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Timeline: America's Robust Record of Recent Military Invasions

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Ahmad Mansur/Wikimedia Commons
Ahmad Mansur/Wikimedia Commons

Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military has had its hands full. Starting in 1990, we've fought three official wars, and been involved in no less than seven additional military interventions.

It is still unclear whether the U.S. will engage in a bombing campaign against Syria as punishment for that government's supposed use of chemical weapons against its people. Until the announcement last week of a tentative deal between the U.S. and Russia (Syria's most powerful ally) requiring the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to destroy its entire chemical weapons arsenal within a specific time-frame, a U.S. military intervention seemed imminent.

Although far from a guarantee against the a U.S. bombing campaign, the agreement -- if adhered to by all parties-- has the promise of preventing U.S. military involvement. If, however, the deal is broken, intervention is all but assured, making Syria the 11th large-scale military action the U.S. has taken in less than 25 years.

Scroll through this interactive timeline -- produced by Al Jazeera -- to learn about the history, causes, and outcomes of each military conflict the United States has gotten itself involved in. Click here to view the full-size version.


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