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U.S. Armed Forces Conducted Nearly 400 Military Interventions Since 1776, Study Finds [1]

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Date: 2023-10-24  

“Preliminary results from MIP [Military Intervention Project] show that the US has increased its military usage of force abroad since the end of the Cold War. Over this period the US has preferred the direct usage of force over threats or displays of force, increasing its hostility levels while its target states have decreased theirs.” — MIP researchers said.

The United States has conducted nearly 400 military interventions between 1776–2019, according to a recent study, titled, “Military Intervention Project: A New Dataset on US Military Interventions.”

Assistant Professor Sidita Kushi at Bridgewater State University and Academic Dean and Professor Monica Duffy Tof at Tufts University conducted this study.

The U.S. armed forces conducted over a quarter of the military interventions in the past 30 years. Half of those interventions occurred between 1950 and 2019.

Of the 400 military interventions, 34 percent have occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, 23 percent in East Asia and the Pacific region, 14 percent in West Asia and North Africa, and 13 percent in Europe and Central Asia.

Lance Cpl. Alex Rowan, a combat engineer with 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, stationed out of Bessemer, Ala., runs to take cover before the Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System detonates during the SAPPER Leaders Course aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., June 26, 2015. During the course, the Marines used assault and breaching techniques to clear a wire obstacle using line charges that utilized C4 explosives and their APOBS.

The U.S. military interventions have “increased and intensified” in recent years, according to the study.

The data also revealed that the U.S. has not had a year without a newly started military intervention since 1974.

Kushi and Tof have also written a book that includes their data set, titled, Dying by the Sword: The Militarization of US Foreign Policy.

Their book goes into each military intervention and finds that the U.S. became more aggressive as the world became less dangerous after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In their book, they write:

“Most Americans remain unaware of just how often the United States has resorted to the use of force — just how often the United States has drawn its sword from its sheath — and unaware both that this use of violence as a first resort has been increasing over time, and that it has tarnished a once enviable global reputation… an excessively aggressive America is a problem that everyone should care about. The United States’ long aspiration to be an exemplar for others can backfire too: US ‘force-first’ foreign policy may make it easier for other state actors, especially eager revisionist powers such as Russia and China, to justify their growing militarism abroad; it prioritizes global militarism and defense spending over domestic programs and economic support; and it turns the United States into a feared and increasingly resented global actor, instead of the beacon of liberty, the rule of law, and democracy that the United States aspired to be since its founding.”

According to Kushi and Tof, the U.S. goes straight to force, even at times when there is no clear threat.

In the book, they also go over the iron triangle, which is the policy-making relationship between congressional committees, U.S. federal agencies, and interest groups.

In the case of military interventions, they looked at how defense industry lobbyists influenced policymaking.

They concluded that these interest groups may incentivize military interventions through lobbying.

The defense sector, led by corporations such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon have been ranked the top spenders on U.S. lobbying.

In their book, they conclude:

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/24/2201046/-U-S-Armed-Forces-Conducted-Nearly-400-Military-Interventions-Since-1776-Study-Finds?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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