A lot of us skipped history in school. Maybe it was dull, maybe it was distorted, maybe we had other interests in those days.
But history is doomed to be repeated unless we understand it.
I present to you an extremely brief synopsis of American Invasions, Occupations and Armed Interventions of the last 100 years.
1903-04 -- Abyssinia Twenty-five marines were sent to Abyssinia to protect the U.S. Consul
General while he negotiated a treaty.
1903-14 -- Panama U.S. forces 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.
1904 -- Dominican Republic -- January 2 to February 11. American and British naval forces
protected American interests in Puerto Plata and Sosua and Santo Domingo City during revolutionary fighting.
1904 -- Tangier, Morocco A squadron demonstrated to force release of a kidnapped American. Marine guard was landed to protect the consul general.
1904 -- Panama -- November 17 to 24. U.S. forces protected American lives and property at
Ancon at the time of a threatened insurrection.
1904-05 -- Korea -- January 5, 1904, to November 11, 1905. A Marine guard was sent to
protect the American legation in Seoul during the Russo-Japanese War.
1906-09 -- Cuba -- September 1906 to January 23, 1909. U.S. forces sought to protect
foreigners, and establish a stable government after serious revolutionary activity.
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 Cortez, San
Pedro Laguna and Choloma.
1910 -- Nicaragua -- May 19 to September 4. U.S. forces protected American interests at
Bluefields.
1911 -- Honduras -- January 26. American naval detachments were landed to protect American
interests during a civil war in Honduras.
1911 -- China As the nationalist 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. A marine guard was
established in November over the cable stations at Shanghai; landing forces were sent for
protection in Nanking, Chinkiang, Taku and elsewhere.
1912 -- Honduras A small force landed to prevent seizure by the government of an
American-owned railroad at Puerto Cortez.
1912 -- Cuba -- June 5 to August 5. U.S. forces protected American interests on the
Province of Oriente, and in Havana.
1912 -- China -- August 24 to 26, on Kentucky Island, and August 26 to 30 at Camp
Nicholson. U.S. forces protect Americans and American interests during revolutionary activity.
1912 -- Turkey -- November 18 to December 3. U.S. forces guarded the American legation at
Constantinople during a Balkan War.
1912-25 -- Nicaragua -- August to November 1912. U.S. forces protected American interests
during an attempted revolution.
1912-41 -- China The disorders which began with the Kuomintang rebellion in 1912, which
were redirected by the invasion of China by Japan and finally ended by war between Japan and the
United States in 1941, led to demonstrations and landing parties for the protection of U.S.
interests in China continuously and at many points from 1912 on to 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.
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.
1914 -- Haiti -- January 29 to February 9, February 20 to 21, October 19. Intermittently
U.S. naval forces protected American interests in a time of rioting and revolution.
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.
1914-17 -- Mexico Undeclared Mexican--American hostilities followed the Dolphin affair and Villa's raids and included capture of Vera Cruz and later Pershing's expedition into northern Mexico.
1915-34 -- Haiti -- July 28, 1915, to August 15, 1934. U.S. forces maintained order during a period of chronic and threatened insurrection.
1916 -- China American forces landed to quell a riot taking place on American property in
Nanking.
1916-24 -- Dominican Republic -- May 1916 to September 1924. American naval forces
maintained order during a period of chronic and threatened insurrection.
1917 -- China American troops were landed at Chungking to protect American
interests during a political crisis.
1917-18 -- World War I. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war with Germany and
on December 7, 1917, with Austria-Hungary.
1917-22 -- Cuba U.S. forces protected American interests during insurrection and
subsequent unsettled conditions.
1918-19 -- Mexico After withdrawal of the Pershing expedition, U.S. troops entered Mexico
at least three times in 1918 and s times in 1919. In August 1918 American and Mexican troops
fought at Nogales.
1918-20 -- Panama U.S. forces were used for police duty according to treaty stipulations,
at Chiriqui, during election disturbances and subsequent unrest.
1918-20 Soviet Russia. 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. 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.
1919 -- Dalmatia U.S. forces were landed at Trau at the request of Italian authorities to
police order between the Italians and Serbs.
1919 -- Turkey Marines from the USS Arizona were landed to guard the U.S. Consulate during
the Greek occupation of Constantinople.
1919 -- Honduras -- September 8 to 12. A landing force was sent ashore to maintain order
in a neutral zone during an attempted revolution.
1920 -- China -- March 14. A landing force was sent ashore for a few hours to protect
lives during a disturbance at Kiukiang.
1920 -- Guatemala -- April 9 to 27. U.S. forces protected American interests, such
as the cable station, during a period of fighting between Unionists and the Government of
Guatemala.
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.
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.
1922 -- Turkey -- September and October. A landing force was sent ashore to protect
American lives and property when the Turkish Nationalists entered Smyrna.
1922-23 -- China Between April 1922 and November 1923 marines were landed five times to
protect Americans interests during periods of unrest.
1924 -- Honduras -- February 28 to March 31, September 10 to 15. U.S. forces protected
American interests during election hostilities.
1924 -- China -- September. Marines were landed to protect Americans interests and other foreigners in Shanghai during Chinese factional hostilities.
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 interests
in the International Settlement.
1925 -- Honduras -- April 19 to 21. U.S. forces protected foreigners at La Ceiba during a
political upheaval.
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.
1926 -- China -- August and September. The Nationalist attack on Han brought the landing
of American naval forces to protect American interests. Likewise, when Nation forces
captured Kiukiang, naval forces were landed from November 4 to 6.
1926-33 -- Nicaragua -- May 7 to June 5, 1926; August 27, 1926, to January 1933. The coup
d'etat of General Chamorro aroused revolutionary activities leading to the landing of American
marines to protect American interests. United States forces came and went intermittently
until January 3, 1933.
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 American interests.
1932 -- China American forces were landed to protect American interests during the
Japanese occupation of Shanghai.
1934 -- China Marines landed at Foochow to protect American interests.
1940 -- Newfoundland, Bermuda, St. Lucia, - Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, and British
Guiana. Troops were sent to air and naval bases obtained by negotiation with Great
Britain. These were sometimes called lend-lease bases.
1941 -- Greenland Greenland was taken under protection of the United States in April.
1941 -- Netherlands (Dutch Guiana) In November the President ordered American troops to
occupy Dutch Guiana.
1941 -- Iceland Iceland was taken under the protection of the United States
1941 -- Germany Sometime in the spring the President ordered the Navy to patrol ship lanes
to Europe. By July U.S. warships were conveying and September were attacking German submarines.
In November, the Neutrality Act was partially repealed to protect U.S. military aid to Britain.
1941-45 -- World War II. On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war with Japan, on
December 11 with Germany and Italy, and on June 5, 1942, with Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The
United States declared war against Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and against Germany
and Italy after those nations declared war against the United States.
1945 -- China In October 50,000 U.S. Marines were sent to North China to assist Chinese
Nationalist authorities. This was in addition to approximately 60,000 U.S. forces remaining in
China at the end of World War II.
1946 -- Trieste (Italy/Austria) President Truman ordered the augmentation of U.S. troops
along the zonal occupation line. Earlier U.S. naval units had been dispatched to the scene.
1948 -- Palestine A marine guard was sent to Jerusalem to protect the U.S. Consul General.
1948 -- Berlin After the Soviet Union established a land blockade of the U.S., British,
and French sectors of Berlin on June 24, 1948, the United States and its allies airlifted
supplies to Berlin until after the blockade was lifted in May 1949.
1948-49 -- China Marines were dispatched to Nanking to protect American interests
when the city fell to Communist troops, and to Shanghai to aid in the protection and evacuation
of Americans.
1950-53 -- Korea The United States responded to North Korean invasion of South Korea,
pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions.
1950-55 -- Formosa (Taiwan) In June 1950 at the beginning of the Korean War, President
Truman ordered the U.S. Seventh Fleet to prevent Chinese Communist attacks upon Formosa and
Chinese Nationalist operations against mainland China.
1954-55 -- China Naval units evacuated U.S. civilians and military personnel from the
Tachen Islands.
1956 -- Egypt A Marine battalion protected American interests in Alexandria during the Suez crisis (also called the 1956 war).
1958 -- Lebanon Marines were landed in Lebanon.
1959-60 -- The Caribbean 2d Marine Ground Task Force was deployed to protect U.S. nationals during the Cuban crisis.
1962 -- Cuba President Kennedy instituted a "quarantine" on the shipment of offensive
missiles to Cuba from the Soviet Union. He also warned Soviet Union that the launching of any
missile from Cuba against nations in the Western Hemisphere would bring about U.S. nuclear
retaliation on the Soviet Union.
1962 -- Thailand The 3d Marine Expeditionary Unit landed on May 17, 1962; by July 30 the 5000 marines had been withdrawn.
1962-75 -- Laos. Corollary of Vietnam War.
1964 -- Congo The United States sent four transport planes to provide airlift for
Congolese troops during a rebellion and to transport Belgian paratroopers to rescue foreigners.
1964-73 -- Vietnam War Following a Communist attack on a U.S. installation in central
Vietnam, the United States escalated its participation in the war to a peak of 543,000 troops in April 1969.
1965 -- Dominican Republic The United States intervened to protect American
interests during a Dominican revolt and sent more troops as fears grew that the revolutionary
forces were coming increasingly under Communist control.
1967 -- Congo. The United States sent three military transport aircraft with crews to
provide the Congo central government with logistical support during a revolt.
1970 -- Cambodia 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.
1974 -- Cyprus. United States naval forces evacuated U.S. civilians during hostilities
between Turkish and Greek Cypriot forces.
1975 -- Mayaguez incident On May 15, 1975, President Ford ordered military forces to retake the SS Mayaguez, a merchant vessel en route from Hong Kong to Thailand with U.S. citizen crew which was seized from Cambodian naval patrol boats in international waters and forced to proceed to a nearby island.
1976 -- Lebanon. On July 22 and 23, 1974, helicopters from five U.S. naval vessels
evacuated approximately 250 Americans and Europeans from Lebanon during fighting between Lebanese factions after an overland convoy evacuation had been blocked by hostilities.
1978 -- Zaire From May 19 through June 1978, the United States utilized military aircraft
to provide logistical support to Belgian and French operations in Zaire.
1980 -- Iran On April 26, 1980, President Carter reported the use of six U.S. transport
planes and eight helicopters in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue American hostages being held in
Iran.
1981 -- El Salvador U.S. military advisers were sent to El Salvador, bringing the total to
approximately 55, to assist in training government forces in counterinsurgency.
1981 --Libya. On August 19, 1981, U.S. planes based on the carrier Nimitz shot down two
Libyan jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
1982 -- Sinai (Egypt) On March 19, 1982, President Reagan ordered the deployment of
military personnel and equipment to participate in the Multinational Force and Observers in the
Sinai.
1982 -- Lebanon On August 21, 1982, President Reagan ordered the dispatch of 80 marines. The Marines left Sept. 20, 1982.
1982 -- Lebanon. On September 29, 1982, President Reagan ordered the deployment of 1200
marines.
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.
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.
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.
1983 -- Grenada. On October 25, 1983, President Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada by Marines and Army airborne troops to protect American interests.
1984 -- Persian Gulf. On June 5, 1984, Saudi Arabian jet fighter planes, aided by
intelligence from a U.S. AWACS electronic surveillance aircraft and fueled by a U.S. KC-10
tanker, shot down two Iranian fighter planes.
1985 -- Italy On October 10, 1985, U.S. Navy pilots intercepted an Egyptian airliner and
forced it to land in Sicily. The airliner was carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship
Achille Lauro who had killed an American citizen during the hijacking.
1986 --Libya On March 26, 1986, President Reagan reported that on March 24 and 25 U.S.
forces, had been attacked by Libyan missiles and the United States had responded with missiles.
1986 -- Libya On April 16, 1986, President Reagan reported that U.S. air and naval forces
had conducted bombing strikes in Libya.
1986 -- Bolivia U.S. Army personnel and aircraft assisted Bolivian anti-drug operations.
1987-88 -- Persian Gulf After the Iran-Iraq War resulted in several military incidents in
the Persian Gulf, the United States increased U.S. Navy forces operating in the Persian Gulf and
adopted a policy of reflagging and escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Gulf.
1988 -- Panama The United States sent 1,000 troops to Panama, to "further safeguard the
canal, U.S. lives and American interests and property in the area." The forces
supplemented 10,000 U.S. military personnel already in Panama.
1989 -- Libya On January 4, 1989, two U.S. Navy F-14 aircraft based on USS John F. Kennedy
shot down two Libyan jet fighters over the Mediterranean Sea about 70 miles north of Libya.
1989 -- Panama On May 11, 1989, 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.
1989 -- Andean War on Drugs On September 15, 1989, President Bush announced that military
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 seven Special Forces teams of 2-12 persons to train troops in the three countries.
1989 -- Philippines On December 2, 1989, President Bush reported that on December 1 U.S.
fighter planes from Clark Air Base in the Philippines had assisted the Aquino government to repel a coup attempt.
1989 -- Panama On December 21, 1989, President Bush reported that he had ordered U.S.
military forces to invade Panama to protect American interests and bring General Noriega
to justice.
1990 -- Liberia On August 6, 1990, President Bush reported that a reinforced rifle company had been sent to protect American interests in Monrovia.
1990 -- Saudi Arabia On August 9, 1990, President Bush reported that he had ordered the
forward deployment of substantial elements of the U.S. armed forces into the Persian Gulf region
to help defend Saudi Arabia after the August 2 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. On November 16, 1990,
he reported the continued buildup of the forces to ensure an adequate offensive military option.
1991 -- Iraq On January 18, 1991, President Bush directed U.S. armed forces to commence
combat operations on January 16 against Iraqi forces and military targets in Iraq and Kuwait.
1991 -- Iraq On May 17, 1991, President Bush reported to Congress that the Iraqi
repression of the Kurdish people had necessitated an introduction of U.S. forces into northern Iraq for emergency relief purposes.
1991 -- Zaire On September 25-27, 1991, U.S. Air Force C-141s transported 100 Belgian
troops and equipment into Kinshasa. U.S. planes also carried 300 French troops into the Central
African Republic.
1992 -- Sierra Leone On May 3, 1992, U.S. military planes evacuated Americans from Sierra
Leone, where military leaders had overthrown the government.
1992 -- Somalia On December 10, 1992, President Bush ordered the invasion of Somalia in
response to a humanitarian crisis.
1993 -- Bosnia On February 28, 1993, the United States bagan an airdrop of supplies aimed
at Muslims surrounded by Serbian forces in Bosnia.
1993 -- Bosnia President Clinton orders U.S. forces to enforce a U.N. ban on all
unauthorized military flights over Bosnia.
1993 -- Somalia On June 10, 1993, in response to attacks against U.N. forces in Somalia, the U.S. participated in military action to quell the violence.
1993 -- Iraq On June 28, 1993, President Clinton reported that on June 26 U.S. naval
forces had launched missiles against the Iraqi Intelligence Service's headquarters in Baghdad in
response to an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate former President Bush in Kuwait in April 1993.
1993 -- Macedonia On July 9, 1993, President Clinton ordered the deployment of 350 U.S. armed forces to Macedonia.
1994-1995 NATO Intervention in Bosnia (Operation Deliberate Force).
1994 -- Haiti U.S. deploys forces to Haiti to protect American interests.
1998 -- Afghanistan and the Sudan August, embassy bombings cause hundreds of deaths in
Kenya and Tanzania. The U.S. retaliated by launching Tomahawk Cruise Missiles at suspected
terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan.
1999 -- Kosovo U.S. and NATO forces invade Yugoslavia to protect Albanian interests in
Kosovo.
2001 -- Afghanistan United States invades Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 and remains to
present day.
2003 -- Iraq United States invades Iraq on March 19, 2003 and remains to present day.