Posted on 05/03/2013 4:34:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The answer might seem obvious: one, at least since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. But Harvard's Linda Bilmes and UCLA's Michael Intriligator argue that it's at least four:
In addition to these two large-scale conflicts the US is also fighting a number of unannounced and undeclared “wars”. These unannounced wars are fought mainly with air power and increasingly with drones rather than ground troops. If we define war to include conflicts where the US is launching extensive military incursions, including drone attacks, but that are not officially “declared,” then the US is directly involved in at least three wars – in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia – in addition to Iraq and Afghanistan. These unannounced wars follow in the tradition of many previous covert US military incursions, such as in Chile, Cuba, and Nicaragua. The difference is that advanced military technology now enables the US to fight such wars in a different way, which is far less transparent, and to sustain operations over several years.
As James Fearon notes at Monkey Cage, the article raises the question of whether a "war" requires that both sides experience casualties, or merely that both sides be involved in military activity of some sort.
(Excerpt) Read more at ideas.foreignpolicy.com ...
Shouldn't President Obama get the Nobel War Prize?
I don’t think that’s a very nice way to speak about our services.
Just one, the war on Islam.
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Somalia
Mali
Uganda
Nigeria
Central African Republic
Syria
Yemen
Iraq
Libya
Egypt
Sudan
South Sudan
Congo
Niger
Agreed. He should focus only on nuking Iran and North Korea.
And BTW, the “wars” mentioned in the article aren’t wars. That’s the problem.
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