1775-1783: American War of Independence 鈥?13 of Britain's American colonies won political independence; also a failed attempt to seize Canada.
War of 1812 鈥?another unsuccessful attempt to seize Canada.
1845-1848: Mexican-America War 鈥?annexation of Texas, Arizona, California, Western Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah from Mexico. In compensation, America paid Mexico $15 million for over 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square km) of Mexican territory and all the inhabitants therein 鈥?an area more than 4 times the British Isles'!
1830-1890: Various Indian Wars 鈥?forceful removal of Native Americans from their lands. Some 100,000 Native Americans were forced to march westward under military coercion in the 1830s; up to 25,000, many in manacles, perished en route. U.S. forces had to battle against Native Americans who refused to give up their lands.
1861-1865: American Civil War 鈥?Northern states versus Southern states.
1893-1898: Annexation of Hawaii 鈥?an American-inspired revolt overthrew the native government of Hawaii and replaced it with one more welcoming to the U.S.
1898-1902: Spanish-American War 鈥?annexation of Samoa, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and parts of Cuba from Spain.
1903: Assisted Panama to secede from its union with Colombia in order to build and control the Panama Canal. Political and economic unrest in Panama brought bloodless military interventions by the U.S. in 1908, 1912, 1918 and 1925.
1909: Encouraged Nicaragua鈥檚 opposition to stage a revolt against the government . When two U.S. citizens who participated in the revolt were executed, the U.S. landed marines and blocked a government victory. The Marines again intervened in 1912 and 1927 to help install U.S.-friendly governments.
1911-1912: Sent marines to Honduras to protect American banana investments. Bananas!
1917-1918: First World War 鈥?against Germany.
1916-1924: First occupation of the Dominican Republic.
1940-1945: Second World War 鈥?against Japan, Germany and Italy.
1950-1953: Korean War 鈥?aided South Korea against North Korea.
1956: Suez Canal Crisis 鈥?provoked by an American and British decision not to finance Egypt's construction of the Aswan High Dam, as they had promised.
1961: Bay of Pigs (Bah铆a de los Cochinos) fiasco 鈥?abortive invasion of Cuba.
1962: Cuban missile crisis 鈥?blockade of Cuba to prevent installation of Russian missiles.
1965 -1966: Second occupation of the Dominican Republic.
1970-1973: Undermined the democratically-elected government of Chile's President Allende by restricting Chile's access to international aid, discouraging private investment, increasing aid to the Chilean military, cultivating secret contacts with anti-Allende police and military officials, and undertaking various other destabilizing measures, including millions of dollars in covert payments to Chilean opposition groups. In September 1973 Allende was overthrown in a military coup led by General Pinochet.
1964-1974: Vietnam War 鈥?aided South Vietnam against North Vietnam.
1981-1987: Financed, trained and armed the Contras in U.S.-run camps in Honduras to fight against Nicaragua鈥檚 Sandinista government.
1981-1988: Supported Afghan mujahideen (including Osama Bin Laden) in their insurgency against Soviet invasion. The mujahideen were able to neutralize Soviet air power through the use of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles supplied by the U.S.
1980-1990: Supported Iraq on its war on Iran, both diplomatically at the United Nations and militarily, by providing information about Iranian military movements in the Gulf region. In October 1987 and April 1988 U.S. forces attacked Iranian ships and oil platforms.
1983: Invasion of Grenada.
1989: Invasion of Panama 鈥? 200-300 Panamanian combatants, 300 Panamanian civilians and 23 U.S. soldiers were killed. Hundreds from both nations were wounded.
1991: Gulf War 鈥?Air and ground offensives against Iraq.
1992-1994: Botched peace-keeping efforts in Somalia.
1994: Intervened in Haiti to return Aristide to power.
1993-2003: Embargo of Iraq - killed one million Iraqi children - nearly as many as the number of Jewish children that were killed in the Holocaust.
1999: Yugoslav War 鈥?U.S. and NATO forces bombed targets in Yugoslavia enraging the Serbs and causing them to initiate a widespread campaign of ethnic cleansing against Albanian Kosovars that drove one million refugees into Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro.
2001: Invasion of Afghanistan.
2003: Invasion of Iraq.
2004: Incursion in Haiti 鈥?involved in the ouster of Aristide. I would say other considerations have to be considered. During many of the time frames you pick in the far past most of the world was at war with another nations, the british, french. All were trying to colonize the rest of the world under their flag.
We tried to stay out of both WWI and WWII but were forced into them and then we became a superpower out of it and the only ones strong enough to stand up to the Soviets.
I can not say all the wars were just, I am part Native American also. I can only say that No war is really just and No nation is exempt from it or its horrors.
Every Nation at one time or another was the same way. Now we have our hands tide for we agreed to not be isolationist after WWII. Now the world complains when we wanted to be Isolationist from 1900-1945, and were forced into TWO word wars. So I think we are no better or worst than any other major nation that does or has existed.
Afghanistan was retaliatory also! Revolution was the colonies fighting against england for independence. So there are many flaws in what you are saying but some merit as well.
Things are just not as simple to say that in my belief. |
