logo
Why U.S. military power is trapped in a loop of its own making

Why U.S. military power is trapped in a loop of its own making

India Today21-07-2025
They say history repeats itself — but in America's case, it sometimes refuses to end. From the trenches of Europe to the deserts of the Middle East, the United States has fought, and continues to fight, wars that blur the lines between defence and domination, justice and justification. A century after entering the First World War, American troops are still deployed in more than 80 countries. Some conflicts fade from the headlines — yet they never truly end.advertisement This is the story of America's forever wars — open-ended military operations with no clear victory, no fixed timeline, and too often, no meaningful public debate.
From World War to World PoliceThe United States entered World War to 'make the world safe for democracy'. The century that followed tested that promise repeatedly. In the post-1945 world, America fought in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Panama, and beyond. Since 1945, the U.S. has used military force in over 100 foreign interventions — with wildly varying justifications.Some wars lasted weeks. Others spanned decades. The Korean War never ended — it merely paused with an armistice in 1953. U.S. troops are still stationed on the Korean peninsula, 70 years on. The Vietnam War left nearly 60,000 Americans and over 2 million Vietnamese dead, ending in scenes of chaos rather than triumph.War Without EndThe Cold War may have ended in the 1990s, but the interventions did not. In 1989, the U.S. invaded Panama. In 1991, it launched Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. In 1993, American forces intervened in Somalia. In 1999, they bombed Yugoslavia. And then came the so-called War on Terror.After the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. The justifications varied — from dismantling al-Qaeda to eliminating Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction. But those WMDs were never found. Instead, war became a permanent fixture of U.S. foreign policy.Afghanistan became America's longest war — 20 years, 2,400 U.S. soldiers killed, and over 170,000 Afghan lives lost. Even after the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, the war continued for another decade. In Iraq, over 4,500 U.S. troops died, alongside up to 500,000 Iraqis. The power vacuum after Saddam's fall enabled the rise of ISIS.In Syria, U.S. forces have operated since 2015 with no formal declaration of war. In Yemen, the U.S. has supported the Saudi-led coalition, supplying weapons and intelligence despite mounting civilian casualties and a deepening humanitarian crisis.The Machinery of Perpetual WarWhy can't America stop fighting?advertisementCritics point to a blend of policy, politics, and profit. A crucial legal mechanism is the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) — passed in 2001, just days after 9/11. It has since been used by successive presidents to launch operations in 19 countries, bypassing Congress and public scrutiny. There is no geographic limit, no expiry date, no oversight. In effect, it's a blank cheque for war.The numbers are staggering. Since 2001, the U.S. has spent over $8 trillion on its post-9/11 wars — including $2.3 trillion in Afghanistan and $1.9 trillion in Iraq and Syria. According to Brown University's Costs of War project, over 929,000 people have been killed in these wars, and more than 38 million have been displaced.These aren't just financial or statistical costs. They are human tragedies.The Invisible War at HomeBut the impact isn't limited to foreign battlefields. The domestic consequences of perpetual war are profound. War, once a national emergency, has become background noise. There's no draft. No war tax. No shared burden. A small volunteer military fights overseas, while the rest of the country scrolls past the headlines.Meanwhile, the Pentagon's budget keeps growing — topping $860 billion in 2024, more than the next 10 countries combined. Much of this money flows to private defence contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing — the backbone of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower famously warned about in 1961.advertisementThe logic of these forever wars is circular: instability demands presence; presence breeds backlash; backlash justifies further presence. The treadmill keeps turning — and stepping off seems politically impossible.Redefining the ThreatSince the early 2000s, the targets have changed — from al-Qaeda to ISIS, from terrorists to great power rivals. Today, U.S. troops conduct drone operations and low-intensity combat missions in Africa, while shifting strategic focus toward Russia and China. The War on Terror may be fading, but the Forever War architecture remains firmly intact.Even more alarming, the tools of war have seeped into American civil life. To combat terrorism, Washington expanded surveillance, militarised policing, justified torture, and operated secret prisons. Civil liberties eroded, often with bipartisan support — and the public barely noticed.The Question No One Wants to AnswerThe media moves on. Congress rarely intervenes. And presidents, regardless of party, continue the mission. War is rebranded, relocated, resold — but not retired.In 2021, President Biden withdrew U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The chaotic exit dominated headlines. But even as troops left Kabul, they redeployed elsewhere. The war machine, critics argue, never stopped — it merely reshuffled.advertisementSo how do these wars end?Veterans, whistleblowers, and peace activists argue that endless war erodes democracy and weakens global stability. They point to the psychological toll on soldiers, the rise of authoritarian policies, and the blowback that breeds new enemies faster than old ones are defeated.Their warning is clear: if war becomes the default state, democracy becomes an illusion. If conflict becomes identity, then peace becomes impossible.In the end, America's forever wars pose a fundamental question: What does the United States gain by fighting endlessly? And what does the world lose when it cannot stop?Until those questions are seriously addressed — not just by policymakers but by citizens — the cycle will continue. The headlines may fade. But the bombs will fall. The costs will mount. And the war will go on.- Ends
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rahul Gandhi to sponsor education of 22 children who lost parents in Pakistan shelling during Operation Sindoor
Rahul Gandhi to sponsor education of 22 children who lost parents in Pakistan shelling during Operation Sindoor

The Hindu

time26 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Rahul Gandhi to sponsor education of 22 children who lost parents in Pakistan shelling during Operation Sindoor

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will sponsor the education of 22 children who lost either one or both parents in the Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir during Operation Sindoor, a party leader has said. Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra also refuted any differences with the pre-poll alliance partner National Conference (NC) but said his party is waiting for the formation of a coordination committee with the ruling party for the past nine months. "A lot of civilian casualties and damage to properties took place in Poonch and Rajouri (between May 7 and 10) in Pakistani shelling. Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in the aftermath of the devastating shelling and visited the bereaved families. He asked us to prepare a list of school-going children who lost one or both parents, especially the breadwinners, and accordingly, we submitted the list to him," Mr. Karra, who reached Rajouri on a three-day tour of the region, told reporters late Monday. He said the party has a list of 22 such children in the Poonch district alone, and more such children might be included at the end of the three-day visit. Poonch district alone accounted for 13 civilian deaths among 28 fatalities in the Pakistani shelling and drone attacks in Jammu and Kashmir after the Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror infrastructure across the border under Operation Sindoor in May in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 persons, mostly tourists, dead. Mr. Karra said he is visiting Poonch on Tuesday to handover the financial aid sent by the leader of opposition for the affected children for their education. "This is an initiative aimed at extending a helping hand to the children so that their studies are not impacted," he said.

Iraq's PM Al-Sudani seeks closer US ties while keeping armed groups at bay
Iraq's PM Al-Sudani seeks closer US ties while keeping armed groups at bay

Business Standard

time26 minutes ago

  • Business Standard

Iraq's PM Al-Sudani seeks closer US ties while keeping armed groups at bay

The prime minister of Iraq has kept his country on the sidelines as military conflicts raged nearby for almost two years. This required balancing Iraq's relations with two countries vital to his power and enemies with each other: the US and Iran. The feat became especially difficult last month when war broke out between Israel, a US ally, and Iran and the US struck Iranian nuclear sites. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said he used a mix of political and military pressure to stop armed groups aligned with Iran from entering the fray. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Al-Sudani explains how he did this, how he plans to keep these groups in check going forward and as he seeks a second term why he wants to get closer to the Trump administration, even as he maintains strong ties to Iran-backed political parties that helped propel him to power in 2022. Staying on the sidelines as Israel and Iran traded blows After Israel launched airstrikes on Iran and it responded by firing missiles at Tel Aviv, armed groups in Iraq attempted to launch missiles and drones toward Israel and at bases in Iraq housing US troops, al-Sudani said. But they were thwarted 29 times by Iraqi government security operations that he did not detail. We know that the (Israeli) government had a policy and still does of expanding the war in the region, al-Sudani said. Therefore, we made sure not to give any justification to any party to target Iraq." Al-Sudani said his government also reached out to leaders in Iran "to urge them toward calm and to make room for dialogue and a return to negotiations." The future of the US presence in Iraq is in flux The US and Iraq last year announced an agreement to wrap up the mission of an American-led coalition in Iraq fighting the Islamic State and in March al-Sudani announced that the head of IS in Iraq and Syria had been killed in a joint Iraqi-US operation. The first phase of the coalition's drawdown was supposed to be completed by September 2025, but there has been little sign of it happening. Al-Sudani said the US and Iraq will meet by the end of the year to arrange the bilateral security relationship between the two countries. He also hopes to secure US economic investment in oil and gas, and also artificial intelligence which he said would contribute to regional security and make the two countries great together." A variety of militias sprung up in Iraq in the years after the 2003 US invasion that toppled former autocratic leader Saddam Hussein. And since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023, sparking regionwide conflicts, an array of pro-Iran armed factions have periodically launched strikes on bases housing US troops. Al-Sudani said the presence of the coalition forces had provided a justification for Iraqi groups to arm themselves, but that once the coalition withdrawal is complete, there will be no need or no justification for any group to carry weapons outside the scope of the state." The fate of Iran-backed militias in Iraq is unclear One of the most complicated issues for al-Sudani is how to handle the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite, Iran-backed militias that formed to fight IS. This coalition was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016, although in practice it still operates with significant autonomy. The Iraqi parliament is discussing legislation that would solidify the relationship between the military and the PMF, drawing objections from Washington. The State Department said in a statement last week that the legislation would institutionalise Iranian influence and armed terrorist groups undermining Iraq's sovereignty. Al-Sudani defended the proposed legislation, saying it's part of an effort to ensure that arms are controlled by the state. Security agencies must operate under laws and be subject to them and be held accountable," he said. Indications of weak state authority In recent weeks, a series of drone attacks have targeted oil facilities in northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region. Kurdish regional authorities accused groups in the PMF of carrying out the attacks. Authorities in Baghdad disputed this, but haven't assigned blame. Al-Sudani called the attacks a terrorist act and said his government is working with Kurdish authorities and coalition forces to identify those responsible and hold them accountable. Just as the drone attacks have called into question Baghdad's control over armed groups, so has the case of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who went missing in Iraq in 2023. Her family believes she is being held by the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, and there have reportedly been US-mediated negotiations to negotiate her release. Al-Sudani did not name the group responsible for Tsurkov's kidnapping, but he pushed back against the idea that his government has not made serious efforts to free her. He said his government has a team dedicated to finding her. We do not negotiate with gangs and kidnappers, he said, but the team has been in discussions with political factions that might be able to help locate her. Rebuilding relations with Damascus Relations between Iraq and the new government in Syria have been tenuous since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December, after a lightning offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgents. Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani. He once joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003. Al-Sharaa still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq. Al-Sharaa has since broken with al-Qaida and has fought against the Islamic State. Al-Sudani said his government is coordinating with the new Syrian government, particularly on security matters. We and the administration in Syria certainly have a common enemy, ISIS, which is clearly and openly present inside Syria, he said. Al-Sudani said his government has warned the Syrians against the mistakes that occurred in Iraq after Saddam's fall, when the ensuing security vacuum spawned years of sectarian violence and the rise of armed extremist groups. In recent weeks, sectarian violence in Syria has shaken the country's fragile postwar recovery. Al-Sudani called for Syria's current leadership to pursue a comprehensive political process that includes all components and communities. We do not want Syria to be divided," he said. "This is unacceptable and we certainly do not want any foreign presence on Syrian soil, apparently alluding to Israel's incursions into southern Syria.

Jammu and Kashmir: Rahul Gandhi to sponsor education for 22 children orphaned in Pakistan shelling
Jammu and Kashmir: Rahul Gandhi to sponsor education for 22 children orphaned in Pakistan shelling

Mint

time26 minutes ago

  • Mint

Jammu and Kashmir: Rahul Gandhi to sponsor education for 22 children orphaned in Pakistan shelling

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will sponsor the education of 22 children who lost either one or both parents in the Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir during Operation Sindoor, a party leader has said, as reported by PTI. Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra also refuted any differences with the pre-poll alliance partner National Conference (NC) but said his party is waiting for the formation of the coordination committee with the ruling party for the past nine months, PTI reported. 'A lot of civilian casualties and damage to properties took place in Poonch and Rajouri (between May 7 and 10) in Pakistani shelling. Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in the aftermath of the devastating shelling and visited the bereaved families. He asked us to prepare a list of school-going children who lost one or both parents, especially the breadwinners, and accordingly we submitted the list to him,' Karra, who reached Rajouri on a three-day tour of the region, told reporters late Monday. He said the party has a list of 22 such children in the Poonch district alone, and more such children might be included at the end of the three-day visit. A gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire inside a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday evening, killing four people, including an off-duty police officer, before fatally shooting himself. 'This is an initiative aimed at extending a helping hand to the children so that their studies are not impacted,' he said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store