Regional Conflicts and Wars

Regional conflicts and wars shape much of what the United States government does abroad, from military deployments and arms sales to sanctions, diplomacy, and alliance commitments. These conflicts rarely stay contained to the countries involved; they draw in outside powers, disrupt trade and energy markets, and often pull American forces, funding, or attention into the mix. Understanding a given conflict usually means understanding decades of prior history, not just its latest flashpoint. Longstanding rivalries often trace back further than most people realize, shaped by old alliances, broken trust, and competing interests that outlast any single administration. The tangled relationship between the United States, Israel, and Iran shows how alliances can shift dramatically over time, as described in From Allies to Enemies: The U.S.-Israel-Iran Triangle. Hemispheric relationships also carry long histories that inform present-day tension. U.S. dealings with Venezuela, for instance, stretch back to the earliest days of American foreign policy doctrine, as traced in A History of US Policy Toward Venezuela: From Monroe to Maduro. Great-power competition adds another layer, as the U.S. military maintains forces, bases, and partnerships across regions where rival powers are expanding their own influence. This dynamic plays out in the Indo-Pacific, covered in America’s Pacific Military Plan: Countering China with Allies and Bases, and in Europe, addressed in U.S. Department of Defense Strategy Regarding NATO and European Security.