The US and allies invaded Iraq based on flawed intelligence about potential weapons of mass destruction.

The US launched the Global War on Terror after 9/11

In the wake of 9/11, the US declared a Global War on Terror—initiating military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, expanding surveillance, and forming international coalitions to combat terrorism and disrupt extremist networks worldwide.

9/11 reshaped US foreign and military policy for decades, shifting focus to non-state actors and the Middle East.

The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force has been used by five administrations to justify military operations in at least 22 countries.

The War on Terror used controversial tactics like torture and secret prisons

As part of its post-9/11 strategy, the US employed enhanced interrogation, extraordinary rendition, and secret CIA black sites—practices widely criticized as torture and violations of international law and human rights.

The Iraq War, in photos

2023 marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. The U.S. carried out its first airstrikes in Iraq on March 20, 2003 – during a phase of ‘shock and awe’. Fires burning in and around Baghdad; U.S. soldiers on patrol; Iraqi...

Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to seize its oil amid Iraq’s debt crisis

This video explores how economic pressures—like rising debt and oil disputes—combined with political ambitions pushed Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, to invade Kuwait on August 2, 1990, triggering the Gulf War.

Osama bin Laden declared jihad—a call for armed struggle framed as a religious duty—against the US in 1996.

Why the First Gulf War occurred—and how it played out

This video navigates the conflict’s core—from Iraq's August 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait through Operation Desert Shield’s buildup, to the decisive air and ground assault of January–February 1991. It spotlights coalition tactics and rapid liberation of Kuwait, highlighting how precision bombing and advanced tech reshaped modern warfare.

How the US entered WWI in 1917

Originally taking a position of neutrality during the course of World War I, the United States of America eventually relented. Entering the war in 1917, support for the British and French had risen and Americans were incensed by Germany's overtures to Mexico and U-boat attacks that sank ships and ended American lives. See how and why the US entered WWI in this article.

Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, drawing the new Islamic Republic into a devastating eight-year war

Just a year after the revolution, Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, hoping to exploit its post-revolutionary instability. The brutal conflict killed hundreds of thousands in one of the century's deadliest conflicts and forced Khomeini's government to consolidate power.

Decades of instability in the Middle East gave rise to al-Qaida.

Experience 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, as it happened.

President Bush addressed the nation on 9/11 from the Oval Office, watched by an estimated 80 million people.

How NATO responded to 9/11

The collective defense clause of the NATO constitution has only been invoked one time: after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. This video explores the immediate actions NATO took to respond to the attacks to support the United States. These firsthand clips from 2001 give a sense of the magnitude of the moment and the difficult decisions facing NATO leaders at the time.

Should the US have entered into World War I?

America entered World War I in 1917, but had remained neutral until that point. President Woodrow Wilson addressed Congress, further underlining the USA's neutrality. Eleven weeks later, he asked for a declaration of war. With attacks by German saboteurs on an American munitions depot, it seemed he had no choice. But did he? This article asks what might have happened if the US stayed out of WWI.

The second attack used to justify full-scale US involvement in Vietnam never happened as reported

In August 1964, Washington claimed that North Vietnam launched two attacks on US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The second, used to justify escalating the US war effort, was later revealed to most likely have been a radar mistake.

Illustrating the beginning and end of WWI through maps

In August of 1914, Germany invaded an ostensibly neutral Belgium, kick-starting World War I. The war became one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, decimating Europe and reshaping global politics for the next century. It also brought forward sweeping and terrifying new military technologies, a product of the Industrial Revolution. Explore 40 maps explaining the Great War in detail.

The 1967 war was the first use of oil as a geopolitical weapon

Following the June 1967 Arab–Israeli war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, and Algeria embargoed oil shipments to the US, UK, and West Germany. While the move did not have a large impact, it reshaped global oil flows, and foreshadowed OAPEC's later actions.

US intelligence warned in multiple reports of al-Qaida's plans to strike before 9/11.

NATO has only invoked its mutual defense clause once, in the days after the 9/11 attacks.

Hitler declared war on the United States four days after Pearl Harbor

Despite having no treaty obligation to join Japan’s fight, Hitler declared war on the US on Dec. 11, 1941. The move pulled America into the European theater and is widely seen as one of Hitler’s most strategic blunders.

Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to call Bush after 9/11, and visited the US two months later.

The Taliban provided al-Qaida with a safe haven in Afghanistan before 9/11 and returned to power in 2021

A fundamentalist Islamist movement, the Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan before 9/11, providing al-Qaida with training grounds and sanctuary. After 20 years of war, it regained power following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

The US never formally declared war in Vietnam

Instead of formally declaring war, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, granting President Johnson broad authority to use military force. The resolution became the legal basis for escalating US involvement without an official declaration of war.

World War I causes

World War I was, as the name says, truly war on the global scale. Fought between the French, Russian, British, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman, and Russian Empires, it was in part, a battle for territory. And after the war ended, several of these empires collapsed. Explore the different causes of World War II in this article.

The US war on drugs, explained

The United States has been fighting a global war on drugs for decades. By making drugs more expensive and less available, the US has sought to reduce drug use and inhibit the international drug trade. However, increasing prison populations,...

World War I brought attention to US reliance on mineral imports

Domestic stockpiles were inadequate for the extended trade disruptions caused by the four-year war. In response, the US Geological Survey increased its geological mapping to help search for important metals alongside new oil fields for fuel.

The US intervened in Latin America to block communist influence during the Cold War

Fearing Soviet expansion, the US intervened across Latin America by backing coups, funding right-wing regimes, and supporting anti-communist militias—most notably in Cuba, Chile, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

al-Qaida targeted multiple US interests in attacks before 9/11

Before 9/11, al-Qaeda carried out several deadly attacks on US targets—including the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole—killing hundreds of people.

George W. Bush delivered the first State of the Union livestreamed online

In 2002, George W. Bush became the first president to livestream the State of the Union, using the address to label Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "axis of evil," shaping US strategy during the War on Terror.

Congress has formally declared war 11 times across five conflicts, the last in 1942

The five declared wars were the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Every major American military conflict since Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan has been fought without a formal declaration.

NATO's Article 5 has been invoked once—after 9/11

The article was invoked the day after the attacks and launched a series of NATO campaigns to fight global terrorism. This page includes excerpts from a speech by then-NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the attacks and the organization’s response.

Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 launched World War II

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany launched a surprise invasion of Poland using blitzkrieg—coordinated air bombardments and armored assaults—to overwhelm Polish defenses within weeks. This lightning-strike strategy shocked the world and signaled both the start of World War II and a revolutionary shift in modern military tactics.

Japan's imperial expansion in Asia in the 1930s set the stage for war with the US.

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9/11 permanently changed air travel security in the US with the creation of the Transportation Security Administration.

Coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks helped shape Wikipedia's editorial policies

Launched nine months earlier, the site was featured on Yahoo's news page, attracting traffic from information seekers as dozens of new editors created hundreds of articles, including memorials, conspiracy theories, and donation and volunteer pages. Discussions between editors would begin establishing rules for handling breaking news events.

An interactive timeline of the major events of World War I

World War I took place between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918, but a lot happened within that relatively short time. And even more occurred afterward. The comprehensive timeline shows when major and influential events took place during the conflict, accompanied by articles, videos, and other media in support.

D-Day, history's largest amphibious invasion, turned the war's tide

On D‑Day, over 156,000 American, British, and Canadian troops assaulted five heavily defended beaches along a 50‑mile stretch of northern France. Supported by nearly 3 million men, 1,200 warships, and 13,000 aircraft, the successful landings paved the way for the liberation of Western Europe and decisively shifted momentum against Nazi Germany.

Hear how the US and Iran went from close allies to bitter adversaries after the 1979 revolution.

Explore a timeline of US dependence on crude oil from 1850 to 2023

Oil dependence began with the rise of oil as a commodity, followed by an era of geopolitical competition for the resource after World War II. The domestic fracking boom, which started around 2006, was driven by a desire to reduce the nation's dependence on international adversaries for energy.

How much did WWII cost?

Though it lasted fewer than four years, World War II was the most expensive war in United States history, according to this infographic. Read through it to see how much WWII cost and learn about the consequences of financing such an expensive conflict.

US intelligence failures contributed to the success of the Japanese attack

Despite breaking Japan’s diplomatic codes, US agencies failed to integrate warnings, successfully track Japan’s carriers, or even believe a Hawaii strike was possible (they also had not cracked Japan’s naval codes). Missed signals, ignored reports and poor coordination led to one of the worst intelligence failures in US history.

The treaty's Article 5 requires mutual defense, but not necessarily military action.

President George W. Bush learned of the 9/11 attacks while visiting a classroom.

The attacks prompted a quick jump in American public support for war

In a Gallup poll taken days after the attack, an extraordinary 97% of Americans approved Congress declaring war on Japan—reflecting overwhelming national unity in the wake of the strike.

The 1956 Suez crisis was one of the earliest tests of the rules-based order

When Britain, France, and Israel secretly invaded Egypt, the Eisenhower administration supported UN resolutions condemning the invasion and called for a ceasefire—publicly criticizing its closest allies to uphold the principle that force should not be used to resolve international disputes.

US–Soviet hostility began long before the Cold War

US–Soviet tensions began decades before WWII. After the 1917 revolution, the US refused to recognize the Bolshevik regime and even sent troops to fight against it.

US troops committed widespread atrocities during the Mexican-American War

American volunteer regiments frequently looted towns, raped civilians, and executed prisoners—especially in occupied northern Mexico. Historians have documented how racial hatred and impunity fueled war crimes that were rarely punished by military leadership.

Mexico’s political chaos weakened its defense against US invasion

Mexico’s post-independence instability—marked by coups, power struggles, and weak central control—left its northern frontier vulnerable. That political fragmentation shaped Mexico’s unpreparedness during the Mexican-American War and helped enable US conquest.

The failed Bay of Pigs invasion led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation

Moscow's decision to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba—just 90 miles from the US—pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war. To prevent future crises, both sides later set up a direct hotline and boosted arms-control diplomacy