In recent years I have often heard the phrase “The US hasn’t won a war since World War Two” while discussing the current state of our military and the impact it still has.
During H.W. Bush’s presidency in 1990-1991, the US launched Operation Desert Storm, also known as the Gulf War. The operation saw over seven hundred thousand US troops deployed to Iraq to engage Iraqi forces under former dictator Saddam Hussein. At the time, the Iraqi army was the fifth largest in the world numbering around one million personnel and over five thousand tanks and 700 aircraft.
Operation Desert Storm saw up to one hundred thousand Iraqi troops killed, and seventy-five thousand or more Iraqi troops wounded. This is compared to the one hundred forty-seven US coalition troops killed during the entire operation. Not only was the Iraqi Army destroyed, but US forces took less than one percent of what the Iraqis did. All US objectives in the area were met, and Kuwait remains an independent country today.
US Military policing action has also served as a significant piece in international politics. During the Breakup of Yugoslavia from 1991-1999, US policing action played a critical role in stopping the war. US intervention managed to alleviate the Siege of Sarajevo, helped to stop the genocide of Bosnians, and prevented further war and genocide inside Kosovo. The US employed airstrikes, and deployed troops as peacekeepers to do this. These military actions and their success displayed the power of the US on the world stage.
A popular counterclaim against US military effectiveness is the failures in Korea and the War on Terror.
In Korea, the US aimed to stop communism from taking over the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. Our intervention stopped the advance of North Korean troops and almost pushed them to the Chinese border. However, when China got involved in the war, a nation with a direct border with Korea, they were able to push us back to the 38th parallel. This resulted in a stalemate, however, we prevented the collapse of Korea into a communist state and protected South Korea from the dystopian future that awaited the North.
While there were lots of mistakes made in the War on Terror, there were also lots of successes. US forces contributed to the fall of ISIS and a pro-US democratic Iraq. The US also continues to protect, train, and support Syrian Democratic forces who are fighting against ISIS and the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.