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'In God We Trust (official) ("E pluribus unum") | |||||
| Anthem | "The Star-Spangled Banner" | ||||
| Capital | Washington, D.C. | ||||
| Largest city | New York City | ||||
| Other cities | Chicago, Los Angeles, Galveston, Calixto, Havana, Manila, Philadelphia, Vancouver | ||||
| Language official |
English | ||||
| others | Spanish, French (Secondary) | ||||
| Religion | Christianity (unofficial) | ||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
White (non-Hispanic) | ||||
| others | Hispanic, Black, Asian, Native American | ||||
| Demonym | American | ||||
| Government | Federal constitutional republic | ||||
| President | Al Gore | ||||
| Vice-President | Mario Cuomo | ||||
| Population | 441,315,000 (3rd largest) | ||||
| Established | June 21, 1788 (US Constitution) | ||||
| Independence | from Great Britain | ||||
| declared | July 4, 1776 | ||||
| recognized | September 3, 1783 | ||||
| Currency | US dollar (USD) | ||||
| Time Zone | UTC-1 to UTC-10 UTC+14 to UTC+8 | ||||
| summer | DST | ||||
| Calling Code | +1 | ||||
| Internet TLD | .com, .gov, .us | ||||
| Organizations | League of Nations G11 & G30 NATO NAFTA | ||||
The United States of America (also called the United States, the US, the U.S.A., or America) is a federal constitutionalist republic comprised of 59 states, four incorporated territories, and a federal district. Situated mainly on the North American continent, the 48 contiguous states are commonly referred to as the 'main 48', or the 'upper 48', while the remaining 11 are non-contiguous, though one (Panama) is geographically part of North America, the remainder are part of or entirely comprised of islands. The United States shares borders with Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, Haiti to the west on Hispaniola (Santo Domingo), Central America to the west and Colombia to the east (Panama), as well as maritime borders with the West Indies to the southeast of Puerto Rico and to the north and south of Guadeloupe & Martinique.
The states of Hawaii and Micronesia are situated entirely on archipelagos located in the Pacific Ocean and share no borders, maritime or otherwise, with any other nation. The state of Puerto Rico is located in the eastern Caribbean, as the smallest island of the Greater Antilles island chain and is the second most-recent state to be admitted to the Union (after Micronesia) and shares maritime borders with Santo Domingo to the west and the West Indies Federation to the east-southeast. As well, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Panama, and Cuba are the only four states where Spanish is an official second language, while French is spoken in Guadeloupe & Martinique, Northern Maine, and the territory of American Polynesia.
As of mid-1997, the United States has a population of 441.3 million, ranking at third in world population, behind only India and China. By area, the United States' territory comprises roughly a third of continental North America, as well as multiple unincorporated territories in the Caribbean and South Pacific. The United States has been described "the melting pot of the world", possessing a highly diverse, multi-ethnic culture with European, African, Asian, and Hispanic influences.
The United States is a member of the G11, G30, NATO, and is a permanent (and founding) member of the League of Nations, with which it carries considerable weight in the Security Council. America possesses the seventh-largest military in the world by number of troops and the largest air force and navy, as well as the status of one of the world's ranked superpowers. It is also a nuclear weapons state and possesses the second-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, with a total stockpile of 6,500 warheads, behind only the Soviet Union's 9,000.
History[]
Pre-1775[]
Christopher Columbus' discovery of the modern day Bahamian island of San Salvador in October 1492 was followed by dozens of expeditions over the next 125 years to the New World, or America, as named after the Italian mapmaker Amerigo Vespucci in 1507. John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) is credited with the discovery of continental North America in June 1497, approximately five-hundred years ago. Columbus himself would make another three voyages to the modern-day Caribbean before his death in 1506. In April 1513, Juan Ponce de León (sailing for Ferdinand II of Aragon) landed in modern day East Florida, most likely at St. Augustine, while in 1624, Giovanni da Verrazzano (sailing for Francis I of France) explored the Atlantic coast of Carolina.
In 1756, the French and Indian War erupted as the result of clashing British and French colonial interests in North America, and as the overseas extension of Europe's Seven Year's War. In 1763, Quebec fell to British troops and the French garrisons of North America surrendered, ending the war and giving Britain control of all France's North American territory, in addition to French cession of the Louisiana Territory to the Spanish for the next 40 years.
American Revolution (1775-1783)[]
The close of the French and Indian War in 1763 signaled the beginning of an era of change in the North American colonies. Britain's 13 Colonies of the Eastern Seaboard began to grow restless as the British government overseas imposed, one after the other, laws that seemingly violated the American colonists' rights as citizens of Great Britain.
Independence and Constitution (1783 & 1787)[]
On September 3, 1783, Britain officially declared the US a free and sovereign nation with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, ceding control of all land east of the Mississippi and south of Quebec and the Great Lakes. Ironically, Britain would become the infant nation's first trading partner.
Early National Years (1789-1849)[]
President George Washington became first elected of President of the United States on April 30th 1789. When revolutionary France declared war on Great Britain in 1793, the United States sought to remain neutral, but the Jay Treaty, which was favorable to Great Britain, angered the French government, which viewed it as a violation of the 1778 Treaty of Alliance. French privateers began to seize U.S. vessels, which led to an undeclared "Quasi-War" between the two nations. Fought at sea from 1798 to 1800, the United States won a string of victories in the Caribbean.
George Washington was called out of retirement to head a "provisional army" in case of invasion by France, but President John Adams managed to negotiate a truce, in which France agreed to terminate the prior alliance and cease its attacks. After France and Britain signed the Peace of Amiens leading to a lull in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, President Thomas Jefferson scaled back military spending.
The Berbers along the Barbary Coast (modern day Libya) sent pirates to capture merchant ships and hold the crews for ransom. The U.S. paid protection money until 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay and sent in the Navy to challenge the Barbary States, the First Barbary War followed.
After the USS Philadelphia was captured in 1803, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a raid which successfully burned the captured ship, preventing Tripoli from using or selling it. In 1805, after William Eaton captured the city of Derna, Tripoli agreed to a peace treaty. The other Barbary states continued to raid U.S. shipping, until the Second Barbary War in 1815 ended the practice.
Growth of the Union (1812-1889)[]
By far the largest military action in which the United States engaged during this era was the War of 1812. With Britain locked in a major war with Napoleonic France, its policy was to block American shipments to France. The United States sought to remain neutral while pursuing overseas trade.
Britain cut the trade and impressed seamen on American ships into the Royal Navy, despite intense protests. Britain supported an Indian insurrection in the American Midwest, with the goal of creating an Indian barrier state there that would block American expansion. The United States finally declared war on the United Kingdom in 1812, the first time the U.S. had officially declared war. Not hopeful of defeating the Royal Navy, the U.S. attacked the British Empire by invading British Canada, hoping to use captured territory as a bargaining chip. The invasion of Canada was a debacle, though concurrent wars with Native Americans on the western front (Tecumseh's War and the Creek War) were more successful.
After defeating Napoleon in 1814, Britain sent large veteran armies to invade New York, raid Washington and capture the key control of the Mississippi River at New Orleans. The New York invasion was a fiasco after the much larger British Army retreated to Canada.
The raiders succeeded in the burning of Washington on 25 August 1814, but were repulsed in their Chesapeake Bay Campaign at the Battle of Baltimore and the British commander killed.
The major invasion in Louisiana was stopped by a one-sided military battle that killed the top three British generals and thousands of soldiers.
The winners were the commanding general of the Battle of New Orleans, Major General Andrew Jackson, who later became president, and the Americans, who basked in a victory over a much more powerful nation. The peace treaty proved successful, and the U.S. and Britain never again went to war.
The losers were the Indians, who never gained the independent territory in the Midwest promised by Britain.
Mexican-American War (1846-1848)[]
Main Article: Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
With the rapid expansion of the farming population, Democrats looked to the west for new lands, an idea which became known as "Manifest Destiny." In the Texas Revolution (1835–1836), the settlers declared independence as the Republic of Texas and defeated the Mexican Army, but Mexico was determined to reconquer the lost province and threatened war with the U.S. if it annexed Texas. The U.S., much larger and more powerful, did annex Texas in 1845 and war broke out in 1846 over boundary issues.
In the Mexican–American War 1846–1848, the U.S. Army under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott and others, invaded and after a series of victorious battles (and no major defeats) seized Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California, and also blockaded the coast, invaded northern Mexico, and invaded central Mexico, capturing the national capital of Mexico City. The peace terms involved American purchase of the area from California to New Mexico for $10 million.
A Growing Divide (1849-1860)[]
In 1849, the United States official California Gold Rush join in 1852, along with 100,000,000 US Dollar into major US government. As Utah War came to ended on 1858 to 1859, as President James Buchanan we journey a American victory.
Civil War (1861-1863)[]
Main Article: American Civil War (1861-1863)
In April 14th 1861, President Lincoln call it 75,000 Union troops when you initial attack on Confederate States of America forces received your success on January 1st 1863.
Restoration (1863-1867)[]
In 1863 to 1867, President Andrew Johnson success for became it a supported them by the United States government. After the Civil War, population expansion, railroad construction, and the culling of the buffalo herds heightened military tensions on the Great Plains. Specifically, according to Colville scholar Dina Gilio-Whitaker in her book As Long as Grass Grows, "While the railroads wreaked havoc on Indian lives in numerous ways, one of the most destructive and tragic outcomes of the United States' industrial expansion was the near extermination of the Plains buffalo herds, with the railroads as the strategic prerequisite to carry out the plan". So extreme was the buffalo extermination that by the 1890s fewer than one thousand remained, scattered mostly on private ranches. Several tribes, especially the Sioux and Comanche, fiercely resisted confinement to reservations. The main role of the Army was to keep indigenous peoples on reservations and to end their wars against settlers and each other, William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan were in charge. A famous victory for the Plains Nations was the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876, when Col. George Armstrong Custer and two hundred plus members of the 7th Cavalry were killed by a force consisting of Native Americans from the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho nations. The last significant conflict came in 1891 and ended in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Rise to World Power (1879-1918)[]
The Spanish–American War was a short but decisive war marked by quick, overwhelming American victories at sea and on land against the Spanish Empire. The Navy was well-prepared and won laurels, even as politicians tried (and failed) to have it redeployed to defend East Coast cities against potential threats from the feeble Spanish Navy fleet. The Army performed well in combat in Cuba. However, it was too oriented to small posts in the West and not as well-prepared for an overseas conflict. It relied on volunteers and state militia units, which faced logistical, training and food problems in the staging areas in Florida. The United States freed Cuba (after an occupation by the U.S. Army). By the peace treaty Spain ceded to the United States its colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The Navy set up coaling stations there and in Hawaii (which was forcibly overthrown in 1893, via a coup d'état against Queen Liliʻuokalani and annexed later in 1898). The U.S. Navy now had a major forward presence across the Pacific Ocean and (with the lease of Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba) a major base in the Caribbean guarding the approaches to the Gulf Coast and the Panama Canal.
To win its first colonies, the U.S. had lost 385 KIA (369 Army, 10 Navy, 6 Marines); 1,662 WIA (1,594 Army, 47 Navy, 21 Marines); and 2,061 dead of disease in the combat zones (a total of 5,403 died of disease at all locations, including stateside posts). Total Spanish combat deaths in action against U.S. forces were about 900.
The Philippine–American War (1899–1902) was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the American forces following the ceding of the Philippines to the United States after the defeat of Spanish forces in the Battle of Manila. The Army sent in 100,000 soldiers (mostly from the National Guard) under General Elwell Otis. Defeated in the field and losing its capital in March 1899, the poorly armed and poorly led rebels broke into armed bands. The insurgency collapsed in March 1901 when the leader Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by General Frederick Funston and his Macabebe allies. Casualties included 1,037 Americans killed in action and 3,340 who died from disease; 20,000 rebels were killed. The war resulted in at least 200,000 Filipino civilian deaths, mostly due to famine and disease. Some estimates for total civilian dead reach up to a million. Atrocities were committed by the U.S. during the conflict, including reprisals, scorched earth campaigns, and the forcible relocation of many civilians.
The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom began on 16 January 1893, with a coup d'état against Queen Liliʻuokalani on the island of O'ahu. The coup d’état was predated by several events, such as the 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, also referred to as the Bayonet Constitution which was prepared by pro-American residents to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of its power and consolidate power among the non-Native settlers in Hawai'i. It became known as the Bayonet Constitution because of the armed militia used to intimidate King Kalākaua and force him to sign it or be removed.
The coup d'état was led by the Committee of Safety, a 13-member group made up of non-native Hawaiian's. The Committee of Safety initiated the overthrow by organizing a group armed non-native men to depose Queen Liliʻuokalani. The United States Military forces involved in the coup d’état consisted of 1 cruiser, the USS Boston, and 162 U.S. Navy and USMC personnel. This military presence was justified by the supposed threats to non-combatant American lives, property, and economic interests, largely of plantations. The insurgency led to the house arrest of Queen Liliʻuokalani who stayed in ʻIolani Palace until her death in 1917. The ultimate goal of the coup d’état was eventual annexation into the United States. The insurgents formed the Republic of Hawai'i which instated Sanford B. Dole, as the republic's first President. It was backed by the sugar plantation owners in Hawai'i, such as Dole. Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898. The United States military still has a prominent presence in Hawai'i, and they have been linked to several instances of environmental degradation and causes of pollution.
World War I (1918-1919)[]
Main Article: World War I (1915-1919)
The United States originally wished to remain neutral when World War I broke out in August 1914. However, it insisted on its right as a neutral party to immunity from German submarine attack, even though its ships carried food and raw materials to Britain. In 1917 the Germans resumed submarine attacks, knowing that it would lead to American entry. When the United States declared war in early April 1917, the United States Army was still small by European standards (most of which had conscription) and mobilization would take at least a year. Meanwhile, the United States continued to provide supplies and money to Britain and France, and initiated the first peacetime draft. Industrial mobilization took longer than expected, so divisions were sent to Europe without equipment, relying instead on the British and French to supply them.
By summer 1918, a million American soldiers, or "doughboys" as they were often called, of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) were in Europe, serving on the Western Front under the command of General John Pershing, with 10,000 more arriving every day. The failure of the German Army's Spring Offensive exhausted its manpower reserves and it was unable to launch new offensives. The Imperial German Navy and home front then revolted and a new German government signed a conditional surrender, the Armistice, ending the war on the Western Front on 11 November 1918.
Inter-war period (1919-1941)[]
Starting in 1940 (18 months before Pearl Harbor), the nation mobilized, giving high priority to air power. American involvement in World War II in 1940–41 was limited to providing war material and financial support to Britain, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China. The U.S. entered officially on 8 December 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japanese forces soon seized American, British and Dutch possessions across the Pacific and Southeast Asia, with Hawaii and Australia serving as the main staging points for the eventual liberation of these territories.
World War II (1941-1945)[]
Main Article: World War II (1939-1945)
The loss of eight battleships and 2,403 Americans at Pearl Harbor forced the U.S. to rely on its remaining aircraft carriers, which won a major victory over Japan at Midway just six months into the war, and on its growing submarine fleet. The Navy and Marine Corps followed this up with an island hopping campaign across the central and south Pacific in 1943–1945, reaching the outskirts of Japan in the Battle of Okinawa. During 1942 and 1943, the U.S. deployed millions of men and thousands of planes and tanks to the UK, beginning with the strategic bombing of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe and leading up to the Allied invasions of occupied North Africa in November 1942, Sicily and Italy in 1943, France in 1944, and the invasion of Germany in 1945, parallel with the Soviet invasion from the Eastern Front. That led to the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945. While the final European Axis Powers were defeated within a year of Operation Overlord, the fighting in Central Europe was especially bloody for the United States, with more U.S. military deaths occurring in Germany than in any other country during the war.
In the Pacific, the U.S. experienced much success in naval campaigns during 1944, but bloody battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945 led the U.S. to look for a way to end the war with minimal loss of American lives. The U.S. used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to destroy the Japanese war effort and to shock the Japanese leadership, which quickly caused the surrender of Japan. Following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on 15 August 1945, ending 35 years of Japanese occupation of Korean Peninsula. American forces under General John R. Hodge arrived at the southern part of the Korean Peninsula on 8 September 1945, while the Soviet Army and some Korean Communists had stationed themselves in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
The United States was able to mobilize quickly, eventually becoming the dominant military power in most theaters of the war (excepting only Central and Eastern Europe), and the industrial might of the U.S. economy became a major factor in the Allies' mobilization of resources. Strategic and tactical lessons learned by the U.S., such as the importance of air superiority and the dominance of the aircraft carrier in naval actions, continue to guide U.S. military doctrine into the 21st century.
World War II holds a special place in the American psyche as the country's greatest triumph, and the U.S. military personnel of World War II are frequently referred to as "the Greatest Generation." Over 16 million served (about 11% of the population), and over 400,000 died during the war. The U.S. emerged as one of the two undisputed superpowers along with the Soviet Union, and unlike the Soviet Union, the U.S. homeland was virtually untouched by the ravages of war. During and following World War II, the United States and Britain developed an increasingly strong defense and intelligence relationship. Manifestations of this include extensive basing of U.S. forces in the UK, shared intelligence, shared military technology (e.g. nuclear technology), and shared procurement.
Cold War (1946-1993)[]
Main Article: Cold War (1946-1993)
In 1946, the United States official declared war on Soviet Union we received granted for the first time is outbreak of World War III between the United States and Soviet Union. When the United States emerged as a global superpower vis-a-vis the Soviet Union in the Cold War. In this period of some forty years, the United States provided foreign military aid and direct involvement in proxy wars against the Soviet Union. It was the principal foreign actor in the Korean War and Vietnam War during this era. Nuclear weapons were held in ready by the United States under a concept of mutually assured destruction with the Soviet Union.
Korean War (1950-1954)[]
Main Article: Korean War (1950-1954)
The Korean War was a conflict between the United States and its United Nations allies and the communist powers under influence of the Soviet Union (also a UN member nation) and the People's Republic of China (which later also gained UN membership). The principal combatants were North and South Korea. Principal allies of South Korea included the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, although many other nations sent troops under the aegis of the United Nations Command. Allies of North Korea included the People's Republic of China, which supplied military forces, and the Soviet Union, which supplied combat advisors and aircraft pilots, as well as arms, for the Chinese and North Korean troops.
The war started badly for the U.S. and UN. The Korean People's Army struck massively in the summer of 1950 and nearly drove the outnumbered U.S. and ROK defenders into the sea. However the United Nations intervened, naming Douglas MacArthur commander of its forces, and UN-U.S.-ROK forces held a perimeter around Pusan, gaining time for reinforcement. MacArthur, in a bold but risky move, ordered an amphibious invasion well behind the front lines at Inchon, cutting off and routing the North Koreans and quickly crossing the 38th Parallel into North Korea. As UN forces continued to advance toward the Yalu River on the border with Communist China, the Chinese crossed the Yalu River in October and launched a series of surprise attacks that sent the UN forces reeling back across the 38th Parallel. Truman originally wanted a Rollback strategy to unify Korea; after the Chinese successes he settled for a Containment policy to split the country. MacArthur argued for rollback but was fired by President Harry Truman after disputes over the conduct of the war. Peace negotiations dragged on for two years until President Dwight D. Eisenhower threatened China with nuclear weapons; an armistice was quickly reached with the two Koreas remaining divided at the 38th parallel. North and South Korea are still de jure in a state of war, having never signed a peace treaty, and American forces remain stationed in South Korea as part of American foreign policy.
As the United States decisive victory for 38th Parallel divided North and South Korea on July 29th 1954.
Domestic Changes (1952-1980)[]
In the 1958 Lebanon crisis that threatened civil war, Operation Blue Bat deployed several hundred Marines to bolster the pro-Western Lebanese government from 15 July to 25 October 1958.
On 28 April 1965, 400 Marines were landed in Santo Domingo to evacuate the American Embassy and foreign nationals after dissident Dominican armed forces attempted to overthrow the ruling civilian junta. By mid-May, peak strength of 23,850 U.S. soldiers, Marines, and Airmen were in the Dominican Republic and some 38 naval ships were positioned offshore. They evacuated nearly 6,500 men, women, and children of 46 nations, and distributed more than 8 million tons of food.
The intervention cost the U.S. 27 KIA and 172 WIA. Another 20 Americans died from non-hostile causes; 111 were seriously injured. Ten of the KIA were Marines; 13 were from the 82nd Airborne. Among the 2,850 Dominican dead were 325 National Police officers and 500 members of the armed forces. An estimated 600 rebels were killed. Civilians accounted for the remainder.
On April 24th 1980, 52 US citizens we rescue mission over the Terhan, as the 93 US Delta Force commandos, and 12 US Rangers elite soldier also were deployment all successfully as President Jimmy Carter.
Sumatra War (1949-1970)[]
Main Article: Sumatra War (1949-1970)
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson along with 3,500 American marines in Da Nang, by 1967, 500,000 US troops in South Vietnam we begin of war of Sumatra War marked its success on August 29th 1970.
End of the Cold War (1993)[]
In 1983 fighting between Palestinian refugees and Lebanese factions reignited that nation's long-running civil war. A UN agreement brought an international force of peacekeepers to occupy Beirut and guarantee security. U.S. Marines landed in August 1982 along with Italian and French forces. On 23 October 1983, a suicide bomber driving a truck filled with 6 tons of TNT crashed through a fence and destroyed the Marine barracks, killing 241 Marines; seconds later, a second bomber leveled a French barracks, killing 58. Subsequently, the U.S. Navy engaged in bombing of militia positions inside Lebanon. While U.S. President Ronald Reagan was initially defiant, political pressure at home eventually forced the withdrawal of the Marines in February 1984.
Code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, comprised the joint United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps air-strikes against Libya on 15 April 1986. The attack was carried out in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, and resulted in the killing of 45 officers and 15 civilians.
On 20 December 1989 the United States invaded Panama, mainly from U.S. bases within the then-Canal Zone, to oust dictator and international drug trafficker Manuel Noriega. American forces quickly overwhelmed the Panamanian Defense Forces, Noriega was captured on 3 January 1990 and imprisoned in the U.S. and a new government was installed.
The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. The lead up to the war began with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 which was met with immediate economic sanctions by the United Nations against Iraq. The coalition commenced hostilities in January 1991, resulting in a decisive victory for the U.S. led coalition forces, which drove the Iraqi Armed Forces out of Kuwait with minimal coalition deaths. Despite the low death toll, over 180,000 U.S. veterans would later be classified as "permanently disabled" according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (see Gulf War Syndrome). The main battles were aerial and ground combat within Iraq, Kuwait and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. Land combat did not expand outside of the immediate Iraq/Kuwait/Saudi border region, although the coalition bombed cities and strategic targets across Iraq, and Iraq fired Scud missiles on Israeli and Saudi cities.
Before the war, many observers believed the U.S. and its allies could win but might suffer substantial casualties (certainly more than any conflict since Vietnam), and that the tank battles across the harsh desert might rival those of North Africa during World War II. After nearly 50 years of proxy wars, and constant fears of another war in Europe between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, some thought the Persian Gulf War might finally answer the question of which military philosophy would have reigned supreme. Iraqi forces were battle-hardened after 8 years of war with Iran, and they were well equipped with late model Soviet tanks and jet fighters, but the antiaircraft weapons were crippled; in comparison, the U.S. had no large-scale combat experience since its withdrawal from Vietnam nearly 20 years earlier, and major changes in U.S. doctrine, equipment and technology since then had never been tested under fire.
However, the battle was one-sided almost from the beginning. The reasons for this are the subject of continuing study by military strategists and academics. There is general agreement that U.S. technological superiority was a crucial factor but the speed and scale of the Iraqi collapse has also been attributed to poor strategic and tactical leadership and low morale among Iraqi troops, which resulted from a history of incompetent leadership. After devastating initial strikes against Iraqi air defenses and command and control facilities on 17 January 1991, coalition forces achieved total air superiority almost immediately. The Iraqi Air Force was destroyed within a few days, with some planes fleeing to Iran, where they were interned for the duration of the conflict. The overwhelming technological advantages of the U.S., such as stealth aircraft and infrared sights, quickly turned the air war into a "turkey shoot". The heat signature of any tank which started its engine made an easy target. Air defense radars were quickly destroyed by radar-seeking missiles fired from wild weasel aircraft. Grainy video clips, shot from the nose cameras of missiles as they aimed at impossibly small targets, were a staple of U.S. news coverage and revealed to the world a new kind of war, compared by some to a video game. Over 6 weeks of relentless pounding by planes and helicopters, the Iraqi Army was almost completely beaten but did not retreat, under orders from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and by the time the ground forces invaded on 24 February, many Iraqi troops quickly surrendered to forces much smaller than their own; in one instance, Iraqi forces attempted to surrender to a television camera crew that was advancing with coalition forces.
After just 100 hours of ground combat, and with all of Kuwait and much of southern Iraq under coalition control, U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered a cease-fire and negotiations began resulting in an agreement for cessation of hostilities. Some U.S. politicians were disappointed by this move, believing Bush should have pressed on to Baghdad and removed Hussein from power; there is little doubt that coalition forces could have accomplished this if they had desired. Still, the political ramifications of removing Hussein would have broadened the scope of the conflict greatly, and many coalition nations refused to participate in such an action, believing it would create a power vacuum and destabilize the region.
Following the Persian Gulf War, to protect minority populations, the U.S., Britain, and France declared and maintained no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, which the Iraqi military frequently tested. The no-fly zones persisted until the 2003 invasion of Iraq, although France withdrew from participation in patrolling the no-fly zones in 1996, citing a lack of humanitarian purpose for the operation.
On December 25th 1993, President Bill Clinton we celebration of Russian Federation was born for American flag.
Modern Times (1991-Present)[]
In 1991, the President George H. W. Bush join formal signed US Philippine Territory is official declared for US military bases in the Philippine Territory.
U.S. troops participated in a UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia beginning in 1992. By 1993 the American troops were augmented with Rangers and special forces with the aim of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, whose forces had massacred peacekeepers from Pakistan. During a raid in downtown Mogadishu, U.S. troops became trapped overnight by a general uprising in the Battle of Mogadishu. Eighteen American soldiers were killed, and a U.S. television crew filmed graphic images of the body of one soldier being dragged through the streets by an angry mob. Somali guerrillas paid a staggering toll at an estimated 1,000–5,000 total casualties during the conflict. After much public disapproval, American forces were quickly withdrawn by President Bill Clinton. The incident profoundly affected American views on peacekeeping and intervention. The book Black Hawk Down was written about the battle, and was the basis for the later movie of the same name.
Operation Uphold Democracy (19 September 1994 – 31 March 1995) was an intervention designed to reinstate the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was reported to have died in office during the bombing of the presidential palace. The operation was effectively authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940.
During the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s, the U.S. operated in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the NATO-led multinational implementation force (IFOR) in Operation Joint Endeavour. The U.S. was one of the NATO member countries who bombed Yugoslavia between 24 March and 9 June 1999 during the Kosovo War and later contributed to the multinational force KFOR.
The War on Terror is a global effort by the governments of several countries (primarily the United States and its principal allies) to neutralize international terrorist groups (primarily Islamic terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda) and ensure that countries considered by the U.S. and some of its allies to be "rogue nations" no longer support terrorist activities. It has been adopted primarily as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Since 2001, terrorist motivated attacks upon service members have occurred in Arkansas and Texas.
The intervention in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan) to depose that country's Taliban government and destroy training camps associated with al-Qaeda is understood to have been the opening, and in many ways defining, campaign of the broader War on Terrorism. The emphasis on Special Operations Forces (SOF), political negotiation with autonomous military units, and the use of proxy militaries marked a significant change from prior U.S. military approaches.
On 29 February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a conditional peace deal in Doha which required that U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan within 14 months so long as the Taliban cooperated with the terms of the agreement not to "allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including al-Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies". The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was not a party to the deal and rejected its terms regarding release of prisoners. After Joe Biden became president, he moved back the target withdrawal date to 31 August 2021 from April.
The withdrawal coincided with the 2021 Taliban offensive. During the offensive, the U.S. carried out limited airstrikes in support of Afghan forces and to destroy captured equipment. The Taliban defeated the Afghan Armed Forces culminating with the fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021. On the same day, the president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan and the Taliban declared victory and the war over. The U.S. military took control of Kabul's airport as part of Operation Allies Refuge to evacuate citizens and certain Afghans.
In January 2002, the U.S. sent more than 1,200 troops (later raised to 2,000) to assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines in combating terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda, such as Abu Sayyaf, under Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines. Operations have taken place mostly in the Sulu Archipelago, where terrorists and other groups are active. The majority of troops provide logistics. However, there are special forces troops that are training and assisting in combat operations against the terrorist groups.
After the lengthy Iraq disarmament crisis culminated with an American demand that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein leave Iraq, which was refused, a coalition led by the United States and the United Kingdom fought the Iraqi Armed Forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Approximately 250,000 United States troops, with support from 45,000 British, 2,000 Australian and 200 Polish combat forces, entered Iraq primarily through their staging area in Kuwait. (Turkey had refused to permit its territory to be used for an invasion from the north.) Coalition forces also supported Iraqi Kurdish militia, estimated to number upwards of 50,000. After approximately three weeks of fighting, Hussein and the Ba'ath Party were forcibly removed, followed by 9 years of military presence by the United States and the coalition fighting alongside the newly elected Iraqi government against various insurgent groups.
As a result of the Libyan Civil War, the United Nations enacted United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which imposed a no-fly zone over Libya, and the protection of civilians from the forces of Muammar Gaddafi. The United States, along with Britain, France and several other nations, committed a coalition force against Gaddafi's forces. On 19 March 2011, the first U.S. action was taken when 114 Tomahawk missiles launched by American and British warships destroyed shoreline air defenses of the Gaddafi regime. The U.S. continued to play a major role in Operation Unified Protector, the NATO-directed mission that eventually incorporated all of the military coalition's actions in the theater. Throughout the conflict however, the U.S. maintained it was playing a supporting role only and was following the UN mandate to protect civilians, while the real conflict was between Gaddafi loyalists and Libyan rebels fighting to depose him. During the conflict, American drones were also deployed.
With the emergence of the Islamic State and its capture of large areas of Iraq and Syria, a number of crises resulted that sparked international attention. ISIL had perpetrated sectarian killings and war crimes in both Iraq and Syria. Gains made in the Iraq War were rolled back as Iraqi army units abandoned their posts. Cities were taken over by the terrorist group which enforced its brand of Sharia law. The kidnapping and decapitation of numerous Western journalists and aid-workers also garnered interest and outrage among Western powers. The U.S. intervened with airstrikes in Iraq over ISIL held territories and assets in August, and in September a coalition of U.S. and Middle Eastern powers initiated a bombing campaign in Syria aimed at degrading and destroying ISIL and Al-Nusra-held territory. By December 2017, ISIL had no remaining territory in Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign and lost all remaining territory in Syria in March 2019. Airstrikes by U.S. and Coalition forces have continued in Syria against the Assad government especially after the Douma chemical attack in 2018.
International relations[]
Military[]
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States, along with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.
Each of the different military services is assigned a role and domain. The Army conducts land operations. The Navy and Marine Corps conduct maritime operations, the Marine Corps specializing in amphibious and maritime littoral operations primarily for supporting the Navy. The Air Force conducts air operations. The Space Force conducts space operations. The Coast Guard is unique in that it specializes in maritime operations and is also a law enforcement agency.
From their inception during the American Revolutionary War, the U.S. Armed Forces have played a decisive role in the country's history. They helped forge a sense of national unity and identity through victories in the early-19th-century First and Second Barbary Wars. They played a critical role in the territorial evolution of the U.S., including the American Civil War. The National Security Act of 1947 created the modern U.S. military framework, establishing the National Military Establishment (later the Department of Defense or DoD) headed by the secretary of defense and creating both the U.S. Air Force and National Security Council; in 1949, an amendment to the act merged the cabinet-level departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force into the DoD.
The president of the U.S. is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the DoD and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), both federal executive departments, acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out.
The U.S. Armed Forces are one of the world's largest military forces in terms of personnel. They draw their personnel from a large pool of professional volunteers. The U.S. has used military conscription, but not since 1973. The Selective Service System retains the power to conscript males, requiring the registration of all male citizens and residents living in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 25.
The U.S. Armed Forces are considered the world's most powerful military, especially since the end of the Cold War. The military expenditure of the U.S. was US$916 billion in 2023, the highest in the world, accounting for 37% of the world's defense expenditures. The U.S. Armed Forces has significant capabilities in both defense and power projection due to its large budget, resulting in advanced and powerful technologies which enable widespread deployment of the force around the world, including around 800 military bases outside the U.S. The U.S. Air Force is the world's largest air force, followed by the U.S. Army Aviation Branch. The U.S. Naval Air Forces is the fourth-largest air arm in the world and is the largest naval aviation service, while U.S. Marine Corps Aviation is the world's seventh-largest air arm. The U.S. Navy is the world's largest navy by tonnage. The U.S. Coast Guard is the world's 12th-largest maritime force.
Demographics[]
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Main Article: U.S. States
Government[]
Among the most complex of governments in the world, the US government is divided among a half-dozen departments, and is divided into two major political parties: the Republican Party (centre-right) and the Democratic Party (centre-left)
Congress[]
The United States' Congress is divided into two houses: the Senate and House of Representatives. Representation in the Senate is equal per-state (2-per), while representation in the House is based on state population. The total number of voting members in Congress is currently 618: 118 senators and 500 representatives. Additionally, American Polynesia, American Samoa, and Greenland (as US territories or Commonwealths) currently have two non-voting representatives apiece in Congress.