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The Korean War (1950-1953) -

The Truman Doctrine, announced in 1947, pledged US support to countries facing authoritarian threats. Historians often view it as the starting line of the Cold War and a key step toward America’s entry into the Korean War.

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The Korean War (1950-1953) -

Just two days after North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel in June 1950, President Truman ordered US troops into action, marking the first major US military intervention of the Cold War era.

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The Vietnam era (1955-1975) -

After Vietnam split in 1954, President Eisenhower threw US support behind South Vietnam’s leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, setting the stage for deeper American involvement in the region’s growing tensions.

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The Vietnam era (1955-1975) -

Between 1955 and 1960, Eisenhower boosted the number of US military advisors in Vietnam. His successor, John F. Kennedy, took things further, escalating America's role in what would become a long and costly conflict.

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The Vietnam era (1955-1975) -

In 1964, after North Vietnamese torpedo boats struck US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, President Johnson pushed Congress to pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, paving the way for full-scale US military involvement in Vietnam.

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Nixon’s paradox: escalating the war while withdrawing -

While advocating for "Vietnamization" to pull US troops out, President Nixon escalated the war in neighboring Cambodia and Laos, expanding the conflict even as he promised to bring American soldiers home.

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The end of US involvement in Vietnam -

In late 1972, Nixon unleashed the heaviest air assault of the war, dropping 36,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam. By early 1973, he finally ended direct US combat involvement.

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The Gulf War (1990-1991) -

President George H. W. Bush became the first leader since Johnson to officially take the US into a new conflict, this time in the Persian Gulf, marking a pivotal moment in post-Vietnam military history.

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The Gulf War (1990-1991) -

After Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the UN gave Iraq a deadline to withdraw. When it didn’t, the US launched Operation Desert Storm in January 1991.

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The Afghanistan War (2001-2021) -

In response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001, aiming to dismantle al-Qaeda and defeat the Taliban, who had seized control of Afghanistan.

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The Afghanistan War (2001-2021) -

President Obama ramped up US troop presence in Afghanistan but gradually reduced numbers, leaving around 8,400 troops by the end of his presidency as he sought a path toward withdrawal.

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The Afghanistan War (2001-2021) -

In April 2021, President Biden announced that the United States would not meet the deadline set under the US-Taliban agreement to withdraw all troops by May 1 and instead released a plan for a full withdrawal by September 11, 2021. “It’s time to end America’s longest war,” he said.  

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The war in Iraq (2003-2011) -

In March 2003, President Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, citing concerns that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, marking the start of the Iraq War and a major military intervention in the Middle East.

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The war in Iraq (2003-2011) -

On December 15, 2011, the US officially ended the Iraq War. Nearly 4,500 American troops had lost their lives over the eight-year conflict, leaving behind a long and complex legacy. Brown University estimates that approximately 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed during the war, although some sources say the death toll could be as high as one million.  

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Other US military moves -

Since 1945, the US has kept a busy military footprint overseas. While not full-scale wars, these interventions, from peacekeeping to airstrikes, still shaped foreign policy and global perceptions of American power.

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The Bay of Pigs invasion -

One of the most notable Cold War interventions was the Bay of Pigs invasion under President Kennedy—a failed attempt to overthrow Cuba’s Fidel Castro that quickly became a major foreign policy embarrassment.

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Marines in Beirut -

During the Lebanese civil war, President Reagan sent US Marines to Beirut as part of a peacekeeping mission. The effort turned tragic when a 1983 bombing killed 241 American service members, raising questions about US involvement in volatile regions.

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Grenada and Libya -

President Reagan also exercised US military power with the 1983 invasion of Grenada to oust a Marxist regime, and again in 1986 by bombing Tripoli in response to Libyan-sponsored terrorism.

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Panama 1989: Bush targets Noriega -

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush launched Operation Just Cause, sending thousands of US troops into Panama to remove military leader Manuel Noriega, with the stated goals of restoring democracy and protecting American interests in the region.

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Somalia: a peacekeeping gamble -

In 1992, President George H. W. Bush deployed thousands of US troops to Somalia for a humanitarian peacekeeping mission, one that soon became entangled in violent conflict and political controversy.

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Clinton’s mission in Haiti -

In 1994, President Bill Clinton sent US troops to Haiti to help restore its democratically elected government after a military coup, marking a rare moment of intervention aimed at stabilizing democracy close to home.

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Clinton and the Balkans -

Under President Clinton, US troops joined a broader NATO mission in the Balkans during the 1990s, aiming to support peace efforts in war-torn regions like Bosnia and Kosovo.

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Obama's air strikes -

Under President Obama, the US led months of air strikes in Libya beginning in 2014 to oust Muammar Gaddafi, and also launched military operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, aiming to combat terrorism and support regional stability.

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Trump's strikes in Syria and Soleimani’s death -

President Trump authorized US military strikes against Syrian government targets and oversaw the controversial drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, escalating tensions in the Middle East.

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The legacy of US military engagements -

When looking at major conflicts like the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars, Trump joins a list of past presidents—including Obama, Clinton, Reagan, and Eisenhower—who haven't officially entered the US into a new war since 1945.

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Presidents who avoided new wars or major escalations -

Conservatively speaking, if we consider major conflicts like the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq Wars, and if Syria is seen as an extension of Obama’s actions, then Trump, Carter, and Ford are the only presidents not to initiate new wars or major military escalations.

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Full-scale wars: only four presidents since 1945 -

Of the 13 presidents who served between 1945 and 2020, only four (Truman, Johnson, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush) officially led the US into new full-scale wars: Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

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Presidents who held back -

When factoring in smaller military interventions, only three presidents—Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Donald Trump—can be seen as having neither launched nor escalated US involvement in foreign conflicts during their time in office.

Sources: (The Guardian) (Reuters) (USA Today) 

See also: The biggest crisis faced by each US president

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