In WWII, we were greeted as liberators because we were liberators, and we were fighting nations that had declared war on the US. Once we got to Germany and Japan, we had an equally clear and compelling goal - conquest and destruction of the existing regime by any means necessary.
Since WWII, we have gotten involved in several types of invasion/war:
- "Banana Republic" invasions to effect regime change (Haiti, Panama, Grenada, the DR) - usually low risk/low reward affairs
- Anti-communist intervention (Korea, 'Nam) - the best we did was a stalemate in Korea. Generally, an unworkable strategy.
- Middle East invasion. Kuwait worked because it was a war of liberating one state from an aggressor, and we had a broad coalition of support. not so with the Iraq invasion.We have no idea what we are trying to accomplish in Afghanistan at this point, so we are accomplishing nothing. We are trying to support the Iraquis in their liberation of Islamic State -- with limited success.
- Intervention to prevent genocide. The invasion of the former Yugoslavia (with the support of NATO) to prevent the further slaughter of the Kosovar Muslims by the Serbs was largely successful.
= new reply since forum marked as read
