The history of armed conflicts involving the United States of America spans a period of more than four centuries. A period ranging from the early era of European colonization and the formation of the new national polity that would become the United States, to its evolvement through technological and political upheavals into a decisively modern republic and military force, and ascent onto the world stage, through the calamities of the 20th century, as the largely unrivaled hegemon that it is today.[1]
The lines of conflict demarcating the wars, rebellions, and revolutions in the North American colonial and national period can be traced far back into early pre-Columbian times. However, due to the scarcity of written sources, not least resulting from the Spanish colonizers destroying a sizable amount of original Maya writings, deeming them to be heretical, historians typically make the early European settlements as their initial point of departure, of which sources are more plentiful.[2]
A further concern highlighted by historians, relating to the history of slavery and colonialism in particular, is the inherent unevenness of the terrain in which conflicts erupt, and often tremendous disproportionality of means by which they are fought and settled. As historian Ira Berlin points out slavery, by its very definition, poses a profound asymmetry of power: "For three centuries, slave masters mobilized enormous resources that stretched across continents and oceans and employed them with great ferocity in an effort to subdue their human property. Slaves, for their part, had little to depend upon but themselves."[3]
As such, four distinctive lines of conflict can be identified weaving through the colonial and early national period. Firstly, the conflicts between the European colonists and the Native American tribes. Secondly, the rival conflicts between the European states over control of the Americas. Thirdly, the mounting tensions and armed conflicts between the settlers and their rulers in Europe. And lastly, as violence between the white people grew, so too did the revolutionary fervor of the African slaves in their quest for freedom through armed insurrection.[4]
Several hundred French Huguenots, led by Jean Ribault, capitulated to the Spaniards, and were subsequently executed under orders of Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.
Location: Colony of VirginiaA 1628 woodcut by Matthaeus Merian published along with Theodore de Bry's earlier engravings in 1628 book on the New World. The engraving shows the March 22, 1622 massacre when Powhatan Indians attacked Jamestown and outlying Virginia settlements.
General Andrew Jackson stands on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking Highlanders, by painter Edward Percy Moran in 1910.
The United States forcibly relocates Seminole in northern Florida to a reservation in the centre of the peninsula in the Treaty of Moultrie Creek of 1823
Historian Benjamin Madley estimates that at least 9,400 to 16,000 California Indians were killed by non-Indians between 1846 and 1873, mostly occurring in more than 370 massacres[8]Ed Castillo suggests as many as 100,000 were victims of random killings during the first two years of the California Gold Rush.[9]
Full amnesty for charges of sedition and treason issued to the citizens of Utah Territory by President James Buchanan on the condition that they accept American Federal authority
Approximately 150 black men were murdered by white Southerners
Some 97 men were initially indicted for the massacre, however only nine brought to trial, and after one acquittal and eight mistrials charges was dropped, and all were released
The publicity about the Colfax Massacre and subsequent Supreme Court ruling fuled further growth of white paramilitary organisation, such as the White League formed by Christopher Columbus Nash in May 1874
Location: HawaiiThe USS Boston's landing force on duty at the Arlington Hotel, Honolulu, at the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, January 1893. Lieutenant Lucien Young, USN, commanded the detachment, and is presumably the officer at right.
Investigation into the overthrow called for by president Grover Cleveland. Report of June 1893 concluded U.S. officials had "abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government".[14]
Annexing of Hawaii as U.S. territory, then later as State.
In 1993 the U.S. Congress issued official apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the U.S. for its involvement in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.[14][15]
War crimes perpetrated by U.S. Army in the March across Samar, according to historical sources employing rape and torture of civilians, burning entire villages, killing 3,000 native Filipinos, women and children, and placing entire village populations in concentration camps.[16][17] Filipino historians believe around 50,000 civilians were massacred.[18]
Estimated 20,000 Filipino troops killed, more than 200,000 civilians perished as a result of combat, hunger, or disease. Of the 4,300 Americans lost, some 1,500 were killed in action, while nearly twice that number succumbed to disease.[19]
Germany and Austria, as well as their capitals, Berlin and Vienna, respectively, divided into four occupation zones each, one for each of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union
Laotian Civil War (1953–1975) Part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War Location: LaosA U.S. Air Force Bell UH-1P from the 20th Special Operations Squadron "Green Hornets" at a base in Laos, 1970.
↑ Direct U.S. involvement ended in 1973 with the Paris Peace Accords. Air Force and Special Ops continued some operations until April 1975; President Ford in a televised speech on April 23, 1975 declared the end of Vietnam War.
↑ The war reignited on 13 December 1974 with offensive operations by North Vietnam, leading to victory over South Vietnam in under two months.
Number of pirate attacks have decreased dramatically since the start of such operations, however attacks still occur near the coast waters of Oman, Yemen, Kenya, and Somalia
The US Office of Naval Intelligence have officially reported that in 2013, only 9 incidents of piracy were reported and that none of them were successfully hijacked
Over 10,000 American airstrikes conducted in Iraq since 2014
Heavy damaged caused to ISIS forces resulting in losses of about 40% of its held territory by 2016, and by December 2017, its remaining strongholds were destroyed leaving small pockets of fleers.
Multinational humanitarian support to civilians and arming of local ground troops and militias
Advising and training of Iraqi forces
Massive numbers of war crimes committed by ISIS including ethnic cleansing, murder, rape, and enslavement. Additionally there are reports of organ trafficking
US maintains limited military presence, approximately 2,500 U.S. military personnel remain in Iraq as of December 2021, providing assistance, advice and training to Iraqi forces[42]
US forces have ended combat mission in Iraq in December 2021[43][44]
Al-Qaeda is a Sunni pan-Islamist militant organization led by Salafi jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic state known as the Caliphate. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countries, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings and the September 11 attacks; it has been designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, and various countries around the world.
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced that airstrikes targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom primarily refers to the War in Afghanistan, but it was also affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara.
The following timeline is a chronological list of all the major events leading up to, during, and immediately following the September 11 attacks against the United States in 2001, through the first anniversary of the attacks in 2002.
The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. Despite their relatively small size, they have earned a reputation for their active and effective military role. In fact, they have earned the nickname "Little Sparta" by General James Mattis, a former United States Armed Forces General and Secretary of Defense, acknowledging their prowess and dedication.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States–led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq. Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April 2003 after the six-day-long Battle of Baghdad. This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May 2003 when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech, after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until the withdrawal in 2011.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P) or Operation Freedom Eagle was part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global War on Terror. The Operation targeted the various Jihadist terror groups operating in the country. By 2009, about 600 U.S. military personnel were advising and assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the Southern Philippines. In addition, by 2014, the CIA had sent its elite paramilitary officers from their Special Activities Division to hunt down and kill or capture key terrorist leaders. This group had the most success in combating and capturing Al-Qaeda leaders and the leaders of associated groups like Abu Sayyaf.
The Special Activities Center (SAC) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency responsible for covert and paramilitary operations. The unit was named Special Activities Division (SAD) prior to 2015. Within SAC there are two separate groups: SAC/SOG for tactical paramilitary operations and SAC/PAG for covert political action.
The Iraqi civil war was a civil war fought mainly between the Iraqi government along with American-led coalition forces and various sectarian armed groups, mainly Islamic State of Iraq and the Mahdi Army, from 2006 to 2008. In February 2006, the anti-American insurgency escalated into a sectarian civil war after the bombing of Al-Askari shrine, considered as a holy site in Twelver Shi'ism. US President George W. Bush and Iraqi officials accused Al-Qaeda in Iraq of orchestrating the bombing, although AQI publicly rejected any links to the attacks. The incident set off a wave of reprisals by Shia militants on Sunni civilians, followed by Sunni counterattacks on Shia civilians.
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition that overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011. The United States became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, and the insurgency and many dimensions of the armed conflict are ongoing. The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration's war on terror following the September 11 attacks.
The United States has been involved in numerous foreign interventions throughout its history. By the broadest definition of military intervention, the US has engaged in nearly 400 military interventions between 1776 and 2023, with half of these operations occurring since 1950 and over 25% occurring in the post-Cold War period. The objectives for these interventions have revolved around economy, territory, social protection, regime change, protection of US citizens and diplomats, policy change, empire, and regime building.
The Iraq War, along with the War in Afghanistan, was described by President of the United States George W. Bush as "the central front in the War on Terror", and argued that if the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, "terrorists will follow us here."
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is a global counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks and is also the most recent global conflict spanning multiple wars. The main targets of the campaign were militant Islamist and Salafi jihadist armed organisations such as al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their international affiliates, which were waging military insurgencies to overthrow governments of various Muslim-majority countries. Other major targets included the Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which was deposed in an invasion in 2003, and various militant factions that fought during the ensuing insurgency.
The combatants of the Iraq War include the Multinational Force in Iraq and armed Iraqi insurgent groups. Below is a list of armed groups or combatants that participated in the Iraq War of 2003–2011.
The War on Terror is the campaign launched by the United States of America in response to the September 11 attacks against organizations designated with terrorism. The campaign, whose stated objective was eliminating international terrorism, began in 2001. The following is a timeline of events linked to the War on Terror.
Since the 19th century, the United States government has participated and interfered, both overtly and covertly, in the replacement of many foreign governments. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. government initiated actions for regime change mainly in Latin America and the southwest Pacific, including the Spanish–American and Philippine–American wars. At the onset of the 20th century, the United States shaped or installed governments in many countries around the world, including neighbors Hawaii, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
The Iraqi conflict refers to a near-continuous series of events that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which led to the fall of erstwhile Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. During the Iraq War, the Multi-National Force (MNF–I) of the United States helped to establish a Shia-dominated federal government under Iraqi politician Nouri al-Maliki. Around this time, the Iraqi insurgency had emerged with a predominant focus on fighting the occupying MNF–I troops and the new Iraqi government. However, the insurgency also involved inter-Iraqi sectarian violence, primarily between Shias and Sunnis. In 2011, the MNF–I withdrew from Iraq, leading to renewed sectarian violence from 2011 to 2013. During this period, the Islamic State (IS) emerged, triggering a a renewed war and an American-led intervention in 2014. In 2017, full-scale fighting in the country came to a close after the Islamic State was defeated by the Iraqi government and its allies, but a low-level IS insurgency remains ongoing in the rural northern parts of the country.
The group that became The Islamic State was founded in 1999 by Jordanian Salafi jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi under the name Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād. A document captured in 2004, thought to indicate the group's strategy and modus operandi, urges Al-Qaeda to help al-Zarqawi start a "sectarian war" against Shia in Iraq to rally Sunni Arabs to its side.
↑ Pickett, Margaret F.; Pickett, Dwayne W. (2011). The European Struggle to Settle North America: Colonizing Attempts by England, France and Spain, 1521–1608. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN978-0-7864-5932-2.
↑ Madley, Benjamin (2016). An American Genocide, The United States and the California Catastrophe, 1846–1873. Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-18136-4.
↑ The Nation. J.H. Richards. 1889. pp.256–. Archived from the original on 2017-03-24. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
↑ Chay, Jongsuk (2002). Unequal Partners in Peace and War: The Republic of Korea and the United States, 1948–1953. Praeger Publishers. p. 10. ISBN0-275-97125-2.
↑ Petrou, Michael (9 September 2011). "The decline of al-Qaeda". Maclean's. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018. George W. Bush gambled on surging thousands more troops to the embattled country. It paid off. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is now a diminished force without territory.
↑ Spencer C. Tucker (December 14, 2015). U.S. Conflicts in the 21st Century: Afghanistan War, Iraq War, and the War on Terror. ISBN978-1440838798. Al Qaeda in Iraq was decimated by the end of the Iraq War in 2011.
↑ Galbraith, Peter W. (2007). The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End. Simon & Schuster. p.74. ISBN978-0743294249.
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