Post cold-war
The emergence of the United States as the victor in the Cold War led to a new role of being the global police force. Military had grown and technology was ahead of its time. In 1991, the threat of nuclear terrorism and an attack on Kuwait from Saddam Hussein forced the U.S. to use its newly found role in full force. President George H.W. Bush successfully pushed back Hussein's invading forces but did not capture the leader himself, leading to a dictatorship in Iraq for several more years. When Clinton became president, the U.S. had cut back on foreign policy budgets and experienced great economic prosperity. The country did stay involved in global affairs but did not use military intervention to a violent extent to solve tensions. Following the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda, the U.S.'s role as the global police force was greater than ever. The war on terrorism had begun, and the United States did all it could to prevent terrorist countries from spreading or using nuclear weapons. The Bush Doctrine established that the U.S. could do anything to protect itself from countries that harbored or aided terrorists. In order to prevent the spread of terrorist ideals, the U.S has become involved in many conflicts in the Middle East. The growth of the U.S. military and increasing threats of terrorism have led to the adoption of interventionism to prevent large-scale conflicts.
Post 9/11
The War on Terror was set in place by George W. Bush in his Bush Doctrine to go after any terrorist groups with any affiliation with the 9-11 attacks. Since it was put in place in 2001, America has fought in Iraq, Iran, and continue to fight in Afghanistan. During this ten year fight, Saddam Hussein, the oppressive Iraqi leader was captured and executed for crimes against humanity. Osama Bin Laden was also killed in late 2011 by American forces in Pakistan. Barrack Obama has continued interventionism with the
assassination of Bin Laden and the support of Libyan rebels against dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
assassination of Bin Laden and the support of Libyan rebels against dictator Moammar Gadhafi.