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A list of some of the major invasions the United States has been involved with.
From Tripoli to Iraq.
The First Barbary War from 1801-1805 was fought by the United States against the Barbary States of North Africa, particularly Tripoli, to end piracy against American ships and the practice of paying tribute.
A small force of only 8 U.S. Marines, along with about 500 Greek and Arab mercenaries, marched 500 miles across the desert to capture the Tripolitan city of Derna in 1805—the first time the American flag was raised in victory on foreign soil, commemorated in the Marine Corps Hymn with the line "to the shores of Tripoli."
The United States invaded Mexico in 1846, sparking a two-year war that resulted in Mexico losing about half its territory, including California and Texas.
Notably, a group of Irish-American soldiers, known as the Saint Patrick's Battalion, defected to fight for Mexico and were later executed by hanging when captured by U.S. forces.
The US invaded Cuba in 1898 as part of the Spanish-American War, with American forces including Theodore Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry regiment known as the "Rough Riders" charging up San Juan Hill.
In one of the war's strangest episodes, Lieutenant Richmond Hobson deliberately sank a US ship in an attempt to blockade Santiago harbor, becoming a national hero despite the mission's failure and his subsequent capture by Spanish forces.
The US invasion of the Philippines began with Commodore George Dewey's decisive victory at the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, where he destroyed the Spanish fleet in a matter of hours while suffering only nine wounded.
After defeating the Spanish, the Americans prevented their Filipino allies from entering Manila, leading to a sense of betrayal that sparked the subsequent Philippine-American War which would prove deadlier and more costly than the Spanish-American War itself.
The United States occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933 as part of the "Banana Wars", initially intervening to protect American business interests and prevent other nations from building a Nicaraguan canal.
Just 8 US Marines along with 350 American sailors captured the city of León, Nicaragua's second largest city, effectively ending a rebellion against the US-backed government.
The US invaded Haiti in 1915, ostensibly to restore order but largely to protect American business interests, and occupied the country for 19 years until 1934.
The US troops stole $500,000 in gold reserves from Haiti's national bank in 1914 and transported it to New York, giving the US significant control over Haiti's finances before the full invasion even began.
The United States attempted to invade Cuba in April 1961 with a covert CIA-led force of about 1,400 Cuban exiles, but the invasion was a complete disaster and was defeated within three days by Cuban forces.
The CIA supplied the invaders with American B-26 bombers that were painted to look like Cuban planes, in a failed attempt to make it seem like the attack was coming from Cuban defectors rather than a US-backed invasion force.
The US invaded and occupied the Dominican Republic from 1916 to 1924, ostensibly to force repayment of debts to European creditors but also to exert control over the country.
US forces established control within two months, built major roads connecting key cities for the first time in the country's history, and even replaced cockfighting with baseball as the "national pastime" while imposing Jim Crow-style racial segregation.
The US invaded the tiny Caribbean island nation of Grenada in 1983 with over 7,000 troops, citing concerns about American medical students and Communist influence, though the operation was planned using tourist maps with hand-drawn military grid lines.
The US forces accidentally bombed a mental hospital, killing 18 civilians, due to faulty maps and intelligence.
The US invaded Panama in 1989 with over 27,000 troops to depose dictator Manuel Noriega, who had been a CIA asset for years before falling out of favor.
In one of the invasion's strangest moments, US forces blasted rock music at high volume outside the Vatican embassy where Noriega had taken refuge, in an attempt to drive him out through psychological warfare.
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 in response to 9/11, beginning a 20-year conflict that became America's longest war and cost over $2 trillion.
The CIA paid Afghan warlords millions in cash, US soldiers used tourist maps with hand-drawn military grid lines due to a lack of accurate maps, and the Taliban earned an estimated 60% of their revenue from the illegal opium trade that flourished during the war.
The US invaded Iraq in 2003 based on faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, leading to a protracted conflict that lasted until 2011 and cost over $2 trillion.
During the invasion, US forces secured oil fields and the Oil Ministry building in Baghdad and sadly there was widespread looting of museums and other cultural sites, resulting in the loss of priceless ancient artifacts.
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