The United States has been at war or in conflict with other peoples for roughly 225 of its 250 years of existence. No other nation has, on the face of it, been more war-like in the same period.
The reasons for war (declared or otherwise) are varied, and in some cases one might say are justified in order to avoid a greater evil. However, the wars fought by the United States after WWII seem subjectively different. It is as if the United States, emboldened by its rise as a global superpower after WWII, decided it had the right to intervene when other nations were not aligned to its own domestic interests.
Consequently, we see wars fought by the United States over access to resources and regime change, sometimes dressed as trying to help local populations escape from despotic regimes. That argument has some validity, but the (perhaps low) estimated 300,000 dead Iraqi civilians from 2003-2011 significantly undermines it.
| 1950 – 1953 Korean War | 1953 Iran |
| 1954 Guatamala | 1955 – 1975 Vietnam War |
| 1961 Cuba, Bay of Pigs | 1965 – 1966 Domincan Republic |
| 1970 – 1973 Chile | 1983 Grenada |
| 1989 – 1990 Panama | 1990 – 1991 Gulf War |
| 1992 – 1994 Somalia | 1995 – 2004 Bosnia |
| 1998 – 1999 Kosovo | 2001 – 2021 Afghanistan |
| 2003 – 2011 Iraq War | 2011 Libya |
| 2014 – 2025 Syria | 2026 Iran |
Now, under the latest Trump government, the USA has ramped up its aggression, aiming at enemies and allies alike.
It has threatened to take over Greenland, threatened Canada, threatened Mexico and South America, and started a war with Iran that is destabilising much of the developed world.
Wars of aggression for regime change are, of course, illegal under international law – not that this stopped the USA from attacking Venezuela in January 2026 and abducting President Nicolás Maduro.
So is the United States aligned towards keeping the peace, or simply addicted to killing?
Lee J. Russell, Author 