A CENTURY OF U.S. MILITARY
INTERVENTIONS
The following is a
partial list of 130 U.S.
military interventions from 1890 to 1999:
1890 SOUTH
DAKOTA, Troops. 300 Lakota Indians massacred at Wounded
Knee.
1890 ARGENTINA,
Troops. Buenos Aires interests protected.
1891 CHILE,
Troops. Marines clash with nationalist rebels.
1891 HAITI,
Troops. Black workers revolt on U.S.-claimed
Navassa Island
defeated.
1892 IDAHO,
Troops. Army suppresses silver miners' strike.
1893 HAWAII,
Naval, troops. Independent kingdom overthrown, annexed.
1894 CHICAGO,
Troops. Breaking of rail strike, 34 killed.
1894 NICARAGUA,
Troops. Month-long occupation of Bluefields.
1894-95 CHINA,
Naval, troops. Marines land in Sino-Japanese War.
1894-96 KOREA,
Troops/ Marines kept in Seoul
during war.
1895 PANAMA,
Troops, naval/ Marines land in Colombian province.
1896 NICARAGUA,
Troops/ Marines land in port of Corinto.
1989-1900 CHINA,
Troops/ Boxer Rebellion fought by foreign armies.
1898-1910 PHILIPPINES,
Naval, troops. Seized from Spain,
killed 600,000 Filipinos.
1898-1902 CUBA,
Naval, troops/ Seized from Spain,
still hold Navy base.
1898 PUERTO
RICO, Naval, troops/ Seized from Spain,
occupation continues.
1898 GUAM,
Naval, troops/ Seized from Spain,
still use as base.
1898 MINNESOTA,
Troops/ Army battles Chippewa at Leech
Lake.
1898 NICARAGUA,
Troops / Marines land at port of San
Juan del
Sur.
1899 SAMOA,
Troops/ Battle over succession to
throne.
1899 NICARAGUA,
Troops/ Marines land at port of Bluefields.
1899-1901 IDAHO,
Troops / Army occupies C?ur
d'Alene mining region.
1901 OKLAHOMA,
Troops/ Army battles Creek Indian revolt.
1901-14 PANAMA,
Naval, troops/ Broke off from Colombia
1903, annexed Canal Zone 1914-99.
1903 HONDURAS,
Troops/ Marines intervene in revolution.
1903-04 DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC, Troops. U.S.
interests protected in Revolution.
1904-05 KOREA,
Troops/ Marines land in Russo-Japanese War.
1906-09 CUBA,
Troops/ Marines land in democratic election.
1907 NICARAGUA,
Troops/ 'Dollar Diplomacy' protectorate set up.
1907 HONDURAS,
Troops/ Marines land during war with Nicaragua.
1908 PANAMA,
Troops / Marines intervene in election contest.
1910 NICARAGUA,
Troops / Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto.
1911 HONDURAS,
Troops/ U.S.
interests protected in civil war.
1912 CUBA,
Troops/ U.S.
interests protected in Havana.
1912 PANAMA,
Troops/ Marines land during heated election.
1912 HONDURAS,
Troops/ Marines protect U.S.
economic interests.
1912-33 NICARAGUA,
Troops, bombing/ 20-year occupation, fought guerrillas.
1913 MEXICO,
Naval/ Americans evacuated during revolution.
1914 DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC, Naval/ Fight with rebels over Santo
Domingo.
1914 COLORADO,
Troops/ Breaking of miners' strike by Army.
1914-18 MEXICO,
Naval, troops/ Series of interventions against nationalists.
1914-34 HAITI,
Troops, bombing/ 19-year occupation after revolts.
1916-24 DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC, Troops. 8-year
Marine occupation.
1917-33 CUBA,
Troops. Military occupation, economic protectorate.
1917-18 WORLD
WAR I, Naval, troops/ Ships sunk, fought Germany.
1918-22 RUSSIA,
Naval, troops. Five landings to fight Bolsheviks.
1918-20 PANAMA,
Troops. 'Police duty' during unrest after elections.
1919 YUGOSLAVIA,
Troops. Marines intervene for Italy
against Serbs in Dalmatia.
1919 HONDURAS,
Troops. Marines land during election campaign.
1920 GUATEMALA,
Troops. 2-week intervention against unionists.
1920-21 WEST
VIRGINIA, Troops, bombing. Army intervenes against
mineworkers.
1922 TURKEY,
Troops. Fought nationalists in Smyrna (Izmir).
1922-27 CHINA,
Naval, troops/ Deployment during nationalist revolt.
1924-25 HONDURAS,
Troops/ Landed twice during election strife.
1925 PANAMA,
Troops / Marines suppress general strike.
1927-34 CHINA,
Troops/ Marines stationed throughout the country.
1932 EL
SALVADOR, Naval/ Warships sent during Faribundo Marti revolt.
1932 WASHINGTON
DC, Troops/ Army stops WWI vet bonus
protest.
1941-45 WORLD
WAR II, Naval, troops, bombing, nuclear/ Fought Axis for 3 years; 1st nuclear
war.
1943 DETROIT,
Troops/ Army puts down Black rebellion.
1946 IRAN,
Nuclear threat/ Soviet troops told to leave north (Iranian Azerbaijan).
1946 YUGOSLAVIA,
Naval/ Response to shooting-down of U.S.plane.
1947 URUGUAY,
Nuclear threat/ Bombers deployed as show of strength.
1947-49 GREECE,
Command operation/ U.S.
directs extreme-right in civil war.
1948-49 CHINA,
Troops/ Marines evacuate Americans before Communist victory.
1948 GERMANY,
Nuclear threat/ Atomic-capable bombers guard Berlin Airlift. Still have bases.
1948-54 PHILIPPINES,
Command operation/ CIA directs war against Huk Rebellion.
1950 PUERTO
RICO, Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threats/ Independence
rebellion crushed in Ponce.
1951-53 KOREA,
U.S.& South Korea
fight China & North Korea to stalemate; A bomb threat in 1950, & China
in 1953. Still have
bases.
1953 IRAN,
Command operation/ CIA overthrows democracy, installs Shah.
1954 VIETNAM,
Nuclear threat/ Bombs offered to French to use against siege.
1954 GUATEMALA,
Command operation, bombing, nuclear threat/ CIA directs exile invasion after
new
govt nationalizes U.S.
company lands; bombers based in Nicaragua.
1956 EGYPT,
Nuclear threat, troops/ Soviets told to keep out of Suez
crisis; Marines evacuate foreigners
1958 LEBANON,
Troops, naval/ Marine occupation against rebels
1958 IRAQ,
Nuclear threat/ Iraq
warned against invading Kuwait.
1958 CHINA,
Nuclear threat/ China
told not to move on Taiwan
isles.
1958 PANAMA,
Troops/ Flag protests erupt into confrontation.
1960-75 VIETNAM,
Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threats/ Fought South Vietnam revolt & North
Vietnam;
1-2 million
killed in longest U.S.
war; atomic bomb threats in 1968 and 1969.
1961 CUBA,
Command operation/ CIA-directed exile invasion fails.
1961 GERMANY,
Nuclear threat/ Alert during Berlin Wall crisis.
1962 CUBA,
Nuclear threat/ Naval Blockade during missile crisis; near-war with USSR.
1962 LAOS,
Command operation/ Military buildup during guerrilla
war.
1964 PANAMA,
Troops/ Panamanians shot for urging canal's return.
1965 INDONESIA,
Command operation/ Million killed in CIA-assisted army coup.
1965-66 DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC, Troops, bombing/ Marines land
during election campaign.
1966-67 GUATEMALA,
Command operation/ Green Berets intervene against rebels.
1967 DETROIT,
Troops/ Army battles Blacks, 43 killed.
1968 UNITED
STATES, Troops/ After King is shot; over 21,000 soldiers in cities.
1969-75 CAMBODIA,
Bombing, troops, naval/ Up to 2 million killed in decade of bombing,
starvation, and
political chaos.
1970 OMAN,
Command operation/ U.S.
directs Iranian marine invasion.
1971-73 LAOS,
Command operation, bombing U.S.
directs South Vietnamese invasion; 'carpet-bombs' countryside.
1973 SOUTH
DAKOTA, Command operation/ Army directs Wounded
Knee siege of Lakotas.
1973 MIDEAST,
Nuclear threat/ World-wide alert during Mideast War.
1973 CHILE,
Command operation/ CIA-backed coup ousts elected marxist president.
1975 CAMBODIA,
Troops, bombing Gas captured ship, 28 die in copter
crash.
1976-92 ANGOLA,
Command operation/ CIA assists South African-backed rebels.
1980 IRAN,
Troops, nuclear threat, aborted bombing/ 8 troops die in plane crash. Soviets
warned not to get
involved in revolution.
1981 LIBYA,
Naval jets/ Two Libyan jets shot down in maneuvers.
1981-92 EL
SALVADOR, Command operation, troops,
advisors/ Overflights aid anti-rebel war, soldiers
briefly involved in hostage clash.
1981-90 NICARAGUA,
Command operation, naval/ CIA directs exile (Contra) invasions, plants harbor mines.
1982-84 LEBANON,
Naval, bombing, troops/ Marines expel PLO and back Phalangists,
Navy bombs and shells
Muslim and Syrian positions.
1983-89 HONDURAS,
Troops. Maneuvers help build bases near borders.
1983-84 GRENADA,
Troops, bombing. Invasion four years after revolution.
1984 IRAN,
Jets. Two Iranian jets shot down over Persian Gulf.
1986 LIBYA,
Bombing, naval. Air strikes to topple nationalist gov't.
1986 BOLIVIA,
Troops. Army assists raids on cocaine region.
1987-88 IRAN,
Naval, bombing. US intervenes on side of Iraq
in war.
1989 LIBYA,
Naval jets. Two Libyan jets shot down.
1989 VIRGIN
ISLANDS, Troops. St.
Croix Black unrest after storm.
1989 PHILIPPINES,
Jets. Air cover provided for government against coup.
1989-90 PANAMA,
Troops, bombing. Nationalist government ousted by 27,000 soldiers, leaders
arrested,
2000+ killed.
1990 LIBERIA,
Troops. Foreigners evacuated during civil war.
1990-91 SAUDI ARABIA, Troops, jets. Iraq
countered after invading Kuwait;
540,000 troops also stationed
in Oman,
Qatar, Bahrain,
UAE, Israel.
1990-? IRAQ,
Bombing, troops, naval. Blockade, air strikes;
200,000+ killed in invasion of Iraq;
no-fly zone,
large-scale destruction of Iraqi military.
1991 KUWAIT,
Naval, bombing, troops. Kuwait
royal family returned to throne.
1992 LOS
ANGELES, Troops. Army, Marines deployed against anti-police uprising.
1992-94 SOMALIA,
Troops, naval, bombing. U.S.-led United Nations occupation during civil war;
raids against one Mogadishu
faction.
1992-94 YUGOSLAVIA, Naval. NATO blockade of Serbia
and Montenegro.
1993-95 BOSNIA,
Jets. bombing. No-fly zone patrolled in civil war;
downed jets, bombed Serbs.
1994-96 HAITI,
Troops, naval. Blockade against military government; troops restore President
Aristide
to office three years after coup.
1995 CROATIA,
Bombing. Krajina Serb airfields attacked before
Croatian offensive.
1996-97 ZAIRE
(CONGO),
Troops. Marines at Rwandan Hutu refuge camps, in area where Congo
revolution begins.
1997 LIBERIA,
Troops. Soldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners.
1997 ALBANIA,
Troops. Soldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners.
1998 SUDAN,
Missiles. Attack on pharmaceutical plant alleged to be 'terrorist' nerve gas
plant.
1998 AFGHANISTAN,
Missiles. Attack on former CIA training camps used by Islamic fundamentalist
groups
alleged to have attacked embassies.
1998-? IRAQ,
Bombing, Missiles. Four days of intensive air strikes after weapons inspectors
allege
Iraqi obstructions.
1999 - ? YUGOSLAVIA,
Bombing, Missiles. NATO air strikes after Serbia
declines to withdraw from Kosovo.
NATO occupation of Kosovo.
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This compilation was revised
on March
23, 1999. For more information
or with comments and additions please contact: Zoltan
Grossman, 1705 Rutledge, Madison, WI 53704 Phone Fax:
(608)246-2256. mtn@igc.apc.org
This is a partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 1999. This guide
does NOT include demonstration duty by military police, mobilizations of the
National Guard, offshore shows of naval strength, reinforcements of embassy
personnel, the use of non-Defense Department
personnel (such as the Drug Enforcement Agency), military exercises, non-combat
mobilizations (such as replacing postal strikers), the permanent stationing of
armed forces, covert actions where the U.S. did not play a command and control
role, the use of small hostage rescue units, most uses of proxy troops, U.S.
piloting of foreign warplanes, foreign disaster assistance, military training
and advisory programs not involving direct combat, civic action programs, and
many other military activities.
Among sources used, besides
news reports, are the Congressional Record (23 June 1969), 180 landings by the
U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Ege & Makhijani in Counterspy (July-Aug. 1982), and Daniel
Ellsberg in Protest & Survive. 'Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798-1993' by Ellen
C. Collier of the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service.
Available as a .pdf download at: http://www.internationalanswer.org/pdf/usmilitaryinterventions.pdf
An updated version of this document, dated Winter
2002, is available at
http://web.greens.org/s-r/27/27-01a.html
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