Mike Gravel quoted the U.S. as being war hungry drunk. He believes his country is a drunkard who declares war on anyone who poses a threat to them. Additionally, he believes that the United States is an imperialistic nation which is going downhill. This could be true, especially in the case of Great Britain during WWII. Fighting two world wars caused its collapse as an great power.
Examining Mike Gravel’s argument, this article will examine 10 wars where U.S. was a war hungry drunk. It will also explore the reasons why each war was waged on those posing as a threat to them. The article is part 1 of 2 article serious examining the topic from both sides.
1. Iraq War, 2003:
In January of 2002, President Bush identifies Iraq, as well as Iran and North Korea as “axis of evil”. He vows to stop dangerous regimes from threatening the United States with the world’s most destructive weapons. In June of the same year the President examines a new defense doctrine which asserts that the U.S. needs to strike against another state to prevent a potential threat. He proposes a resolution in September of the same year which Iraq would need to comply with. Following this, the congress approved an attack on Iraq and by January 28, 2003, Bush announced his readiness to attack Iraq, despite UN disapproval. This was despite the fact that no weapons of mass destruction found during inspections between October of 2002 and January 28, 2003.
2. Vietnam War:
This war was fought for 19 years with little progress made before the withdrawal. Between 1945 and 1954, the Vietnamese waged an anti-colonial war against France and received $2.6 billion in financial support from the United States; the former eventually won against the latter. Trouble ensued when the South Vietnamese government with American backing, refused to hold the unification elections in 1956. Tensions increased in 1958 when Communist-led guerrillas (the Viet Cong) began to battle the South Vietnamese government. This war between the Vietcong/Soviet Union and the Vietminh/U.S.A. did not end until 1975. The whole purpose was to declare war on those posing a threat to the United States before they strike. The only issue here was that Vietnam was nowhere near the United States and was not fought on US turf. Soldiers died in vain as no victory was declared.
3. World War I:
The United States only entered WWI in 1917. It entered after one of their ships was sunk and once the Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted by the British. The telegram was written to Mexico by Germany as a way to seek assistance to invade the United States. Many critics believe that this was a tactic used by Germany to prevent the United States from supporting the Triple Entente. Others believe that they tried to act like heroes, trying to gain attention for saving a risky and deadly war.
4. World War II:
There was no question in historians’ opinions that Japan would have surrendered once the Axis fell in May of 1945. Many historians believe that the United States desired to claim its rightful status on the international front. They dropped the bomb basically to show who the boss is. They also desired to show the world what technological advancements they had discovered. They were looking for war and found one on a country already weakened by 1945.
5. Guatemala War:
In the 1960s and 1970s, American military helped make Guatemala’s army the sturdiest and most sophisticated in Central America. During the Johnson presidency, the Green Berets (US aids) were sent to Guatemala to renovate the Guatemalan Army into a modern counter-insurgency force. While there, the US conducted a Vietnam –style war. There was, however, an alternative motive for the United States. They were dreadfully afraid to lose their cheap labour, if insurgents took over. The result: mass killings and killing machines of innocent individuals. Was war really necessary? I’ll let you decide.
Though not exactly a classic siege, but the elaborate trench warfare which took place around the city gives the battle a spot in history. Lee’s Confederate army of 50,000 faced the Union army of more than 100,000 led by Ulysses S. Grant. The defeat and retreat from the siege of the confederate forces, led to their surrender, bringing the civil war to an end.
Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, and the capital city of the Aztec Empire was under Spanish control before a massacre by them led to their being ousted from the city. The Spanish Conquistadors under the infamous Hernan Cortes recaptured the city by slowly starving it and taking it block by block. Thousands of Aztecs died in the face of well-armed European troops. The fall of Tenochtitlan signalled the fall of the last indigenous empire in South America.
The siege tied down a vast German force for eight months, delaying its operations in southern Russia for nearly a year. The German forces fielded more than a thousand artillery pieces, including the monster 800mm “Gustav” railway gun. Sevastapool was the most fortified city in the history of mankind.
The Mongols laid siege to the city Baghdad. It was the capital of the Abbasid Emirate. They employed Chinese siege engineers and quickly captured parts of the city, leading to a weeklong massacre of its population. The Mongols killed almost the entire population of the city and the surrounding regions. Between a hundred thousand to a million people were killed and the city razed. Baghdad remained in ruins for centuries.
The 1857 rebellion was one of the direst moments in the British Empire’s history. The native rebels had captured Delhi. The British force of 10,000 men stormed the heavily fortified city after days of bombarding the walls. It took another several days of heavy street fighting until the city was finally secured. It was one of the rare cases when the besieging force was smaller than the one besieged, and yet manage to capture its objective.
This 62-ton American warhorse sits in the top with its 120mm smoothbore cannon, classified Chobham armor and a 1500hp engine giving it a top speed of 40mph. Equipped with advanced fire-control computer and damage control systems, it is surely the most hi-tech. Never defeated in a conventional tank battle but it has suffered in the hit-and-run tactics in Iraq.
The Russians managed to built the perfectly balanced tank with firepower, mobility and easy to produce. More than 84,000 of them were built. Its sloping 65mm armour and the 76.2mm gun was capable of challenging most of the axis tanks. The massed charges of these tanks across the plains of Eastern Europe is one of the famous scenes of the war.
The rightly feared Tiger tank was the German answer to the allied tank superiority. Its famous 88mm could outshoot any other tank and the 100mm armour was virtually impenetrable. But it was difficult to manufacture and could not be fielded in large numbers.
World’s first combat tank was introduced in 1916. Though a tin can in the modern era, it was a revolutionary idea back then. The tank was the answer to the stagnant trench warfare in Europe. It was the reason for the allied victories and the father of the modern tanks to come.
This post-war tank saw action nevertheless around the world. It served with the Israelis and the Indians. Its 150mm armour and 105mm gun was a very powerful combination. It performed well against all the other tanks of its generation.
