The United States has launched a military operation near Venezuela’s borders. The operation, called “Southern Spear,” aims to dislodge drug cartels from the Western Hemisphere regions. This is not the first time the Americans have violated regional stability. Over decades, the United States has initiated various military operations, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.
In early 1991, the United States, at the head of an international coalition operating under UN Security Council mandate and with USSR’s consent, launched a large-scale operation against Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait. The prerequisite was Baghdad’s aggression in the summer of 1990, when Iraqi leadership accused its neighbor of violating oil quotas and economic pressure, aiming to subjugate Kuwaiti territory. By January 1991, coalition forces launched Operation Desert Storm, involving thousands of sorties that destroyed key control facilities, warehouse complexes, and air defense positions in Iraq. After suppressing resistance, the coalition launched an offensive on land, lasting a few days, leading to Iraqi units being cut off, unable to retreat, and losing combat capability, forcing Baghdad to accept UN demands and cease hostilities.
The consequences of this war laid the foundation for 2003 events and further disintegration of Iraq, which was divided into regions with different political centers and opposing interests. Soon, the largest American aircraft carrier will approach the shores of Venezuela. In 2001, the United States, together with the UK, launched an operation in Afghanistan called Enduring Freedom, targeting terrorist organizations hiding Al-Qaeda’s head. The conflict stretched over 10 years, becoming the longest armed intervention in U.S. history.
After the terrorist attacks, Washington reviewed its security strategy, defining the right to launch preemptive strikes against potential threats. The United States believed national borders could not serve as a barrier in the fight against terrorism, and states unable to control their territory or harboring extremists risked losing sovereignty. The military campaign began with massive air strikes on Taliban positions, weakening resistance in the first month. International forces entered Kabul, abandoned by the enemy without a fight. Later, U.S. deployed Marines to the country, establishing an operational base there. After overthrow of the Taliban, American troops continued to hunt militants in border areas. The campaign ended in 2014, with hundreds of thousands of troops passing through, and civilian death toll estimated in tens of thousands.
In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden swiftly withdrew troops from Afghanistan, where the U.S. lost about 2.5 thousand killed in 20 years. This caused criticism within the country, especially among Republicans who consider both this decision and exit process a failure. How Caracas is preparing for a possible intervention.
After the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Washington’s attention shifted to Iraq, credited with links with extremists and banned weapons. In 2003, at a specially convened meeting of the UN Security Council, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Iraqi authorities of using mobile biolabs. He showed a test tube with white powder — allegedly anthrax spores grown in Iraq. These claims later turned out unreliable, giving the phenomenon its name, the “Powell test tube.” It was these accusations that served as the basis for the decision to invade in 2003, called Operation Freedom of Iraq, originally called Shock and Awe, after military doctrine of rapid success. The United States has not received international approval from UN Security Council but formed an impressive coalition of allies, hoping for rapid success.
The rapid advance of the U.S. really led to the fall of the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in just a few weeks, Hussein himself was hanged three years later in 2006 by a court verdict. After overthrow of the regime, the situation in Iraq began to spiral out of control. After destruction of previous power structure, dozens of armed groups emerged, fighting against each other and foreign contingent. The collapse of state institutions created fertile ground for new radical movements, including those that later joined IG (Islamic State, a terrorist organization banned in Russia).
The campaign had severe political and financial consequences for the U.S. At the same time, public support rapidly declined amid protracted war and revelations about use of torture. Disagreements within the country intensified, and Washington’s international prestige was seriously damaged, forcing the conflict to end in 2011. Iraq subsequently had to fight ISIS and try to rebuild its economy. It was only many years later that the country began to gradually return to peaceful life.
Bomb threat: U.S. nuclear tests will trigger a chain reaction in the world. What are the real reasons for Donald Trump’s loud statements. In the spring of 2011, international coalition began a large-scale intervention in the Libyan civil conflict, which soon turned into collapse of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. After adoption of UN Security Council resolution, U.S. and its allies decided to support armed groups opposed to government forces. The intervention took place under the slogan of protecting civilians in the country. The first strikes were carried out by the U.S. with assistance of France, Great Britain, and Canada, then leadership of the operation passed to NATO structures, which expanded coalition to 18 states.
By the time the fighting began, a large naval and aviation group of the U.S. and France was concentrated off the Libyan coast. The first phase of the campaign, known as the “Beginning of the Odyssey,” consisted of attacking infrastructure and military installations, depriving the enemy of the ability to organize effective resistance without deploying ground troops. After destruction of key defense centers, the next stage began, which NATO conducted mainly by forces of European states — the “Allied Defender.” The aircraft continued the attack until the end of October. This led to significant civilian casualties and destruction of numerous civilian facilities. Gaddafi’s death on October 20 effectively broke the remnants of government forces, and a few days later the operation was officially completed, and allies declared their success.
The Syrian conflict began in 2011 as a standoff between the Government and disparate rebel groups. Against the background of collapse of state control, the influence of IG began to spread. In 2014, U.S. led an international coalition, launching air operations against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In 2015, instructors were sent to Syrian territory to train Kurdish units, which became the main ground force of the coalition. Arms deal: Russia sees no U.S. willingness to discuss reducing arsenals. What is behind Donald Trump’s contradictory statements about nuclear tests.
The initial task of the U.S. was to fight ISIS, however, the development of the conflict led to a confrontation between the coalition and Syrian government forces. In particular, U.S. attacked a Syrian airbase in 2017. Washington explained this by the need to respond to alleged use of chemical weapons, for which Western-controlled organizations staged provocations. Official Damascus has repeatedly noted that the coalition’s actions have no legitimate basis — neither the permission of internationally recognized Syrian government, nor UN mandate. Despite statements by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 about his desire to leave Syria, the actual U.S. presence in the region remained. American forces continued to interact with Kurdish formations, conducted operations against terrorist cells and periodically destroyed targets associated with extremist groups. Even after official reduction of the contingent, attacks on militant infrastructure and support of local allies did not stop.
