What military action occurred while Bill Clinton was president?

The presidency of Bill Clinton, spanning from 1993 to 2001, was a period of significant military intervention despite the end of the Cold War. The United States engaged in several key operations, most notably in the Balkans (Bosnia and Kosovo), Somalia, Iraq, and Sudan/Afghanistan utilizing air power, ground forces, and cruise missile strikes. ..

The initial U.S. involvement in Somalia predates Clinton, beginning under President George H.W. Bush with Operation Restore Hope in 1992 to alleviate a severe famine. However, under Clinton, the mission transitioned to UNOSOM II in 1993, with a broader mandate of nation-building and disarming warring factions. This shift led to increased U.S. involvement in the Somali civil war, culminating in the infamous Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993..

In 1994, Clinton authorized Operation Uphold Democracy to restore the democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in Haiti, who had been overthrown in a military coup in 1991. A U.S.-led multinational force of 20,000 troops, including 15,000 Americans, landed in Haiti in September 1994....This operation was largely considered a success, achieving its objectives with minimal casualties.

The Bosnian War (1992-1995) was a brutal conflict marked by ethnic cleansing and atrocities. The U.S. initially participated in Operation Deny Flight (1993-1995), a NATO operation enforcing a no-fly zone over Bosnia...The U.S. subsequently deployed troops..

Operation Southern Watch (1992-2003) involved enforcing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq to protect the Shiite population from Iraqi military actions. In 1996, Operation Desert Strike involved cruise missile strikes against Iraqi air defense sites i

In 1999, the U.S. led NATO’s Operation Allied Force, a 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to stop the ethnic cleansing of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo...A NATO peacekeeping force, including U.S. troops, was deployed to Kosovo to maintain stability.

In August 1998, following the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach, cruise missile strikes against targets in Sudan and Afghanistan...

Presidents and Instances of Bombings Without Congressional Approval- a history lesson

Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
- Somalia (1993): Airstrikes supported U.S. operations without specific congressional approval.
- Bosnia (1993–1995): Clinton ordered airstrikes as part of NATO operations without explicit congressional authorization.
- Kosovo (1999): Clinton authorized NATO-led airstrikes in Serbia/Kosovo, continuing beyond the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day limit, arguing implicit congressional approval through funding. Critics challenged this as unconstitutional.
- Iraq (1998): Operation Desert Fox involved airstrikes without specific congressional approval, relying on prior AUMFs.
- Sudan and Afghanistan (1998): Airstrikes on al-Qaeda targets followed embassy bombings, justified under executive authority.
Barack Obama (2009–2017)
- Libya (2011): Obama ordered airstrikes as part of a NATO campaign without congressional approval, arguing the actions didn’t constitute “hostilities” under the War Powers Resolution. This was highly controversial.
- Syria (2014–2017): Airstrikes against ISIS relied on the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs, despite debate over their applicability, without new congressional approval.
- Iraq (2014–2017): Renewed airstrikes against ISIS used existing AUMFs.
- Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan: Extensive drone strikes targeted militants, justified under executive authority and the 2001 AUMF, with no specific congressional approval. In 2016, the U.S. dropped 26,171 bombs, mostly in Syria and Iraq.
- Afghanistan: Continued airstrikes, with a 40% increase in 2016, relied on prior authorizations.
Joe Biden (2021–2025)
- Syria (2021): Biden ordered airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias without specific congressional approval, citing self-defense and existing AUMFs.
- Yemen (2024): Airstrikes on Houthi targets in response to Red Sea attacks lacked specific congressional authorization, drawing criticism from lawmakers.
- Afghanistan, Somalia: Limited airstrikes continued under prior AUMFs.
  12 Comments
  Alexander Hamilton:...when a foreign nation declares, or openly and avowedly makes war upon the United States, they are then by the very fact, already at war, and any declaration on the part of Congress is nugatory: it is at least unnecessary.
  Trump has 48 hours to notify Congress, and up to 90 days total before needing formal authorization. We’re well within that window. - https://floppingaces.net/most-wanted/presidents-and-instances-of-bombings-without-congressional-approval-a-history-lesson/

As Donald Trump assumes office today, he inherits a targeted killing program that has been the cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism strategy over the past eight years. On January 23, 2009, just three days into his presidency, President Obama authorized his first kinetic military action: two drone strikes, three hours apart, in Waziristan, Pakistan, that killed as many as twenty civilians. Two terms and 540 strikes later, Obama leaves the White House after having vastly expanding and normalizing the use of armed drones for counterterrorism and close air support operations in non-battlefield settings—namely Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia.

Throughout his presidency, I have written often about Obama’s legacy as a drone president, including reports on how the United States could reform drone strike policies, what were the benefits of transferring CIA drone strikes to the Pentagon, and (with Sarah Kreps) how to limit armed drone proliferation. .... many needed reforms were left undone—in large part because there was zero pressure from congressional members, who, with few exceptions, were the biggest cheerleaders of drone strikes.

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