🇺🇸 The U.S. is really strong. But does strength necessarily mean righteousness?
There’s no denying that the U.S. is one of the world’s leading economic and military powers.
But when looking back at history, there is a question worth asking:
Does having enough power to intervene militarily in many places mean that every use of that power is necessarily right?
Some notable wars and military campaigns involving the U.S.:
🇰🇷 Korean War — 1950–1953
The U.S. leads forces under the authorization of the United Nations to support South Korea after North Korea attacks the South.
🇻🇳 Vietnam War — especially 1964–1973
The U.S. expanded its military intervention after the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. After that came large-scale bombing operations and the deployment of ground combat forces.
🇮🇶 Gulf War — 1990–1991
After Iraq invaded Kuwait, the U.S. led an international coalition and carried out a military campaign authorized by the U.N. Security Council to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait.
🇦🇫 Afghanistan — 2001–2021
The U.S. began a military campaign after 9/11, targeting al-Qaeda and the Taliban; the war lasted nearly 20 years.
🇮🇶 Iraq — 2003–2011
The U.S. and the U.K. led a coalition to invade Iraq in 2003, then set up a transitional government and faced a prolonged insurgency.
🇱🇾 Libya — 2011
The U.S. participates in an international military campaign in Libya’s civil war.
🇸🇾 Syria — from 2014
The U.S. carries out campaigns against ISIS in Iraq and Syria; the U.S. government cites the right of self-defense and supports Iraq’s operations in the region.
🇾🇪 Yemen — counterterrorism campaigns
The U.S. conducts many military operations against groups that Washington identifies as terrorists.
🇸🇴 Somalia — counterterrorism campaigns
The U.S. also carries out airstrikes and other military operations against armed groups in Somalia.
But this is the part that deserves deeper thought.
Each war has completely different causes, legal grounds, and context. There are cases where the U.S. participates to respond to an invasion or at a request from an ally; and there are wars where the legitimacy and consequences remain hotly debated.
In particular, the post-9/11 wars have left a huge price. Brown University’s Costs of War estimates that the U.S. has spent about $8 trillion on post-9/11 wars, including the future cost of caring for veterans.
This project also estimates that the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen caused 4.5–4.7 million direct and indirect deaths, although the exact number cannot be determined.
So the question is not as simple as:
“Is the U.S. good or bad?”
That is:
> When a country possesses overwhelming military power, who decides the limits of that power?
Being strong is not wrong.
Protecting national interests is also not wrong.
But war always has a price — and those who pay are often not the ones making the decisions. 🕊️
