1956 - Marines deployed to evacuate foreigners after Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.
Lebanon - 1958 - Navy supported an Army occupation of Lebanon during its civil war.
Panama - 1958 - Troops landed after Panamanians demonstrations threatened the Canal Zone.
Vietnam - 1950s-75 - Vietnam War.
Cuba - 1961 - The CIA-directed Bay of Pigs invasions failed to overthrow the Castro government.
Cuba - 1962 - The Navy quarantines Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Laos - 1962 - Military occupied Laos during its civil war against the Pathet Lao guerrillas.
Panama - 1964 - Troops sent in and Panamanians shot while protesting the United States presence in the Canal Zone.
Indonesia - 1965 - The CIA orchestrated a military coup.
Dominican Rep- 1965-66 - Troops deployed during a national election.
Guatemala - 1966-67 - Green Berets sent in.
Cambodia - 1969-75 - Military sent in after the Vietnam War expanded into Cambodia.
Oman - 1970 - Marines landed to direct a possible invasion into Iran.
Laos - 1971-75 - Americans carpet-bomb the countryside during Laos' civil war.
Chile - 1973 - The CIA orchestrated a coup, killing President Allende who had been popularly elected. The CIA helped to establish a military regime under General Pinochet.
Cambodia - 1975 - Twenty-eight Americans killed in an effort to retrieve the crew of the ayaquez, which had been seized.
Angola - 1976-92 - The CIA backed South African rebels fighting against Marxist Angola.
Iran - 1980 - Americans aborted a rescue attempt to liberate 52 hostages seized in the Teheran embassy.
Libya - 1981 - American fighters shoot down two Libyan fighters.
El Salvador - 1981-92 - The CIA, troops, and advisers aid in El Salvador's war against the FMLN.
Nicaragua - 1981-90 - The CIA and NSC directed the Contra War against the Sandinistas.
Lebanon - 1982-84 - Marines occupied Beirut during Lebanon's civil war; 241 were killed in the American barracks and Reagan "redeployed" the troops to the Mediterranean.
Honduras - 1983-89 - Troops sent in to build bases near the Honduran border.
Grenada - 1983-84 - American invasion overthrew the Maurice Bishop government.
Iran - 1984 - American fighters shot down two Iranian planes over the Persian Gulf.
Libya - 1986 - American fighters hit targets in and around the capital city of Tripoli.
Bolivia - 1986 - The Army assisted government troops on raids of cocaine areas.
Iran - 1987-88 - The United States intervened on the side of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War.
Libya - 1989 - Navy shot down two more Libyan jets.
Virgin Islands - 1989 - Troops landed during unrest among Virgin Island peoples.
Philippines - 1989 - Air Force provided air cover for government during coup.
Panama - 1989-90 - 27,000 Americans landed in overthrow of President Noriega; over 2,000 Panama civilians were killed.
Liberia - 1990 - Troops entered Liberia to evacuate foreigners during civil war.
Saudi Arabia - 1990-91 - American troops sent to Saudi Arabia, which was a staging area in the war against Iraq.
Kuwait - 1991 - Troops sent into Kuwait to turn back Saddam Hussein.
Somalia - 1992-94 - Troops occupied Somalia during civil war.
Bosnia - 1993-95 - Air Force jets bombed "no-fly zone" during civil war in Yugoslavia.
Haiti - 1994-96 - American troops and Navy provided a blockade against Haiti's military government. The CIA restored Aristide to power.
Zaire - 1996-97 - Marines sent into Rwanda Hutus' refugee camps in the area where the Congo revolution began.
Albania - 1997 - Troops deployed during evacuation of foreigners.
Sudan - 1998 - American missiles destroyed a pharmaceutical complex where alleged nerve gas components were manufactured.
Afghanistan - 1998 - Missiles launched towards alleged Afghan terrorist training camps.
Yugoslavia - 1999 - Bombings and missile attacks carried out by the United States in conjunction with NATO in the 11 week war against Milosevic.
Iraq - 1998-2001 - Missiles launched into Baghdad and other large Iraq cities for four days. American jets enforced "no-fly zone" and continued to hit Iraqi targets since December 1998.
These **100** instances of American military intervention did not include times when the United States:
(1) deployed military police overseas;
(2) mobilized the National Guard;
(3) sent Navy ships off the coast of numerous countries as a show of strength;
(4) sent additional troops to areas where Americans were already stationed;
(5) carried out covert actions where American forces were not under the direct rule of an American command;
(6) used small hostage rescue units;
(7) used American pilots to fly foreign planes;
(8) carried out military training and advisory programs which did not involve direct combat.
U. S. Government Assassination Plots
Following is a list of prominent foreign leaders whose assassination (or planning for same) the United States has been involved in since the end of Second World War. The list does not include several assassinations in various parts of the world carried out by anti-Castro Cubans employed by CIA and headquartered in the United States:
List A: Non-Muslims
1949 - Kim Koo, Korean opposition leader
1950's - CIA/Neo-Nazi hit list of numerous political figures in West Germany
1955 - Jose' Antonio Remon, President of Panama
1950's Chou Enlai, Prime Minister of China, several attempts on his life
1951 - Kim Il Sung, Premiere of North Korea
1950s (mid) - Claro M. Recto, Philippines opposition leader
1955 - Jawhar Lal Nehru, Prime Minister of India
1959 and 1963 - Norodom Sihanouk, leader of Cambodia
1950s-70s - Jose Figueres, President of Costa Rica, two attempts on his life
1961 - Francois "Papa Doc"Duvalier, leader of Haiti
1961 - Patrice Lumumba , Prime Minister of Congo (Zaire)
1961 - Gen. Rafael Trujillo, leader of Dominican Republic
1963 - Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam
1960s - Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, more than 15 attempts on his life
1960s - Raul Castro, high official in government of Cuba
1965 - Francisco Caamanao, Dominican Republic opposition leader
1965 - Pierre Ngendandumwe, Prime Minister of Burundi
1965-6 - Charles de Gaulle, President of France
1967 - Che Guevara, Cuban leader
1970 - Salvadore Allende, President of Chile
1970 - General Rene Schneider, Commander-in-Chief of Army, Chile
1970s and 1981 - Gen. Omar Torrijos, leader of Panama
1972 - General Manuel Noriega, Chief of Panama Intelligence
1975 - Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire
1976 - Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica
1983 - Miguel d'Escoto, Foreign Minister of Nicaragua
1984 - The nine commandantes of the Sandanista National Directorate
1980's - Dr. Gerald Bull, Canadian Ballistics Scientist assassinated by Mossad in Belgium.
Partial List of Muslim Leaders Assassinated or Attempted Assassinations
1950's Sukarno, President of Indonesia
1957 Gamal Abdul Nasser, President of Egypt
1960 Brigadier General, Abdul Karim Kassem, Leader of Iraq
1980-86 Muammar Qaddafi, Leader of Libya, several plots and attempts upon his life
1982 Ayatullah Khomeini, Leader of Iran
1983 General Ahmed Dlimi, Moroccan army Commander
1985 Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadllallah, Lebanese Shiite Leader (80 people killed in that attempt)
1991 Saddam Hussein, Leader of Iraq
I will further contend that a country which maintains 700 military bases outside its borders fits the classic definition of an imperialist.
Your statement "The conflict in Iraq, has been the single most successful military operation is history," is either delusional, ill-unformed, or a direct effort at deception.
Finally, I will thank you to keep ANY comments you have to make to or about me RIGHT HERE on this forum - please do not send anymore comments to my inbox. I prefer to keep it free of detritus.
I sure wish would change your tone. How did we get so f _ _ _ ing angry?
In your extended response you quoted William Blum. (You really don’t expect me to take a 2 bit anti-American hack like him seriously though do you?)
"The engine of American foreign policy has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by the necessity to serve other imperatives, which can be summarized as follows:
* making the world safe for American corporations;”
I’ll stop at the first one because it explains in a few short words the simple and perfect reason for the list you just made.
Without free enterprise and open market competition, the world would still be in the dark ages. You can’t disagree that the 20th century was the American century.
Because of free enterprise the whole world has moved forward. Not backwards as you suggest.
Yes, everyone should hate war. We should abhor war. We rarely are the ones who start a conflict. Saddam had plenty of opportunity to cooperate and avoid being deposed. All he had to do was comply with the U.N. When I stated that it is the most successful effort in history, I am simply referring to the casualty rate compared to other conflicts that produced less positive results. Liberating 50 million people is a big deal. Bush detractors hate that. Just like they hate that he single handedly saved millions of people in Africa.
You should try to find the time to read this article written by the Rock Star/ Activist Bob Geldof, a guy who is by and large a Bush detractor. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717934,00.html
Back on point. The economic engine of the world runs on oil. I didn’t create it that way and I don’t think any single person or even that any group of people could have conspired to make it happen. Do I think that somewhere in some board room somewhere making money selling gasoline and large V8 engined cars was planned. Absolutely, and we are all the better for it.
As long as there is an economy that depends on profit, and as long as those profits are taxed and provide services like a military, and as long as that economy provides aid and security to a large portion of the world either directly or indirectly, and as long as there is a segment of the population that depends on that profit for their lively hood, and as long as there are factions in the world that impose on the gears of those engines there will be military conflict. There will be as Smedley Butler called it “The Racket”.
You can have your unrealistic, juvenile, idealistic and Pollyannaish attitude if you so choose, but just because you can define what you think are business reasons for military conflicts, doesn’t make them any more immoral than any other reason. In my mind, there are no more moral reasons than to fight for anything than freedom. In a free market country that translates to economic freedom. The right to free trade is one of those things worth fighting for.
The two other richest countries in the world were countries we defeated in WWII and then helped rebuild them and helped rewrite their constitutions. We imported our ideology and they prospered and participated in raising the quality of life around the world with free market benevolence.
How you can miss these facts is telling. How a sharp person like you can’t see that, and instead gets so caught up in how bad our country is tells me you are just looking for reasons to hate America.
I find all anti-American, anti-free market people like you operate like this. You hide behind a pseudo ideology that hates economic freedom because of the profit. A Pseudo ideology is like the culture of complaint. You don’t have a better idea, you just bitch about the current one.
You exaggerate the historical facts regarding the failures of our country and claim some silly higher moral ground that can’t be attained under any circumstances. Your argument is wonderful on paper. The problem is that throughout history there has never been a system as successful at raising the quality of life for so many people, in and out of the system. (Thank God for “The Racket”) Hell, even Cuba is better off with a flipping embargo than they would be if we weren’t around. Why doesn’t Venezuela lift Cuba out of it’s mess. The funny thing is, if Venezuela did, it would indirectly be American oil dollars doing it. Don’t you get it man? People like you always try to use some perfect abstract to tear away at the soft white underbelly that is America. And you know what…..keep tearing. All you are doing is wasting your time.
Here is one thing that America has on it’s side. The left, because of the power of that great institution, the NEA, has reared a generation of simpletons. That generation has a disease. I call it the disease of Affluencea’. The problem is, they are weak. They can’t do without their iPods, Facebook, Myspace, Xbox 360, Netflicks and their fast food. As long as there is a minority of people willing to keep that engine running, and make life simpler and easier and more convenient, just the threat of those people losing their conveniences and their lives becoming a little tougher, will be enough to get their votes.
Oh and try to watch this short clip from Youtube: “The New World Order according to Arthur Jensen” or “Corporate Cosmology” The best part is the last 30 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BVqIjKyJh0
It’s one of my all time favorites. I actually think we may agree on a few things. Peace
You are simply referring to the american casualty rate. As for positive results, the water, sewage and electrical systems are worse than under Mr. Hussein. Your ethnocentrism is appalling.
"We rarely are the ones who start a conflict."
We nearly ALWAYS are the ones who start or foment wars.
"You can have your unrealistic, juvenile, idealistic and Pollyannaish attitude if you so choose . . ."
Ad homonyms only weaken your already weak contentions.
"I will repost your blog name for a month if you block me and delete me from your site"
I will neither delete or block you from the site - i only asked that you respect the privacy of my PM box, and I will, when time allows look at your links.
Where you found a place to conflate american deaths under Nixon as being ~8,000 only you must know. Most respected historians put the number in excess of 21,000.
Sorry, you object to Blum's compilation - do you find this Wikipedia compilation more palatable? To me it paints a picture of a country's economic development driven by war and promotion of insurgencies and discord in places we have no reason or rights to be.
Extraterritorial and major domestic deployments
Portions of this list are from the Congressional Research Service report RL30172.[1]
[edit]1775-1800
1775-1783 - American Revolutionary War
1776-1777 - Second Cherokee War
1776-1794 - Chickamauga wars
1786-1787 - Shays' Rebellion
1794 - Whiskey Rebellion
1798-1800 - Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war with France. This contest included land actions, such as that in the Dominican Republic city of Puerto Plata, where U.S. Marines captured a French privateer under the guns of the forts. Congress authorized military action through a series of statutes.[1]
1799-1800 - Fries's Rebellion, a Pennsylvania protest against war taxes.
[edit]1800-1809
1801-1805 - First Barbary War - USS George Washington and USS Philadelphia affairs result in actions against the Barbary pirates responsible. In the Eaton expedition, a few Marines and soldiers landed with United States Agent William Eaton to raise a force against Tripoli in an effort to free the crew of the Philadelphia. Tripoli declared war; the United States did not, although Congress authorized military action by statute.[1]
1806 -- Spanish Mexico - A a platoon under Captain Zebulon Pike invaded Spanish territory at the headwaters of the Rio Grande on orders from General James Wilkinson. He was made prisoner without resistance at a fort he constructed in present-day Colorado, taken to Mexico, and later released after seizure of his papers.[RL30172]
1806-10 -- Gulf of Mexico. American gunboats operated from New Orleans against Spanish and French privateers off the Mississippi Delta, chiefly under Captain John Shaw and Master Commandant David Porter.[1]
[edit]1810-1819
1810 – West Florida (Spanish territory). Governor William C.C. Claiborne of Louisiana, on orders of President James Madison, occupied with troops territory in dispute east of the Mississippi as far as the Pearl River, later the eastern boundary of Louisiana. He was authorized to seize as far east as the Perdido River.[RL30172]
1812 – Amelia Island and other parts of east Florida, then under Spain. Temporary possession was authorized by President James Madison and by Congress, to prevent occupation by any other power; but possession was obtained by General George Mathews in so irregular a manner that his measures were disavowed by the President.[RL30172]
1812-15 – War of 1812. On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war against the United Kingdom. Among the issues leading to the war were British impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy, interception of neutral ships and blockades of the United States during British hostilities with France. [RL30172]
1813 – West Florida (Spanish territory). On authority given by Congress, General Wilkinson seized Mobile Bay in April with 600 soldiers. A small Spanish garrison gave way. Thus U.S. troops advanced into disputed territory to the Perdido River, as projected in 1810. No fighting.[RL30172]
1813-14 – Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). U.S. forces built a fort on the island of Nuku Hiva to protect three prize ships which had been captured from the British.[RL30172]
1814 – Spanish Florida. General Andrew Jackson took Pensacola and drove out the British forces.[RL30172]
1814-25 – Caribbean. Engagements between pirates and American ships or squadrons took place repeatedly especially ashore and offshore about Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, and Yucatan. Three thousand pirate attacks on merchantmen were reported between 1815 and 1823. In 1822, Commodore James Biddle employed a squadron of two frigates, four sloops of war, two brigs, four schooners, and two gunboats in the West Indies.[RL30172]
1815 – Algiers. The Second Barbary War was declared against the United States by the Dey of Algiers of the Barbary states, an act not reciprocated by the United States. Congress did authorize a military expedition by statute. A large fleet under Captain Stephen Decatur attacked Algiers and obtained indemnities.[RL30172]
1815 – Tripoli. After securing an agreement from Algiers, Captain Decatur demonstrated with his squadron at Tunis and Tripoli, where he secured indemnities for offenses during the War of 1812.[RL30172]
1816 – Spanish Florida. United States forces destroyed Negro Fort, which harbored fugitive slaves making raids into United States territory.[RL30172]
1816-18 – Spanish Florida - First Seminole War. The Seminole Indians, whose area was a haven for escaped slaves and border ruffians, were attacked by troops under General Jackson and General Edmond P. Gaines and pursued into northern Florida. Spanish posts were attacked and occupied, British citizens executed. In 1819 the Floridas were ceded to the United States.[RL30172]
1817 – Amelia Island (Spanish territory off Florida). Under orders of President James Monroe, United States forces landed and expelled a group of smugglers, adventurers, and freebooters.[RL30172]
1818 – Oregon. The USS Ontario dispatched from Washington, which made a landing at the mouth of the Columbia River to assert US claims. Britain had conceded sovereignty but Russia and Spain asserted claims to the area.[RL30172] Subsequently, American and British claims to the Oregon Country were resolved with the Oregon Treaty of 1846.[RL30172]
[edit]1820-1829
1820-23 -- Africa. Naval units raided the slave traffic pursuant to the 1819 act of Congress. [RL30172][Slave Traffic]
1822 -- Cuba. United States naval forces suppressing piracy landed on the northwest coast of Cuba and burned a pirate station.[RL30172]
1823 -- Cuba. Brief landings in pursuit of pirates occurred April 8 near Escondido; April 16 near Cayo Blanco; July 11 at Siquapa Bay; July 21 at Cape Cruz; and October 23 at Camrioca.[RL30172]
1824 -- Cuba. In October the USS Porpoise landed bluejackets near Matanzas in pursuit of pirates. This was during the cruise authorized in 1822.[RL30172]
1824 -- Puerto Rico (Spanish territory). Commodore David Porter with a landing party attacked the town of Fajardo which had sheltered pirates and insulted American naval officers. He landed with 200 men in November and forced an apology. Commodore Porter was later court-martialed for overstepping his powers.[RL30172]
1825 -- Cuba. In March cooperating American and British forces landed at Sagua La Grande to capture pirates.[RL30172]
1827 -- Greece. In October and November landing parties hunted pirates on the Mediterranean islands of Argenteire, Myconos, and Andros.[RL30172]
[edit]1830-1839
1831-32 – Falkland Islands. Captain Silas Duncan of the USS Lexington investigated the capture of three American sailing vessels and sought to protect American interests.[RL30172]
1832 – Attack on Quallah Battoo, Sumatra, Indonesia - February 6-9. U.S. forces under Commodore John Downes aboard the frigate USS Potomac landed and stormed a fort to punish natives of the town of Quallah Battoo for plundering the American cargo ship Friendship.[RL30172]
1833 – Argentina. - October 31 to November 15. A force was sent ashore at Buenos Aires to protect the interests of the United States and other countries during an insurrection.[RL30172]
1835-36 – Peru. - December 10, 1835, to January 24, 1836, and August 31 to December 7, 1836. Marines protected American interests in Callao and Lima during an attempted revolution.[RL30172]
1836 – Mexico. General James Gaines occupied Nacogdoches, Texas, disputed territory, from July to December during the Texas Revolution, under orders to cross the "imaginary boundary line" if an Indian outbreak threatened.[RL30172]
1838 – The Caroline affair on Navy Island, Canada. After the failure of the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 favoring Canadian democracy and independence from the British Empire; William Lyon Mackenzie and his rebels fled to Navy Island where they declared the Republic of Canada. American sympathizers sent supplies on the SS Caroline, which was intercepted by the British and set ablaze, after killing one American. It was falsely reported that dozens of Americans were killed as they were trapped on board, and American forces retaliated by burning a British steamer while it was in U.S. waters.
1838-39 – Sumatra (Indonesia). - December 24, 1838, to January 4, 1839. A naval force landed to punish natives of the towns of Quallah Battoo and Muckie (Mukki) for depredations on American shipping.[RL30172]
[edit]1840-1849
1840 – Fiji Islands. - July. Naval forces landed to punish natives for attacking American exploring and surveying parties.[RL30172]
1841 – McKean Island (Drummond Island/Taputenea), Gilbert Islands (Kingsmill Group), Pacific Ocean. A naval party landed to avenge the murder of a seaman by the natives.[RL30172]
1841 – Samoa. - February 24. A naval party landed and burned towns after the murder of an American seaman on Upolu.[RL30172]
1842 – Mexico. Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones, in command of a squadron long cruising off California, occupied Monterey, California, on October 19, believing war had come. He discovered peace, withdrew, and saluted. A similar incident occurred a week later at San Diego.[RL30172]
1843 – China. Sailors and marines from the St. Louis were landed after a clash between Americans and Chinese at the trading post in Canton.[RL30172]
1843 – Africa. November 29 to December 16. Four United States vessels demonstrated and landed various parties (one of 200 marines and sailors) to discourage piracy and the slave trade along the Ivory Coast, and to punish attacks by the natives on American seamen and shipping.[RL30172]
1844 – Mexico. President Tyler deployed U.S. forces to protect Texas against Mexico, pending Senate approval of a treaty of annexation. (Later rejected.) He defended his action against a Senate resolution of inquiry.[RL30172]
1846-48 – Mexican-American War On May 13, 1846, the United States recognized the existence of a state of war with Mexico. After the annexation of Texas in 1845, the United States and Mexico failed to resolve a boundary dispute and President Polk said that it was necessary to deploy forces in Mexico to meet a threatened invasion.[RL30172]
1849 – Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey). In July a naval force gained release of an American seized by Austrian officials.[RL30172]
[edit]1850-1859
1851 – Turkey. After a massacre of foreigners (including Americans) at Jaffa in January, a demonstration by the Mediterranean Squadron was ordered along the Turkish (Levant) coast.[RL30172]
1851 – Johanns Island (east of Africa). - August. Forces from the U.S. sloop-of-war Dale exacted redress for the unlawful imprisonment of the captain of an American whaling brig.[RL30172]
1852-53 – Argentina. February 3 to 12, 1852; September 17, 1852 to April 1853. Marines were landed and maintained in Buenos Aires to protect American interests during a revolution.[RL30172]
1853 -- Nicaragua. March 11 to 13. US forces landed to protect American lives and interests during political disturbances[RL30172]
1853-54 – Japan. Commodore Matthew Perry and his expedition made a display of force leading to the "opening of Japan."[RL30172]
1853-54 – Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands (Japan). Commodore Matthew Perry on three visits before going to Japan and while waiting for a reply from Japan made a naval demonstration, landing marines twice, and secured a coaling concession from the ruler of Naha on Okinawa; he also demonstrated in the Bonin Islands with the purpose of securing facilities for commerce.[RL30172]
1854 – China. April 4 to June 15 to 17. American and English ships landed forces to protect American interests in and near Shanghai during Chinese civil strife.[RL30172]
1854 – Nicaragua. July 9 to 15. Naval forces bombarded and burned San Juan del Norte (Greytown) to avenge an insult to the American Minister to Nicaragua.[RL30172]
1855 – China. May 19 to 21. U.S. forces protected American interests in Shanghai and, from August 3 to 5 fought pirates near Hong Kong.[RL30172]
1855 – Fiji Islands. September 12 to November 4. An American naval force landed to seek reparations for attacks on American residents and seamen.[RL30172]
1855 – Uruguay. November 25 to 29. United States and European naval forces landed to protect American interests during an attempted revolution in Montevideo.[RL30172]
1856 – Panama, Republic of New Grenada. September 19 to 22. U.S. forces landed to protect American interests during an insurrection.[RL30172]
1856 – China. October 22 to December 6. U.S. forces landed to protect American interests at Canton during hostilities between the British and the Chinese, and to avenge an assault upon an unarmed boat displaying the United States flag.[RL30172]
1857-58 – Utah War. The Utah War was a dispute between Mormon settlers in Utah Territory and the United States federal government. The Mormons and Washington each sought control over the government of the territory, with the national government victorious. The confrontation between the Mormon militia and the U.S. Army involved some destruction of property, but no actual battles between the contending military forces.
1857 – Nicaragua. April to May, November to December. In May Commander Charles H. Davis of the United States Navy, with some marines, received the surrender of William Walker, self-proclaimed president of Nicaragua, who was losing control of the country to forces financed by his former business partner, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and protected his men from the retaliation of native allies who had been fighting Walker. In November and December of the same year United States vessels USS Saratoga, USS Wabash, and Fulton opposed another attempt of William Walker on Nicaragua. Commodore Hiram Paulding's act of landing marines and compelling the removal of Walker to the United States, was tacitly disavowed by Secretary of State Lewis Cass, and Paulding was forced into retirement.[RL30172]
1858 – Uruguay. January 2 to 27. Forces from two United States warships landed to protect American property during a revolution in Montevideo.[RL30172]
1858 – Fiji Islands. October 6 to 16. A marine expedition with the USS Vandalia enacted revenge on natives for the murder of two American citizens at Waya.[RL30172] [] [Vandalia 2]
1858-59 – Turkey. The Secretary of State requested a display of naval force along the Levant after a massacre of Americans at Jaffa and mistreatment elsewhere "to remind the authorities (of Turkey) of the power of the United States."[RL30172]
1859 – Paraguay. Congress authorized a naval squadron to seek redress for an attack on a naval vessel in the Parana River during 1855. Apologies were made after a large display of force.[RL30172]
1859 – Mexico. Two hundred United States soldiers crossed the Rio Grande in pursuit of the Mexican nationalist Juan Cortina.[RL30172] [1859 Mexico]
1859 – China. July 31 to August 2. A naval force landed to protect American interests in Shanghai.[RL30172]
[edit]1860-1869
1860 -- Angola, Portuguese West Africa. - March 1. American residents at Kissembo called upon American and British ships to protect lives and property during problems with natives.[RL30172]
1860 -- Colombia, Bay of Panama. - September 27 to October 8. Naval forces landed to protect American interests during a revolution.[RL30172]
1861-65 -- American Civil War A major war between the United States (the Union) and eleven Southern states which declared that they had a right to secession and formed the Confederate States of America.
1863 -- Japan. - July 16. Naval battle of Shimonoseki. The USS Wyoming retaliated against a firing on the American vessel Pembroke at Shimonoseki.[RL30172]
1864 -- Japan. - July 14 to August 3. Naval forces protected the United States Minister to Japan when he visited Yedo to negotiate concerning some American claims against Japan, and to make his negotiations easier by impressing the Japanese with American power.[RL30172]
1864 -- Japan. - September 4 to 14. Naval forces of the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands compelled Japan and the Prince of Nagato in particular to permit the Straits of Shimonoseki to be used by foreign shipping in accordance with treaties already signed.[RL30172]
1865 -- Panama. - March 9 and 10. US forces protected the lives and property of American residents during a revolution.[RL30172]
1865-1876 Southern United States -- Reconstruction following the American Civil War. The South is divided into five Union occupation districts under the Reconstruction Act.
1866 -- Mexico. To protect American residents, General Sedgwick and 100 men in November obtained surrender of Matamoros, on the border State of Tamaulipas. After three days he was ordered by US Government to withdraw. His act was repudiated by the President.[RL30172]
1866 -- China. From June 20 to July 7, US forces punished an assault on the American consul at Newchwang.[RL30172]
1867 -- Nicaragua. Marines occupied Managua and Leon.1865-77
1867 -- Formosa (island of Taiwan) - June 13. A naval force landed and burned a number of huts to punish the murder of the crew of a wrecked American vessel.1865-77
1868 -- Japan (Osaka, Hiolo, Nagasaki, Yokohama, and Negata). - February 4 to 8, April 4 to May 12, June 12 and 13. US forces were landed to protect American interests during the civil war in Japan.[RL30172]
1868 -- Uruguay. - February 7 and 8, 19 to 26. US forces protected foreign residents and the customhouse during an insurrection at Montevideo.[RL30172]
1868 -- Colombia. - April. US forces protected passengers and treasure in transit at Aspinwall during the absence of local police or troops on the occasion of the death of the President of Colombia.[RL30172]
[edit]1870-1879
1870 -- Mexico. - June 17 and 18. US forces destroyed the pirate ship Forward, which had been run aground about 40 miles up the Rio Tecapan.[RL30172]
1870 -- Hawaiian Islands. - September 21. US forces placed the American flag at half-mast upon the death of Queen Kalama, when the American consul at Honolulu would not assume responsibility for so doing.[RL30172]
1871 -- Korea. Shinmiyangyo. - June 10 to 12. A US naval force attacked and captured five forts to punish natives for depredations on Americans, particularly for murdering the crew of the General Sherman and burning the schooner, and for later firing on other American small boats taking soundings up the Salee River.[RL30172]
1873 -- Colombia (Bay of Panama). - May 7 to 22, September 23 to October 9. U.S. forces protected American interests during hostilities between local groups over control of the government of the State of Panama.[RL30172]
1873-96 -- Mexico. United States troops crossed the Mexican border repeatedly in pursuit of cattle and other thieves and other brigands.[RL30172]
1874 -- Hawaiian Islands. - February 12 to 20. Detachments from American vessels were landed to preserve order and protect American lives and interests during the coronation of a new king.[RL30172]
1876 -- Mexico. - May 18. An American force was landed to police the town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas State, temporarily while it was without other government.[RL30172]
[edit]1880-1889
1882 -- Egypt. - July 14 to 18. American forces landed to protect American interests during warfare between British and Egyptians and looting of the city of Alexandria by Arabs.[RL30172]
1885 -- Panama (Colon). - January 18 and 19. US forces were used to guard the valuables in transit over the Panama Railroad, and the safes and vaults of the company during revolutionary activity. In March, April, and May in the cities of Colon and Panama, the forces helped reestablish freedom of transit during revolutionary activity.[RL30172]
1888 -- Korea. - June. A naval force was sent ashore to protect American residents in Seoul during unsettled political conditions, when an outbreak of the populace was expected.[RL30172]
1888 -- Haiti. - December 20. A display of force persuaded the Haitian Government to give up an American steamer which had been seized on the charge of breach of blockade.[RL30172]
1888-89 -- Samoa. - November 14, 1888, to March 20, 1889. US forces were landed to protect American citizens and the consulate during a native civil war.[RL30172]
1889 -- Hawaiian Islands. - July 30 and 31. US forces protected American interests at Honolulu during a revolution.[RL30172]
[edit]1890-1899
1890 -- Argentina. A naval party landed to protect US consulate and legation in Buenos Aires.[RL30172]
1890 -- South Dakota. December 29. Soldiers of the US Army 7th Cavalry killed 178 Sioux Amerindians following an incident over a disarmament-inspection at a Lakota Sioux encampment near Wounded Knee Creek. 89 other Amerinds were injured, 150 were reported missing; Army casualties were 25 killed, 39 wounded.[citation needed]
1891 -- Haiti. US forces sought to protect American lives and property on Navassa Island.[RL30172]
1891 -- Bering Strait. - July 2 to October 5. Naval forces sought to stop seal poaching.[RL30172]
1891 -- Chile. - August 28 to 30. US forces protected the American consulate and the women and children who had taken refuge in it during a revolution in Valparaiso.[RL30172]
1893 -- overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, January 16 to April 1. Marines landed in Hawaii, ostensibly to protect American lives and property, but many believed actually to promote a provisional government under Sanford B. Dole. This action was disavowed by the United States.[RL30172]
1894 -- Brazil. - January. A display of naval force sought to protect American commerce and shipping at Rio de Janeiro during a Brazilian civil war.[RL30172]
1894 -- Nicaragua. - July 6 to August 7. US forces sought to protect American interests at Bluefields following a revolution.[RL30172]
1894-95 -- China. Marines were stationed at Tientsin and penetrated to Peking for protection purposes during the First Sino-Japanese War.[RL30172]
1894-95 -- China. A naval vessel was beached and used as a fort at Newchwang for protection of American nationals.[RL30172]
1894-96 -- Korea. - July 24, 1894 to April 3, 1896. A guard of marines was sent to protect the American legation and American lives and interests at Seoul during and following the Sino-Japanese War.[RL30172]
1895 -- Colombia. - March 8 to 9. US forces protected American interests during an attack on the town of Bocas del Toro by a bandit chieftain.[RL30172]
1895-96 -- Venezuela. - Settlement of boundary dispute.[citation needed]
1896 -- Nicaragua. - May 2 to 4. US forces protected American interests in Corinto during political unrest.[RL30172]
1898 -- Nicaragua. - February 7 and 8. US forces protected American lives and property at San Juan del Sur.[RL30172]
1898 -- Spanish-American War On April 25, 1898, the United States declared war with Spain. The war followed a Cuban insurrection, the Cuban War of Independence against Spanish rule and the sinking of the USS Maine in the harbor at Havana.[RL30172]
1898-99 -- Samoa. Second Samoan Civil War a conflict that reached a head in 1898 when Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States were locked in dispute over who should have control over the Samoan island chain.
1898-99 -- China. - November 5, 1898 to March 15, 1899. US forces provided a guard for the legation at Peking and the consulate at Tientsin during contest between the Dowager Empress and her son.[RL30172]
1899 -- Nicaragua. American and British naval forces were landed to protect national interests at San Juan del Norte, February 22 to March 5, and at Bluefields a few weeks later in connection with the insurrection of Gen. Juan P. Reyes.[RL30172]
1899-1913 -- Philippine Islands. Philippine-American War US forces protected American interests following the war with Spain, defeating rebellious Filipinos seeking immediate national independence.[RL30172] The U.S. government declared the "insurgency" officially over in 1902, when the Filipino leadership generally accepted American rule. Skirmishes between government troops and armed groups lasted until 1913, and some historians consider these unofficial extensions of the war.[2]
[edit]1900-1909
1900 – China. May 24 to September 28. Boxer Rebellion American troops participated in operations to protect foreign lives during the Boxer rising, particularly at Peking. For many years after this experience a permanent legation guard was maintained in Peking, and was strengthened at times as trouble threatened.[RL30172]
1901 – Colombia (State of Panama). November 20 to December 4. Panamanian Revolution US forces protected American property on the Isthmus and kept transit lines open during serious revolutionary disturbances.[RL30172]
1902 – Colombia. - April 16 to 23. US forces protected American lives and property at Bocas del Toro during a civil war.[RL30172]
1902 – Colombia (State of Panama). September 17 to November 18. The United States placed armed guards on all trains crossing the Isthmus to keep the railroad line open, and stationed ships on both sides of Panama to prevent the landing of Colombian troops.[RL30172]
1903 – Honduras. March 23 to 30 or 31. US forces protected the American consulate and the steamship wharf at Puerto Cortes during a period of revolutionary activity.[RL30172]
1903 – Dominican Republic. March 30 to April 21. A detachment of marines was landed to protect American interests in the city of Santo Domingo during a revolutionary outbreak.[RL30172]
1903 – Syria. September 7 to 12. US forces protected the American consulate in Beirut when a local Moslem uprising was feared.[RL30172]
1903-04 – Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Twenty-five marines were sent to Abyssinia to protect the US Consul General while he negotiated a treaty.[RL30172]
1903-14 – Panama. US forces sought to protect American interests and lives during and following the revolution for independence from Colombia over construction of the Isthmian Canal. With brief intermissions, United States Marines were stationed on the Isthmus from November 4, 1903, to January 21, 1914 to guard American interests.[RL30172]
1904 – Dominican Republic. January 2 to February 11. American and British naval forces established an area in which no fighting would be allowed and protected American interests in Puerto Plata and Sosua and Santo Domingo City during revolutionary fighting.[RL30172]
1904 – Tangier, Morocco. "We want either Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead." A squadron demonstrated to force release of a kidnapped American. Marines were landed to protect the consul general.[RL30172]
1904 – Panama. November 17 to 24. U.S forces protected American lives and property at Ancon at the time of a threatened insurrection.[RL30172]
1904-05 -- Korea. - January 5, 1904, to November 11, 1905. A guard of Marines was sent to protect the American legation in Seoul during the Russo-Japanese War.[RL30172]
1906-09 -- Cuba. - September 1906 to January 23, 1909. US forces sought to protect interests and re-establish a government after revolutionary activity.[RL30172]
1907 -- Honduras. - March 18 to June 8. To protect American interests during a war between Honduras and Nicaragua, troops were stationed in Trujillo, Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Pedro Sula, Laguna and Choloma.[RL30172]
1910 -- Nicaragua. - May 19 to September 4, 1910. Occupation of Nicaragua US forces protected American interests at Bluefields.[RL30172]
[edit]1910-1919
1911 -- Honduras. - January 26. American naval detachments were landed to protect American lives and interests during a civil war in Honduras.[RL30172]
1911 -- China. As the Tongmenghui-led Xinhai Revolution approached, in October an ensign and 10 men tried to enter Wuchang to rescue missionaries but retired on being warned away, and a small landing force guarded American private property and consulate at Hankow. Marines were deployed in November to guard the cable stations at Shanghai; landing forces were sent for protection in Nanking, Chinkiang, Taku and elsewhere.[RL30172]
1912 -- Honduras. A small force landed to prevent seizure by the government of an American-owned railroad at Puerto Cortes. The forces were withdrawn after the United States disapproved the action.[RL30172]
1912 -- Panama. Troops, on request of both political parties, supervised elections outside the Panama Canal Zone.[RL30172]
1912 -- Cuba, June 5 to August 5. U.S. forces protected American interests in the province of Oriente and in Havana.[RL30172]
1912 -- China. - August 24 to 26, on Kentucky Island, and August 26 to 30 at Camp Nicholson. US forces protected Americans and American interests during the Xinhai Revolution.[RL30172]
1912 -- Turkey. - November 18 to December 3. U.S. forces guarded the American legation at Constantinople during the First Balkan War[RL30172]
1912-25 -- Nicaragua. - August to November 1912. U.S. forces protected American interests during an attempted revolution. A small force, serving as a legation guard and seeking to promote peace and stability, remained until August 5, 1925.[RL30172]
1912-41 -- China. The disorders which began with the overthrow of the dynasty during Kuomintang rebellion in 1912, which were redirected by the invasion of China by Japan, led to demonstrations and landing parties for the protection of US interests in China continuously and at many points from 1912 on to 1941. The guard at Peking and along the route to the sea was maintained until 1941. In 1927, the United States had 5,670 troops ashore in China and 44 naval vessels in its waters. In 1933 the United States had 3,027 armed men ashore. The protective action was generally based on treaties with China concluded from 1858 to 1901.[RL30172]
1913 -- Mexico. - September 5 to 7. A few marines landed at Ciaris Estero to aid in evacuating American citizens and others from the Yaqui Valley, made dangerous for foreigners by civil strife.[RL30172]
1914 -- Haiti. - January 29 to February 9, February 20 to 21, October 19. Intermittently US naval forces protected American nationals in a time of rioting and revolution.[RL30172] The specific order from the Secretary of the Navy to the invasion commander, Admiral William Deville Bundy, was to "protect American and foreign" interests.[citation needed]
1914 -- Dominican Republic. - June and July. During a revolutionary movement, United States naval forces by gunfire stopped the bombardment of Puerto Plata, and by threat of force maintained Santo Domingo City as a neutral zone.[RL30172]
1914-17 -- Mexico. Tampico Affair led to Occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. Undeclared Mexican--American hostilities followed the Tampico Affair and Villa's raids . Also Pancho Villa Expedition) -- an abortive military operation conducted by the United States Army against the military forces of Francisco "Pancho" Villa from 1916 to 1917 and included capture of Vera Cruz. On March 19, 1915 on orders from President Woodrow Wilson, and with tacit consent by Venustiano Carranza General John J. Pershing led an invasion force of 10,000 men into Mexico to capture Villa.[RL30172]
1915-34 -- Haiti. - July 28, 1915, to August 15, 1934. United States occupation of Haiti 1915-1934 US forces maintained order during a period of chronic political instability.[RL30172] During the initial entrance into Haiti, the specific order from the Secretary of the Navy to the invasion commander, Admiral William Deville Bundy, was to "protect American and foreign" interests.[citation needed]
1916 -- China. American forces landed to quell a riot taking place on American property in Nanking.[RL30172]
1916-24 -- Dominican Republic. - May 1916 to September 1924. Occupation of the Dominican Republic American naval forces maintained order during a period of chronic and threatened insurrection.[RL30172]
1917 -- China. American troops were landed at Chungking to protect American lives during a political crisis.[RL30172]
1917-18 -- World War I. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war with Germany and on December 7, 1917, with Austria-Hungary. Entrance of the United States into the war was precipitated by Germany's submarine warfare against neutral shipping.[RL30172]
1917-22 -- Cuba. US forces protected American interests during insurrection and subsequent unsettled conditions. Most of the United States armed forces left Cuba by August 1919, but two companies remained at Camaguey until February 1922.[RL30172]
1918-19 -- Mexico. After withdrawal of the Pershing expedition, U.S. troops entered Mexico in pursuit of bandits at least three times in 1918 and six times in 1919. In August 1918 American and Mexican troops fought at Nogales, The Battle of Ambros Nogales. The incident began when German spies plotted an attack with Mexican soldiers on Nogales Arizona. The fighting began when a Mexican officer shot and killed a U.S. soldier on American soil. A full scale battle then ensued, ending with a Mexican surrender.[RL30172]
1918-20 -- Panama. US forces were used for police duty according to treaty stipulations, at Chiriqui, during election disturbances and subsequent unrest.[RL30172]
1918-20 -- Soviet Union. Marines were landed at and near Vladivostok in June and July to protect the American consulate and other points in the fighting between the Bolshevik troops and the Czech Army which had traversed Siberia from the western front. A joint proclamation of emergency government and neutrality was issued by the American, Japanese, British, French, and Czech commanders in July. In August 7,000 men were landed in Vladivostok and remained until January 1920, as part of an allied occupation force. In September 1918, 5,000 American troops joined the allied intervention force at Archangel and remained until June 1919. These operations were in response to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and were partly supported by Czarist or Kerensky elements. [RL30172] For details, see the American Expeditionary Force Siberia and the American Expeditionary Force North Russia.
1919 -- Dalmatia (Croatia). US forces were landed at Trau at the request of Italian authorities to police order between the Italians and Serbs.[RL30172]
1919 -- Turkey. Marines from the USS Arizona were landed to guard the US Consulate during the Greek occupation of Constantinople.[RL30172]
1919 -- Honduras. - September 8 to 12. A landing force was sent ashore to maintain order in a neutral zone during an attempted revolution.[RL30172]
[edit]1920-1929
1920 -- China. - March 14. A landing force was sent ashore for a few hours to protect lives during a disturbance at Kiukiang.[RL30172]
1920 -- Guatemala. - April 9 to 27. US forces protected the American Legation and other American interests, such as the cable station, during a period of fighting between Unionists and the Government of Guatemala.[RL30172]
1920-22 -- Russia (Siberia). - February 16, 1920, to November 19, 1922. A Marine guard was sent to protect the United States radio station and property on Russian Island, Bay of Vladivostok.[RL30172]
1921 -- Panama - Costa Rica. American naval squadrons demonstrated in April on both sides of the Isthmus to prevent war between the two countries over a boundary dispute.[RL30172]
1922 -- Turkey. - September and October. A landing force was sent ashore with consent of both Greek and Turkish authorities, to protect American lives and property when the Turkish nationalists entered İzmir (Smyrna.[RL30172]
1922-23 -- China. Between April 1922 and November 1923, Marines were landed five times to protect Americans during periods of unrest.[RL30172]
1924 -- Honduras. - February 28 to March 31, September 10 to 15. U.S. forces protected American lives and interests during election hostilities.[RL30172]
1924 -- China. - September. Marines were landed to protect Americans and other foreigners in Shanghai during Chinese factional hostilities.[RL30172]
1925 -- China. - January 15 to August 29. Fighting of Chinese factions accompanied by riots and demonstrations in Shanghai brought the landing of American forces to protect lives and property in the International Settlement.[RL30172]
1925 -- Honduras. - April 19 to 21. U.S. forces protected foreigners at La Ceiba during a political upheaval.[RL30172]
1925 -- Panama. - October 12 to 23. Strikes and rent riots led to the landing of about 600 American troops to keep order and protect American interests. [RL30172]
1926-33 -- Nicaragua. - May 7 to June 5, 1926; August 27, 1926, to January 3, 1933. The coup d'état of General Chamorro aroused revolutionary activities leading to the landing of American marines to protect the interests of the United States. United States forces came and went intermittently until January 3, 1933.[RL30172]
1926 -- China. - August and September. The Nationalist attack on Hankow brought the landing of American naval forces to protect American citizens. A small guard was maintained at the consulate general even after September 16, when the rest of the forces were withdrawn. Likewise, when Nationalist forces captured Kiukiang, naval forces were landed for the protection of foreigners November 4 to 6.[RL30172]
1927 -- China. - February. Fighting at Shanghai caused American naval forces and marines to be increased. In March a naval guard was stationed at American consulate at Nanking after Nationalist forces captured the city. American and British destroyers later used shell fire to protect Americans and other foreigners. Subsequently additional forces of marines and naval forces were stationed in the vicinity of Shanghai and Tientsin.[RL30172]
[edit]1930-1939
1932 -- China. American forces were landed to protect American interests during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.[RL30172]
1933 -- Cuba. During a revolution against President Gerardo Machado naval forces demonstrated but no landing was made.[RL30172]
1934 -- China. Marines landed at Foochow to protect the American Consulate.[RL30172]
[edit]1940-1945
1940 -- Newfoundland, Bermuda, St. Lucia, - Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, and British Guiana. Troops were sent to guard air and naval bases obtained under lease by negotiation with the United Kingdom. These were sometimes called lend-lease bases but were under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement.[RL30172]
1941 -- Greenland. Greenland was taken under protection of the United States in April.[RL30172]
1941 -- Netherlands (Dutch Guiana). In November the President ordered American troops to occupy Dutch Guiana, but by agreement with the Netherlands government in exile, Brazil cooperated to protect aluminum ore supply from the bauxite mines in Suriname.[RL30172]
1941 -- Iceland. Iceland was taken under the protection of the United States, with consent of its government replacing British troops, for strategic reasons.[RL30172]
1941 -- Germany. Sometime in the spring the President ordered the Navy to patrol ship lanes to Europe. By July US warships were convoying and by September were attacking German submarines. In November, the Neutrality Act was partly repealed to protect US military aid to Britain. [RL30172]
1941-45 -- World War II. On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war with Japan in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The US declared war against Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania in response to the declarations of war by those nations against the United States.[RL30172]
1945 -- China. In October 50,000 US 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 US forces remaining in China at the end of World War II.[RL30172]
[edit]1945-1949
1945-49 Occupation of part of Germany.
1945-55 Occupation of part of Austria.
1945-46 Occupation of part of Italy.[citation needed]
1945-52 Occupation of Japan.
1944-46 Temporary reoccupation of the Philippines during WWII and in preparation for previously scheduled independence.[citation needed]
1945-49 Occupation of South Korea and defeat of a leftist insurgency.[citation needed]
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 US naval units had been sent to the scene.[RL30172] Later the Free Territory of Trieste, Zone A.
1945-47 US Marines garrisoned in mainland China to oversee the removal of Soviet and Japanese forces after World War II.[3]
1948 -- Palestine. A marine consular guard was sent to Jerusalem to protect the US Consul General.[RL30172]
1948 -- Berlin. Berlin Airlift After the Soviet Union established a land blockade of the US, 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]
[edit]1950-1959
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 US Seventh Fleet to prevent Chinese Communist attacks upon Formosa and Chinese Nationalist operations against mainland China.[RL30172]
1954-55 -- China. Naval units evacuated US 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]
[edit]1960-1969
1959-60 -- The Caribbean. Second Marine Ground Task Force was deployed to protect US nationals following the Cuban revolution.[RL30172]
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 US 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]
1959-75 -- Vietnam War. US 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 US destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf, President Johnson asked in August 1964 for a resolution expressing US 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 US forces and prevent further aggression. Following this resolution, and following a Communist attack on a US 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]
1965 -- Dominican Republic. Invasion of Dominican Republic The United States intervened to protect lives and property during a Dominican revolt and sent 20,000 US troops as fears grew that the revolutionary forces were coming increasingly under Communist control.[RL30172]
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)
[edit]1970-1979
1970 -- Cambodia Campaign. US troops were ordered into Cambodia to clean out Communist sanctuaries from which Viet Cong and North Vietnamese attacked US 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]
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 US civilians during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.[RL30172]
1975 -- Evacuation from Vietnam. On April 3, 1975, President Ford reported US naval vessels, helicopters, and Marines had been sent to assist in evacuation of refugees and US nationals from Vietnam.[RL30172]
1975 -- Evacuation from Cambodia. On April 12, 1975, President Ford reported that he had ordered US military forces to proceed with the planned evacuation of US 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 US citizens and 5,500 third country nationals and South Vietnamese from landing zones near the US Embassy in Saigon and the Tan Son Nhut Airfield.[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, 1974, helicopters from five US 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]
[edit]1980-1990
1980 -- Iran. Operation Eagle Claw On April 26, 1980, President Carter reported the use of six US transport planes and eight helicopters in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue American hostages being held in Iran.[RL30172]
1981 -- El Salvador. After a guerrilla offensive against the government of El Salvador, additional US 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, US 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 80 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]
1982-1983 -- 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. Citing the increased threat of Soviet and Cuban influence and noting the development of an international airport following a bloodless Grenada coup d'état and alignment with the Soviets and Cuba, the U.S. launches Operation Urgent Fury to invade the sovereign 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 US 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 US 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, US 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, US 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]
1987-88 -- Persian Gulf. After the Iran-Iraq War resulted in several military incidents in the Persian Gulf, the United States increased US joint military forces operations in the Persian Gulf and adopted a policy of reflagging and escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf, called Operation Earnest Will. President Reagan reported that US 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.[4]
1987-88 -- Operation Earnest Will was the U.S. military protection of Kuwaiti oil tankers from Iraqi and Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988 during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.
1987-88 -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 US military personnel already in the Panama Canal Zone.[RL30172]
1989 -- Libya. Second Gulf of Sidra Incident On January 4, 1989, two US 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 US 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 11,000 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 US 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. 1989 Philippine coup attempt. On December 2, 1989, President Bush reported that on December 1 US fighter planes from Clark Air Base in the Philippines had assisted the Aquino government to repel a coup attempt. In addition, 100 marines were sent from the US Navy base at Subic Bay to protect the US Embassy in Manila.[RL30172]
1989-90 -- Panama. Operation Just Cause On December 21, 1989, President Bush reported that he had ordered US 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 -- Liberia. On August 6, 1990, President Bush reported that a reinforced rifle company had been sent to provide additional security to the US Embassy in Monrovia, and that helicopter teams had evacuated US citizens from Liberia.[RL30172]
1990 -- Saudi Arabia. On August 9, 1990, President Bush reported that he had ordered the forward deployment of substantial elements of the US 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]
[edit]1991-1999
1991 -- Iraq. Persian Gulf War On January 16 America attacked Iraqi forces and military targets in Iraq and Kuwait, in conjunction with a coalition of allies and UN Security Council resolutions. Combat operations ended on February 28, 1991.[RL30172] (See Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm)
1991 -- Iraq. On May 17, 1991, President Bush stated that the Iraqi repression of the Kurdish people had necessitated a limited introduction of US 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, US Air Force C-141s transported 100 Belgian troops and equipment into Kinshasa. US planes also carried 300 French troops into the Central African Republic and hauled evacuated American citizens.[RL30172]
1991-96 -- Operation Provide Comfort. Delivery of humanitarian relief and military protection for Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq, by a small Allied ground force based in Turkey.
1992 -- Sierra Leone. On May 3, 1992, US military planes evacuated Americans from Sierra Leone, where military leaders had overthrown the government.[RL30172]
1992-1996 -- 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.[5]
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. together with the United Kingdom declares and enforces "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. (See also Operation Southern Watch) [RL30172]
1992-95 -- Somalia. "Operation Restore Hope" Somali Civil War On December 10, 1992, President Bush reported that he had deployed US armed forces to Somalia in response to a humanitarian crisis and a UN Security Council Resolution. The operation came to an end on May 4, 1993. US forces continued to participate in the successor United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II). (See also Battle of Mogadishu)[RL30172]
1993-Present -- Bosnia-Herzegovina.
1993 -- Macedonia. On July 9, 1993, President Clinton reported the deployment of 350 US soldiers to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to participate in the UN Protection Force to help maintain stability in the area of former Yugoslavia.[RL30172]
1994-95 -- Haiti. Operation Uphold Democracy US ships had begun embargo against Haiti. Up to 20,000 US military troops were later deployed to Haiti.[RL30172]
1994 -- Macedonia. On April 19, 1994, President Clinton reported that the US contingent in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had been increased by a reinforced company of 200 personnel.[RL30172]
1995 -- Bosnia. NATO bombing of Bosnian Serbs.[RL30172] (See Operation Deliberate Force)
1996 -- Liberia. 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 US military forces to evacuate from that country "private US citizens and certain third-country nationals who had taken refuge in the US Embassy compound...."[RL30172]
1996 -- Central African Republic. On May 23, 1996, President Clinton reported the deployment of US military personnel to Bangui, Central African Republic, to conduct the evacuation from that country of "private US citizens and certain U.S. Government employees", and to provide "enhanced security for the American Embassy in Bangui."[RL30172]
1997 -- Albania. On March 13, 1997, US military forces were used to evacuate certain U.S. Government employees and private US citizens from Tirana, Albania. (See also Operation Silver Wake)[RL30172]
1997 -- Congo and Gabon. On March 27, 1997, President Clinton reported on March 25, 1997, a standby evacuation force of US 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, US military personnel were deployed to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to prepare for and undertake the evacuation of certain US government employees and private US 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 US military personnel were deployed at Utapao Air Base in Thailand for possible evacuations. [RL30172]
1998 -- Iraq. US-led bombing campaign against Iraq.[RL30172] (See Operation Desert Fox)
1998 -- Guinea-Bissau. On June 10, 1998, in response to an army mutiny in Guinea-Bissau endangering the US Embassy, President Clinton deployed a standby evacuation force of US military personnel to Dakar, Senegal, to evacuate from the city of Bissau.[RL30172]
1998 - 1999 Kenya and Tanzania. US military personnel were deployed to Nairobi, Kenya, to coordinate the medical and disaster assistance related to the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. [RL30172]
1998 -- Afghanistan and Sudan. Operation Infinite Reach On August 20, air strikes were used 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 US military personnel to increase the security force at the US Embassy in Monrovia.[RL30172]
1999 - 2001 East Timor. East Timor Independence Limited number of US military forces deployed with UN to restore peace to East Timor.[RL30172]
1999 -- NATO's bombing of Serbia in the Kosovo Conflict.[RL30172] (See Operation Allied Force)
[edit]2000- present
2000 -- Sierra Leone. On May 12, 2000 a US Navy patrol craft deployed to Sierra Leone to support evacuation operations from that country if needed.[RL30172]
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 of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). [RL30172]
2001 -- Afghanistan. United States invades Afghanistan. The War on Terrorism begins with Operation Enduring Freedom. On October 7, 2001, US 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 Senyan al-Harthi, 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, US military personnel went into Côte d'Ivoire to assist in the evacuation of American citizens from Bouake.[6] [RL30172]
2003 -- 2003 invasion of Iraq leading to the War in Iraq. March 20, 2003. The United States leads a coalition that includes Britain, Australia and Spain to invade Iraq with the stated goal of eliminating Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and undermining Saddam Hussein.[RL30172]
2003 -- Liberia. Second Liberian Civil War On June 9, 2003, President Bush reported that on June 8 he had sent about 35 combat-equipped US military personnel into Monrovia, Liberia, to help secure the US 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."[7]
2004 -- 2004 Haïti rebellion occurs. The US sent first sent 55 combat equipped military personnel to augment the US 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: US anti-terror related activities were underway in Georgia, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Eritrea.[8]
2006 -- Pakistan. 17 people including known Al Qaeda bomb maker and chemical weapons expert Midhat Mursi, were killed in an American MQ-1 Predator airstrike on Damadola (Pakistan), near the Afghan border.[9][10]
2006 -- Lebanon. US Marine Detachment, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit[citation needed], begins evacuation of US citizens willing to the 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.[citation needed]
2008 -- South Ossetia, Georgia. Helped Georgia humanitarian aid[13], helped to transport Georgian forces from Iraq during the conflict. In the past, the US has provided training and weapons to Georgia.
2009-- Pakistan, In relation to efforts in Afghanistan, U.S. Forces struck an insurgent encampment in the Northern mountains, killing 24, with missiles fired from an unmanned aerial assault vehicle.
[edit]Other interventions
In addition to the operations listed above, the US has a very active foreign policy that uses various methods to influence events in other countries. These methods include
Weapons sales
Military advice and training (e.g. through the School of the Americas)
The overwhelming weight of your argument is your down fall. Think about it……You are asking a group of people, yes, a people who considers themselves a very moral and high minded people, who get their leaders from the general population through the process of elections, (although at the rate of your hatred you probably believe the majority of those are conspiracies also) to buy into your argument that virtually every time the U.S. was ever, ever, ever involved in any type of military activity (other than training) that it was part of a corporate led, money grab for the elite and had nothing to do with the best interests of the citizenry? All you are doing is spinning what most Americans already know. America is free market nation. We want to engage in trade around the world with other free market nations. When that is impeded upon and we are threatened with any type of outside threat to that economic stability, we act.
Let me ask you a question, if your family had created a business that fed the whole city you were in. The whole city had become dependent on you for a large part of their well being. So much so that other cities started to do trade with the people in your city. And those other people in those other cities started to prosper and feed their hungry, and heal their sick and educate their uneducated and employ their unemployed. Would you be proud? Would you be excited that your family had succeeded in an effort that had surpassed your wildest dreams? You would.
Then, let’s just say a situation arose where another small sovereign city, one who had gained it’s own prosperity and increased standard of living from selling you raw materials, were to withhold those raw materials from you for ideological reasons. Not market reasons mind you, ideological reasons. What would you do?
You are now incapacitated. Your city, the other cities, all of the cities that had gotten involved with your families economy and had their quality of life improved because of your compassion and drive to meet real human needs and to stop human suffering. Your whole moral stance and ingenious and industrious efforts, were now in jeopardy. They were no longer going to be able to feed their hungry or educate & heal their children. Their homes were in jeopardy, their jobs were in jeopardy, all because of one small rouge ideologically driven city.
What would you do?
America is the economic engine of the world, even in the face of the current crisis. I didn’t make it that way. Capitalists planned it that way. And it worked. “The Racket” worked. Why don’t you just admit it. You just plain hate America and all she stands for. So I have some advice. This is not hate driven. This is just my perspective on how you can capitalize on your perspective and still live a happy life.
Stay in Japan. Expatriate. As a matter of fact, move to China. They will love you there. As an ex-patriot from America, especially if you are white, young, and heterosexual, you can write your own ticket. You are educated, or at least you sound that way. Hell you could write propaganda for the Chinese ruling family. You don’t have to quit dancing, you can just change partners.
Your transparent attacks on America’s military history will only fly in an environment like China or OS. The real world loves who we are too much to listen to your dribble. Shout it from the roof tops. You look ridiculous.
To re-educate yourself you should start with “Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805” by Joseph Wheelan. It is actually a very timely read in the face of today’s headlines about Muslim extremist pirates. Peace.
When you can document that LIE, maybe we can talk further (although I consider your welter of words thus far, to have been meaningless, and expect them to continue to be so). Until then, you can post all you wish, and I will treat them for what they are, rambling dissembling, feral delusions, and gross distortions of a pitiful vacuous vapid nature.
You are a two-bit shyster who has probably never left the confines of the wretched town of your birth and knows a lot about nothing, and nothing about a lot, typical of your kind of ideological scum.
With your integrity shredded by your own hand, you now stand naked as a jaybird exposed as an unclothed would-be emperor, which is what you, your philosophies and dogmas have long pointed to.
Ramble on and spread your sputum in unresponded to soliloquies. I will no longer join you in your despoiled sandbox.
I should have added to my list that I hate war, homophobes. misogynists, racists, and unrepentant fabricators who lie with impunity.
When you do find a way to weasel your way out of the lie regarding wikipedia, you can start working on the lie of Nixon's participation in Vietnam resulting in only 8,000 american deaths, which unsurprisingly, you chose not to address, philos, the OS version of Joseph Goebbels.
Now, please excuse me, I feel the sudden need to regurgitate and cleanse myself of the filth you continue to bring to my page.
Anyone who believes that IRAQ was purposeful to the U.S. in any way shape or form is delusional.
By the same token, anyone who believes that IRAQ was a complete failure and that war is nothing more than a racket is also delusional.
I am of the opinion that IRAQ was a late game military operation that assessed the likelihood of runaway fundamentalism. It became a geographically significant tinderbox and a wedge to prevent radical Islamic fundamentalist movements from toppling a teetering regime in the Sunni Kingdom of Saddam Hussein.
How do I know this? I can read a map and mute a Marine Corp. Lieutenant from the first Gulf War on the game of Stratego . I remember the night we had dinner in NJ on a sovereign immunity law suit. Chuck was a partner at a law firm dealing with a patent infringement suit for a company I had been consulting to at the time. It was July 2003 and Chuck and I decended into the topic of IRAQ. I had just gotten back from Nigeria and the whole thing about a President lying to me had been gnawing at me since October when Bush got on television and lied to the world. I told Chuck what I thought about the game of Stratego and he just pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows, sighed a bit, but had nothing to say.
I already knew there was growing consensus that Osama Bin Laden was setting the stage to usurp a government with no known friends, save France and Russia. He wanted to get to Saudi Arabia and make it a theocracy like Khomeni did to Iran in the 70's. With 9/11 already making waves, Bin Laden needed to make more aggressive moves and secure a front, building freedom fighters (a new muhajadin) to join Al Queda and picking up weapons along the way. What better place to do it than IRAQ? IRAQ was a military aristocracy cloaked in tepid Sharia Sunni life and marked from genocide. It really had no friends to speak of. Since Russia was already a loser (pre-collapse in Afghanistan), having lost to Bin Laden's U.S. aided muhajadin, and France's desire to go to war is lower than Barney Frank's desire to dress like a human being, IRAQ was a perfect island of sorts. A very large desert island right smack in between the rising tide (radical fundamentalism to the north east) and Saudi Arabia (Bin Laden's ultimate target of Coup d'Etat), and then Israel. Our intelligence didn't point to Yellow Cake in Niger. It pointed to a potential chaos in global energy pricing if Bin Laden were to succeed and even more volatile geo-political events if Israel started gearing up the war machine.
The problem with most military perspectives in modern day is that it seems to get fixed on the temporal and not on the real. Sure oil and greed were a part of it for the Bush/Cheney regime, but that was as incidental as finding free money bank bags in the middle of the street, dropped by a runaway Brink's job speeding away.
The real issue here in my humble opinion is that the Bush Administration lied to America about the operation and concocted a plausibly deniable story (when found to be untrue) about Yellow Cake in Niger and WMDs because to tell the truth would never have given a reformed addict, turned Evangelical Christian, bent on saving Israel, the high ground to pull off an economic and financial fraud upon America.
If I am correct in my assessment of the lie leading to a military campaign for unseen reasons - in the grand scheme of the military theater and war games analyses - IRAQ did what it was supposed to do. Perhaps it even averted a nuclear war in the Middle East, which still may happen anyway. IRAQ operated as a meat grinder for nearly a decade and took on all comers looking for an American infidel to kill and destroy. I hardly think, our service men and women would have volunteered for such a mission, knowing the truth. I could be wrong. I would have. I always like an honest perspective from which to draw my own conclusions. I would think it more ignoble otherwise.
Nothing justifies a lie, not even preemptive and plausible deniability. So, to this end, even a successful and purposeful mission is doomed.
I find your ideas and thoughts meaningful and well-thought out, however, I'd like to go back in time just a little and pose a few questions to you.
Saddam Hussein was our friend, and although, we armed both Iraq and Iran in their horrendous war, clearly we leaned toward Iraq.
When poppy was president, Iraq complained loudly and vehemently
that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil through the use of american supplied slant oil drilling equipment.
On the eve of Gulf War I, poppy dispatched April Glaspie, our ambassador to Iraq, to tell Saddam ""We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960s, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America," which was diplo-speak for proceed in whatever manner you see appropriate.
When Saddam then invaded Kuwait, poppy and crew invented lies, one of the most effective being the story delivered by a 15 year old teary-eyed girl identified only as Nariyah who testified before the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus that she had seen the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns, and go into the room where . . . babies were in incubators. They took the babies out of the incubators, took the incubators, and left the babies (312) on the cold floor to die.
It was only a long time thereafter that it was found that her testimony had been prepared by the republican-leaning PR firm, hill and knowlton. It was only months after american war action had been initiated that the facts that:
a. She had never even been in Kuwait during the time of the incidents she described; and
b. The girl was actually the daughter of a Kuwaiti emir.
This incident was one of the key facets that garnered popular support for the war. Then followed the war and then years of crippling sanctions which left Iraq a dysfunctional defenseless country.
In what way does this prior history connect to the interesting account you have written?
human
brains.
Memory.
Framed.
Truth is beauty.
Beauty is truth.
Ya said it clear.
Knowledge is power. Informed citizenry. Yes. There is a Smedley Butler, VFW post, in California, Many former soldiers, who eye- witnessed war's barbarism, have become members. From around the world, former soldiers identify with Smedley Butler's courage.
War is a damn lie.
What a kill racket.
Tell the truth. Yes!
I believe Charlie Litkey, another Medal of Honor recipient is a member? I know Brian Wilson (not the singer, but the Air Force Vietnam Officer), and former lawyer, who was versed and informed about Nuremberg War Trials ... (1930) Brian is in his sixties. Brian lost two legs during the horrible Ron Reagan/Bush Sr fiasco ... Yes.
Brian was at Concord Naval Weapons depot and did civil disobedience. The choo-choo train sped fast, and ignored protesters. The government train immediately amputated Brian Wilson's two legs, ear, and some of his hip. Brian is a Friend. He is four inches shorter with fake legs. Read of activist Brian and Charlie Litekey?
Both Brian, and his former wife, and Charlie's beautiful former nun wife, have been Guest at my home. Charlie gave the Medal of Honor back at the Viet Nam Reflecting Wall in DC in the eighties. I was there when Charlie returned the Medal of Honor. Charlie was a chaplain in Viet Nam.
Read of their voices?
War. Tyranny. Theft.
Murder. Aquisitions.
Real Estate theft, etc.,
Great Post.
Thank You.
Immortality.
Thanks for your meaningful contribution to this page. I, certainly, DO remember the courage of Brian, and I thank G-d to hear that he is still alive.
Knowing and having the honor of conversing with a man like Brian is something I would be proud and honored to add to the list of peace-workers I have known.
I will google Charlie Litekey,as I know that coming from you, it will be well-worth my time, and re-inspire me to keep on, despite some of the deceit others have chosen to post on this page.
Many, many thanks.
If you break the components down, starting from the fabrication - as a sovereign, our fearless leaders in 1991 were hipshot gun shy from an American society that repudiated war on its face for military purposes. In Star Trek, they referred to a lack of interference as following the "prime directive". In other words, Vietnam... "never again". So, how do you go to war when the MI Complex is dying to get mobilized?
Now the sub-parts.
The fabrication (crying 15 yr olds and soap operas) must start with "do not violate the prime directive" (however you twist the fabric). From here the war machine will enable itself (the military industrial complex and corporate interests) in a process of war, etc.
The twisted conundrum of semi-violation (arming Hussein in the 10 yr NQ war; and arming Bin Laden in the 10 yr. Afghani-Soviet war) had inverted consequences. Regarding Kuwait, I believe Hussein played this to his advantage and true or not (horizontal drilling and all - or as D.D. Lewis decried in "There Will Be Blood" as DRAINAAAAAAAGE!), it created a tinderbox that gave rise to a war games scenario that probably looked like this:
Hussein takes over Kuwait and the Saudis, the UAE and OPEC go nuts along side the MNE oil interests (Bush cronies) and that's leads to additional conflict (which in the end, we witnessed as Hussein launched missiles into Riyadh anyway). So now, who gets it next? The Saudis? Of course. Everyone knew that any lack of intervention would have Hussein marching towards the Kingdon. IRAQ had the third largest conventional army in the world next to China and the U.S. The USSR was already being dismantled and in no position to do anything.
That left the wild card on the side, Bin Laden. Already making anti-US propaganda a thing of fashion Bin Laden was adamant about using Al Queda and Islamic fundamentalist soldiers the guardians of Saudi Arabia. The crown prince rebuffed his cousin and the rest as they say is history.
In other words, we (the U.S.), along with the Saudis (our 'Erll buddies) didn't make Bin Laden our re-friend-again and left him outside the party gates probably due to a war games analysis of keep the Islamic fundamentalist out of the mix (citing fears of another Iran brewing, should Bin Laden lay claim to his royalty in Saudi Arabia by bringing super-Sharia to the the table along side his warrior efforts in protecting the mother country from Hussein). A bad "frienemy" policy.
So here we are, looking from the inside out at this 1991 fabrication.
It has to start from not violating the prime directive. We don't want another Kent State. We don't want another Civil War. So, our elected officials come up with ingenious devilish plots that would make day time soap opera stars shreek and shrivel. They use it to their ultimate advantage - a constant and flowing theory that:
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, unless that enemy is in check or we can go it alone, in which case the enemy might still be an enemy but if another enemy emerges, that could be a problem if we don't create a newer enemy to deal with the new enemy, that is unless we gave the new enemy a reason to hate us when he was once our friend. That is called a Frienemy.
Yes, our meddlesome democracy, washed in 'Erll and filled with the altruism of the devil himself, "that all men are created in Dr. Satan's laboratory, a basement catacomb at Yale University."
The primary answer to your question for 1991 was... OIL (secondary issue was Islamic fundamentalism).
The answer in 2003 was... ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM (secondary issue was Oil).
We have neither free enterprise nor open market competition. We have controlled enterprise & markets, just controlled for the wealthy. Nor was capitalism a US invention that somehow dragged us out of the dark ages.
Philos777 types on: "You can’t disagree that the 20th century was the American century."
And you can't disagree that the 12th century was the Mongol century. So what?
Philos777 claims that the US "economy provides aid and security to a large portion of the world either directly or indirectly."
This is so completely ahistorical, it boggles one's mind. As Mark's list of American interventions should make clear to anyone who actually understands the English language, the US, like the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and English before them, had no interest in providing aid and security to the world. And they didn't. These things were strictly for the elites of the home population and the collaborators in the conquered territories.
Plus, your inane and irrelevant statement about Wikipedia reminds me of the advice to lawyers: “If the law is against you, argue the facts; if the facts are against you, argue the law; If both the facts and the law are against you, pound the table.” You're pounding the table, Philos.
Philos777 fantasizes on: "We imported our ideology and they prospered and participated in raising the quality of life around the world with free market benevolence."
A "free" market is never benevolent. In case you think I'm wrong, look at the colonies, literally and financially, of the US and the countries I mentioned above. If the invaders were so damn benevolent, why do all the colonies want independence from their benevolence?
Benevolence would have been helping the indigenous people use their raw materials to provide themselves with a better life through control of those materials.
Philos777 types another assumption: "You hide behind a pseudo ideology that hates economic freedom because of the profit."
Unless you are a mind reader, you would do yourself a favor—and save bandwidth—by not telling people what they are thinking.
Philos777 continues to make shit up: "Hell, even Cuba is better off with a flipping embargo than they would be if we weren’t around."
Interestingly, the embargo hurts the US more than it hurts Cuba, but Cuba would be better off without it. You are, of course, welcome to actually support your statement. Though why you would do that when you haven't done it for any of your other fact-free statements is beyond me. And the Helms-Burton Act punishes non-US corporations who do business with Cuba, hardly a free market, open competition kind of action.
Philos777 types on: "a people who considers themselves a very moral and high minded people, who get their leaders from the general population through the process of elections."
This is, strangely enough, about the US. What the US population considers itself is irrelevant. What it does in actuality is what matters. And let's look at who it has chosen as its leaders. The net worth of Senate members ranges from a John Kerry at the top with an estimated net worth of $336,224,883 to Joe Biden (as of 2007) in hock for $-52,493, according to OpenSecrets.org. For the House, the range is wider, with Alcee Hastings in hock for roughly $4 million to Jane Harmon at the top tipping the financial scales at just under $400 million.
So, our leaders are overwhelmingly millionaires.
Then, Philos typed that he doubts that the actions of our leaders were "part of a corporate led, money grab for the elite and had nothing to do with the best interests of the citizenry."
And while you doubt this, you are unwilling to support your doubt with evidence.
You assert that "what most Americans already know [is that] America is [a] free market nation [that wants] to engage in trade around the world with other free market nations. When that is impeded upon and we are threatened with any type of outside threat to that economic stability, we act."
Once again, you argue by assertion. But that last sentence is important because it puts the lie to everything else you say about the benevolence of "free markets" and "open competition." To rephrase, whenever anyone else wants a stake in their own resources and it threatens the profits of US corporations, we invade countries, assassinate foreign leaders, overthrow legitimate governments. Doesn't sound so "very moral and high minded" to me.
Philos then types a lovely little story about a family business [say Archer Daniels Midland] that fed a whole city and somehow managed to have that city dependent on it for its well-being [sort of like a company town] and other cities, because they traded with the company town, "started to prosper and feed their hungry, and heal their sick and educate their uneducated and employ their unemployed" [sort of like nowhere in reality]. But then, another city that provided raw materials to the first city decided "to withhold those raw materials from you for ideological reasons" [sort of like the US did to Japan before Pearl Harbor]. "What would you do?" asks Philos.
Well, we know what Philos would do: just what Japan did.
Finally Philos pounds into his keyboard: "Why don’t you just admit it. You just plain hate America and all she stands for."
Apparently, anyone who doesn't think attacking and invading and assassinating the leaders of other countries hates America. It's an interesting concept.
Philos just loves to weave stories together until he entraps himself in hyperbolic contradicKtions.
Thanks for mentioning OpenSecrets.org. - that's a new one for me and I can't wait to go there.