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List of U.S. foreign interventions since 1945

This is a list of United States interventions or alleged interventions since 1945.

Contents

1940s

Occupation and rebuilding of Japan 1945-1952 after World War II, drafting Japan's current democratic constitution. (see Occupied Japan)
1945, USSR occupies North Korea and US occupies South Korea. USSR denies elections in North Korea, establishing communist government; US allows UN supervised elections.
Occupation and rebuilding of West Germany after World War II. Merged US occupation zone with the French and British zones to form the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.
March 12, 1947 President Harry Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine, stating that the United States would support "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." The US gave $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece to battle Communist insurgents in Greece in 1947 and prevent both countries from falling under the Soviet sphere of influence. (See Greek Civil War)
Central Intelligence Agency involvement in Italian elections, involving propaganda and the alleged buying of votes, in order to prevent the Communist Party of Italy coming to power, in 1948. (See 1948 Italian election )
1948-1951 the United States contributed both economic and technical assistance toward the recovery of European countries after World War II, known as the Marshall Plan. Sixteen countries accept the aid, but most communist countries reject it.
June 28 1948, the US flew supplies into the Western-held sectors of Berlin over the blockade during 1948-1949, known as the Berlin Airlift
U.S. financial and military support of the Republic of China, that began during the Sino-Japanese War and through World War II, continued against the People's Liberation Army.

1950s

Funding of French Indochina War from 1945 until 1954.
Korean War from 1950 until 1953: After communist North Koreans invade South Korea, the UN, with every nation voting "yea" except for Yugoslavia that abstained, approves military support for South Korea, involving over a dozen countries including the US.
U.S. (CIA) and UK (MI-6) succeed in removal of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh of Iran (Operation Ajax) - 1953.[1]
Food for Peace is established in 1954. Since the program started, it has sent over 100 million metric tons of American food to 150 countries, or about 3 billion people. This program with other US programs account for 60% of the world's total food aid.
CIA-orchestrated overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in Guatemala (Operation PBSUCCESS) - 1954.
U.S. support for President Ngo Dinh Diem of Vietnam from 1955 - 1963. [2]
Lebanon crisis of 1958: The US assisted President Camille Chamoun when Pan-Arbists advocated by Egypt's president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, attempted to overthrow the Lebanese government.
After the Chinese bombing of ancient monasteries at Chatreng and Litang that housed thousands of civilians in 1956 which violated the Plan for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet , the CIA aided Chushi Gandrug and Tensung Dhanglang Magar 's resistance movement.
U.S. support for Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista (amongst others against Marxist insurgents) until his unpopularity and impending overthrow becomes clear in 1959.
Two assassination attempts of general Abdul Karim Qassim, president of Iraq, 1959 and 1963 (the second one succeeded.

1960s

Peace Corps, an independent U.S. federal agency, was established in 1961. Within six years, Peace Corp was involved in education and agriculture related projects of 55 Third World countries. Over the years, the Peace Corps has expanded its mission to include improving education, health and HIV/AIDS, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment in about 80 developing and underdeveloped countries and nations with a developing economy.
U.S.-backed abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in 1961.
CIA planning to assassinate Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba of the Congo and alleged involvement in his death. [3] [4] Belgium has since officially apologized for its own role in the affair. [5]
CIA involvement in the assassination of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, their former ally in the Dominican Republic, in 1961 [6] [7]
Alleged CIA involvement in overthrow of Juan Bosch, the democratically elected leader of the Dominican Republic. [8]
Alleged CIA-backed overthrow of José María Velasco Ibarra of Ecuador in 1963.
U.S. backs coup against South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. [9]
CIA-backed overthrow of João Goulart in Brazil in 1964. [10] [11]
CIA covert support for the election of Eduardo Frei Montalva of Chile in 1964.
Alleged CIA-backed overthrow of Sukarno and subsequent support of Suharto in Indonesia in 1965. Former officials of the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia acknowledge supplying a list of 5,000 suspected communists -- given to them by the CIA -- to the Indonesian government and checking them off the list when those people were executed. The U.S. government also supplied 90% of Indonesia's military hardware.[12][13]
Vietnam War - (1964–1975)
Involvement in riots and violence that brought down the government of Cheddi Jagan in Guyana.
Alleged CIA-backed military coup brings dictator Joseph Mobutu to power in the Congo in 1965.
Alleged CIA support to military coup against Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah in 1966.
Alleged CIA-backed military coup ushers in Regime of the Colonels in Greece in 1967.
American support for Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
CIA-organized military operation ends in execution of Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967.
Beginning in 1968 the US bombed the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos and Cambodia to disrupt the logistical support given to the Viet Cong by the North Vietnamese Army

1970s

Alleged CIA-supported coup against Prince Sihanouk in Cambodia in 1970.
Alleged CIA-supported military coup against President Juan José Torres of Bolivia in 1971.
Support for Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Political and economic intervention in Chile against president Salvador Allende; contacts with military officers planning to overthrow Allende.
Support for Indonesian invasion and occupation of Portuguese Timor (now East Timor)(1975).
CIA support for UNITA rebels in Angola, from 1976 - 1984.
Approval and support for Argentina's "Dirty War". (1976-1983)
U.S. backs and provides military funding to Salvadoran Armed Forces, civil-military junta, and President José Napoleón Duarte during country's civil war, (1979-89). [14]
Following overthrow of the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in Nicaragua by the Sandinistas, the CIA supports the Contras from 1979 - 1989. resolution. [15]
Support of armed opposition parties, including Khmer Rouge, to Vietnamese-installed regime of Heng Samrin in Cambodia, 1979–1993.
Alleged American intervention in civil war in Yemen, from 1979 - 1984.

1980s

Alleged support for Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu, 1980s.
CIA support for José Napoleón Duarte and other anti-Communist politicians alleged to have links with right-wing death squads.
Provision of military assistance to Hissène Habré of Chad, leading to the overthrow of Libya-supported neutralist Goukouni Oueddei.
Sale of small arms and weapons production materials to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War
Sale of arms to Iran (see Iran–Contra Affair)
Training of Nicaraguan Contras and support to military regimes in Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and South America during the 1980s.
Alleged CIA support to Gwangju Massacre in 1980.
Alleged CIA and South African backing to a coup attempt in the Seychelles in 1981.
American support for Israel in the 1982 Lebanon War.
Support for military dictator Efraín Ríos Montt in Guatemala {1982-1983.} Alleged CIA support for the coup that brought him into power.
Invasion of Grenada, overthrow of Marxist government (Operation Urgent Fury) - 1983.
Under CIA Director George H W Bush, provided funds, training and weapons (mainly Stinger missiles to thward Soviet air superiority - they were the real reason why the mujahadeen won the war)with help of other organisations (most of them are now 'terrorist' organisations) and the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) (secret services)
Alleged involvement in the mysterious death of Samora Machel, President of Mozambique (1986).
Support to coup against Timoci Bavadra, democratically elected Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987.
In 1989, The US establishes Support for East European Democracy to help assist Poland and Hungary's transition into market-based democracies.
Operation Just Cause: In late 1989, the US invaded Panama and arrested Manuel Noriega for drug trafficking after a U.S. Marine was killed and Noriega declared war against the US.

1990s

Beginning in December 1989 until 1996 when the Liberian civil war ended, the United States attempted to get UN involved in negotiations. The UN refused. Meanwhile, the US provided humanitarian aid, including food and developmental aid.
Intervention in Colombian civil war, 1990s
Corruption of elections in Bulgaria in 1990 and in Albania in 1991 [16].
Funding to the opposition presidential candidate, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, in Sandinista-ruled Nicaragua. Chamorro won the election.
After Iraq invades Kuwait in 1990, King Fahd, fearing Saudi Arabia would be Saddam Hussein's next target, invites U.S. troops to use the country as a base.
UN-led Gulf War following Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 1991
When Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program helped evacuate 75,000 people and $250 million to $375 million worth of equipment.
Alleged U.S. Support for ousting Jean-Bertrand Aristide from Haiti, 1991 [17].
U.S.-led UN sanctions against Iraq, from 1990 to 2003.
The FREEDOM Support Act in 1992 amends Support for East European Democracy to include the new independent states of the former Soviet Union to aid their transition into market-based democracies.
Operation Provide Relief, a 1992 US lead humanitarian relief for Somalia. After looting of the aid, it was reorganized as Operation Restore Hope, an American military operation with the support of the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid and restore order to Somalia, that eventually lead to the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.
U.S. removal of Raoul Cedras from office in Haiti and temporary occupation of the country, 1993.
Alleged support for Mexico in fighting the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, 1994.
NATO bombing of Bosnian Serbs, 1995.
Responding to the 1995 flood in North Korea that caused a famine, the US initially provided over $8 million in general humanitarian (China was the only country to initially contribute more aid). However, eight years later, the US has provided $644 million in aid to the country which comprises nearly 50% of the aid going to North Korea.
U.S.-led bombing campaign, called Operation Desert Fox, against Iraq in enforcement of the UN designated No-Fly zones created to protect Kurds and Marsh Arabs, 1998.
Iraq Liberation Act, 1998.
Operation Infinite Reach: a US cruise missile strike on terrorist bases and targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, including the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory, after al Qaeda bombed two US embassies in 1998.
NATO's bombing of Serbia in the Kosovo Conflict. Officially aimed at preventing ethnic cleansing of Albanians, 1999. During this bombing the Chinese embassy was hit. Some say this was done deliberately [18].

2000s

U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, overthrow of Taliban when the government refuse to deliver Al-Qaida leaders located in the country after the September 11th attacks in 2001.
Servicemen's Protection Act, called the Hague Invasion Act by critics 2002.
Alleged CIA-backed abortive coup against democratically-elected President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela in 2002. [19]
U.S. Invasion of Iraq, overthrow of Saddam Hussein, 2003
American support in the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti in 2004. (see: 2004 Haiti rebellion) Also threatened Jamaica if it provided residence to Aristide.
Interference in Salvadoran presidential election. US threatened to take reprisals if the country would elect the socialist candidate Schafik Handal, 2004.
Support to the Venezuelan opposition in the run-up to the referendum on Hugo Chávez' rule. Many elements were linked to the above-mentioned coup in 2002.
Alleged support (along with Spain and Britain) for a failed coup plot against Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea in 2004. [20]

Beyond these interventions, the United States has developed a great deal of economic influence over many developing states. Some claim that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have assisted American foreign policy in this area. (If correct, this would also require the implicit co-operation of other countries, as the US has only 18% of the IMF's voting rights. [21])

External links

A Hemisphere of Our Own: U.S. Foreign Policy in Central America - 2 Hours Talk Given by Noam Chomsky at UC Berkeley in 1984 - RealAudio format.
Conversations with History: Militarism and the American Empire - With Chalmers Johnson, President of the Japan Policy Research Institute - RealVideo format.
Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798-1993 by Ellen C. Collier, Specialist in U.S. Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division
United States Military Campaigns, Conflicts, Expeditions and Wars Compiled by Larry Van Horn, U.S. Navy Retired
Basic Statistics for United States Imperialism
US interventions in Latin America
When foreign intervention is justified: Women under the Taliban