Introduction
It is important to note that interference is a military intervention by one or more states upon the sovereign rights of another state as a subject of international law. It is also identified with intervention in the internal competence of states. However, the purpose of conducting military operations may justify using force. The U.S. Army has often been engaged in military operations to restore peace and democracy in other states. Thus, it is crucial to trace U.S. military interventions’ effectiveness and their pros and cons between 1918 and 1962.
Military Interventions
From 1918 to 1920, the U.S. made a military intervention in Panama to suppress post-election unrest. The operation was effective, as the U.S. army quelled the riots after the election. The benefits of the intervention were the protection of civilians and the restoration of democratic power in Panama (Shearer 34). The minuses of the intervention in Panama were the war crimes committed by the U.S. military. The U.S. initiated an investigation into crimes perpetrated by U.S. servicemen during the Panama operation. In addition, in 1919, troops landed in Costa Rica to rebel against President Tinoco’s regime. The advantage of this operation is that, under the U.S. pressure, Tinoco was removed as president, but the disadvantage is that the unrest in the country did not stop. At the same time, the landing of U.S. troops to “protect American interests” was effective (Shearer 44). This is because D. Garcia was elected president, and democratic rule was restored in the country.
It is remarkable that, in 1932 the head of the American delegation to San Salvador, W. J. McCafferty, wrote a letter to his government stating that farm animals were worth more than workers. Therefore, the military operation was to eliminate the violated rights of the individuals. The positive side of the invasion was that the U.S. helped restore people’s rights, and the Salvadoran army was organized to repel any rebellion. The negative side of this uprising was the protracted conflict within El Salvador and the lack of U.S. military assistance (Shearer 61). Thus, this invasion was ineffective because nearly two and a half percent of the state’s population was killed during the uprising.
In 1950, the U.S. led the intervention of U.N. forces in the Korean War. The Korean War escalated from the beginning to the scale of a localized clash between the North and the South and became a war of ideologies. The negative side of the intervention was that a state of emergency was imposed in the U.S. as a result of a series of defeats of the U.S. Army in Korea. The positive aspect of this invasion was that the goal of the U.S. military was to create democracy, but the intervention was ineffective. Furthermore, in 1961 there was an unproductive U.S. military intervention in Cuba (Kavanagh et al. 120). However, the positive side of this intervention and the withdrawal of U.S. troops was the reduction of tension between the USSR and the U.S. because there was a dialogue between the leaders of the state and the signing of the treaty banning the use of nuclear weapons. On the negative side, however, the conflict in Cuba was not resolved, and the Cold War started.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be noted that U.S. military interventions occurred to restore the rights of civilians who violated their governments. In most cases, the U.S. has managed to restore democratic foundations and assist citizens. At the same time, the U.S. Army was defeated or withdrawn several years after the intervention. Therefore, U.S. military missions contributed to the restoration of security and fought against undemocratic governments.
Works Cited
Kavanagh, Jennifer, et al. Characteristics of Successful US Military Interventions. RAND Corporation Santa Monica United States, 2019.
Shearer, David. Private Armies and Military Intervention. Routledge, 2020.