The
1980s were a time of very active American military
intervention around the world. These military actions can
mostly be grouped into one of several categores:
1.
Cold War Actions--The Cold War with the Soviet Union
and its allies Cuba and Nicaragua, was still in full
swing, and American deployements to Grenada and
Central American nations of El Salvador and Honduras
were done in part to counter Soviet influences.
2. Middle
Eastern and Persian Gulf Involvement--American support
of Israel and Egypt (who had signed an
American-negotiated peace in the 1970s) was a
paramount reason for U.S. and allied involvement in
the Lebanon conflict. The U.S.-Iran
conflict,
which began with the fall of the Iranian Shah and the
related seizure of the American Embassy in the Iranian
capital of Tehran, continued as America supported Iraq
in its war with Iran in the Gulf region.
3. Reaction
to Terrorism--The U.S. engaged in conflict with Libya,
a known sponsor of terrorism, and also reacted to
individual acts of terrorism by various Arab/Muslim
groups.
1981 El
Salvador--After a guerilla offensive against the
government of El Salvador, additional
U.S. military
advisers were sent to El Salvador, bringing the total to
approximately 55, to
assist in training government forces in
counter-insurgency.
1981
Libya--On August 19, 1981, U.S. planes based on the
carrier U.S.S. Nimitz shot down
two Libyan jets
over the Gulf of Sidra after one of the Libyan jets had
fired a heat seeking missile.
The United States periodically held freedom of navigation
exercises in the
Gulf of Sidra, claimed by Libya as territorial waters but
considered international waters
by the United States.
1982 Sinai
(Egypt).--On March 19, 1982, President Reagan
reported the deployment of military
personnel and
equipment to participate in the Multinational Force and
Observers in the
Sinai. Participation had been authorized by the
Multinational Force and Observers
Resolution, P.L.
97-132.
1982
Lebanon--On August 21, 1982, President Reagan
reported the dispatch of 80 marines
to serve in the
multinational force to assist in the withdrawal of
members of the Palestine
Liberation force from Beirut. The Marines left September
20, 1982.
1982-1983
Lebanon--On September 29, 1982, President Reagan
reported the deployment of 1200marines to serve in a
temporary multinational force to facilitate the
restoration of Lebanese
government sovereignty. On Sept. 29, 1983, Congress
passed the Multinational
Force in Lebanon Resolution (P.L. 98-119) authorizing the
continued participation
for eighteen months.
1983
Egypt--After a Libyan plane bombed a city in Sudan on
March 18, 1983, and Sudan and
Egypt appealed for
assistance, the United States dispatched an AWACS
electronic surveillance
plane to Egypt.
1983-89
Honduras--In July 1983 the United States undertook a
series of exercises in Honduras
that some believed
might lead to conflict with Nicaragua. On March 25,
1986, unarmed
U.S. military helicopters and crewmen ferried Honduran
troops to the Nicaraguan
border to repel Nicaraguan troops.
1983
Chad--On August 8, 1983, President Reagan reported
the deployment of two AWACS electronic
surveillance planes and eight F-15 fighter planes and
ground logistical support
forces to assist Chad against Libyan and rebel
forces.
1983
Grenada--On
October 25, 1983, President Reagan reported a landing on
Grenada by Marines
and Army airborne troops to protect lives and assist in
the restoration of law and
order and at the request of five members of the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States.
1984 Persian
Gulf--On June 5, 1984, Saudi Arabian jet fighter
planes, aided by intelligence
from a U.S. AWACS
electronic surveillance aircraft and fueled by a U.S.
KC-10 tanker, shot
down two Iranian fighter planes over an area of the
Persian Gulf proclaimed as a
protected zone for
shipping.
1985
Italy/Mediterranean--On October 10, 1985, U.S. Navy
pilots intercepted an Egyptian airliner and
forced it to land
in Sicily. The airliner was carrying the hijackers of the
Italian cruise ship
Achille Lauro who had killed an American citizen during
the hijacking.
1986
Libya--On March 26, 1986, President Reagan reported
to Congress that, on March 24
and 25, U.S.
forces, while engaged in freedom of navigation exercises
around the Gulf of
Sidra, had been attacked by Libyan missiles and the
United States had responded with
missiles.
1986
Libya--On April 16, 1986, President Reagan reported
that U.S. air and naval forces had
conducted bombing
strikes on terrorist facilities and military
installations in Libya.
1986
Bolivia--U.S. Army personnel and aircraft assisted
Bolivia in anti-drug operations.
1987-88
Persian Gulf--After the Iran-Iraq War resulted in
several military incidents in the Persian
Gulf, the United
States increased U.S. joint military forces operations in
the Persian Gulf
and adopted a policy of reflagging and escorting Kuwaiti
oil tankers through the Gulf.
President Reagan reported that U.S. Navy ships had been
fired upon or struck mines
or taken other military action on September 23, October
10, and October 20, 1987
and April 19, July 4, and July 14, 1988. The United
States gradually reduced its
forces after a
cease-fire between Iran and Iraq on August 20,
1988.
1988
Panama--In mid-March and April 1988, during a period
of instability in Panama and as
pressure grew for
Panamanian military leader General Manuel Noriega to
resign, the United
States sent 1,000 troops to Panama, to “further
safeguard the canal, U.S. lives,
property and
interests in the area.” The forces supplemented
10,000 U.S. military personnel
already in Panama.
1989
Libya--On January 4, 1989, two U.S. Navy F-14
aircraft based on the U.S.S. John F.
Kennedy shot down
two Libyan jet fighters over the Mediterranean Sea about
70 miles north
of Libya. The U.S. pilots said the Libyan planes had
demonstrated hostile intentions.
1989
Panama--On May 11, 1989, in response to General
Noriega’s disregard of the results
of the Panamanian
election, President Bush ordered a brigade-sized force
of approximately
1,900 troops to augment the estimated 11,000 U.S. forces
already in the
area.
1989 Andean
Initiative in War on Drugs-- On September 15, 1989,
President Bush announced that
military and law enforcement assistance would be sent to
help the Andean nations
of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru combat illicit drug
producers and traffickers. By
mid-September
there were 50-100 U.S. military advisers in Colombia in
connection with
transport and training in the use of military equipment,
plus seven Special Forces teams
of 2-12 persons to train troops in the three
countries.
1989
Philippines--On
December 2, 1989, President Bush reported that on
December 1 U.S. fighter
planes from Clark Air Base in the Philippines had
assisted the Aquino government
to repel a coup attempt. In addition, 100 marines were
sent from the U.S. Navy
base at Subic Bay to protect the U.S. Embassy in
Manila.
1989-90
Panama--On
December 21, 1989, President Bush reported that he had
ordered U.S. military
forces to Panama to protect the lives of American
citizens and bring General Noriega
to justice. By February 13, 1990, all the invasion forces
had been withdrawn.
1990
Liberia--On August 6, 1990, President Bush reported
that a reinforced rifle company
had been sent to
provide additional security to the U.S. Embassy in
Monrovia, and that helicopter
teams had evacuated U.S. citizens from
Liberia.
Source:
Congressional
Research Service
