15 Times the US Occupied Another Nation

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the United States has performed hundreds of military interventions in other countries, with some of these interventions becoming all-out wars or occupations. In international law, an occupation occurs when a territory comes under the control of a hostile military. (The U.S. government is involved in secret wars in 15 countries.)

To determine 15 times the U.S. occupied another nation, 24/7 Wall St. used U.S government and military sources, including the Office of the Historian, as well as other online sources. The list is not exhaustive. Nations occupied by joint Allied forces during World War II were excluded as were occupations that concluded before the 20th century.

During the Banana Wars, a series of conflicts in the period following the Spanish-American War, the U.S. occupied numerous countries in Central America and the Caribbean, including Cuba, which had been surrendered by Spain. One of the primary goals of these occupations was securing U.S. business and trade interests by maintaining political control over the region.

The U.S. also occupied the Philippines after Spain ceded control of the islands, resulting in war as the Filipinos fought to secure independence rather than fall into another chapter of colonial rule. The Philippine-American War resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 Filipino soldiers and 200,000 civilians. After the war ended in 1902, U.S. occupying forces remained for 44 more years before recognizing the country’s independence.

During the aftermath of World War II, the U.S. maintained an occupying presence in Japan in order to restructure the government and prevent further militarization, as well as in Korea, to oversee the demobilization of the Japanese imperial army. More recent occupations include the drawn-out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Here are horrifying images of the Iraq War.)

Click here to see 15 times the U.S. occupied another nation.

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