President Military Crises

By marleyliz

  • Eisenhower Sends Troops to Lebanon

    President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent U.S. Marines to Lebanon to help stabilize the government and prevent a civil war during Cold War tensions in the Middle East.

  • Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis

    President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade around Cuba to force the Soviet Union to remove nuclear missiles, preventing a nuclear war.

  • Kennedy Increases Troops in Vietnam

    President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade around Cuba to force the Soviet Union to remove nuclear missiles, preventing a nuclear war.

  • Johnson Escalates the Vietnam War

    After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, President Lyndon B. Johnson sent hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to Vietnam to fight the communist North.

  • Nixon Expands War into Cambodia

    President Richard Nixon authorized secret bombing campaigns and a U.S. invasion of Cambodia to destroy North Vietnamese bases.

  • Ford and the Mayaguez Incident

    President Gerald Ford ordered Marines to rescue the SS Mayaguez, an American ship seized by Cambodian forces after the Vietnam War.

  • Carter’s Iran Hostage Rescue Attempt

    President Jimmy Carter ordered Operation Eagle Claw to rescue American hostages in Tehran, Iran, but the mission failed due to equipment problems.

  • Reagan Invades Grenada

    President Ronald Reagan sent U.S. troops to Grenada to overthrow a Marxist regime and protect American citizens during a political crisis.

  • Reagan Sends Marines to Lebanon

    Reagan deployed Marines as peacekeepers in Lebanon’s civil war; tragically, over 200 U.S. servicemen were killed in a 1983 bombing.

  • Bush Sr. Invades Panama

    President George H. W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to remove Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega from power for drug trafficking and corruption.

  • Bush Sr. and the Gulf War

    Bush led a coalition of nations to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait after Iraq invaded in 1990. Operation Desert Storm was a major U.S. victory.

  • Clinton Sends Troops to Somalia

    President Bill Clinton continued U.S. humanitarian and peacekeeping missions in Somalia, ending after the “Black Hawk Down” incident.

  • Clinton Intervenes in Bosnia

    U.S. and NATO forces intervened in Bosnia to stop ethnic violence and support peace agreements during the Yugoslav Wars.

  • Clinton Orders Airstrikes in Kosovo

    President Clinton launched NATO airstrikes to protect ethnic Albanians from Serbian attacks during the Kosovo conflict.

  • Bush Jr. Invades Afghanistan

    Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush sent troops to Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power.

  • Bush Jr. Invades Iraq

    President Bush launched the Iraq War to remove Saddam Hussein, claiming Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

  • Obama and the Libya Airstrikes

    President Barack Obama authorized NATO-led airstrikes in Libya to support rebels and help remove dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

  • Obama Sends Troops Against ISIS

    Obama deployed limited U.S. troops and airpower to Iraq and Syria to fight the growing threat of ISIS militants.