March 13, 2026 — U.S.: More War, Less Peace
Check out this week’s blog post by IP attorney, author Timothy Trainer, host of the podcast and video show Tim’s Travails • Follow Tim on Substack
Once again, the U.S. is at war somewhere in the world. An in-depth look into U.S. military hostile engagements and covert hostile activities abroad will educate us and inform us about the extent to which we are pro-war and pro-regime change. During the post-World War II period, extended periods of peace are rare. Anyone signing up to serve in the military and making it a career is bound to find him or herself serving during a period of conflict given our history.
The last 80 years of U.S. History demonstrates our broad “national interests” and the lengths to which we go to protect those interests. While they are admirable at times, there have been other times when our pursuit to protect our national interests is much less than honorable.
As we are now forced to live through a war of choice initiated by our government, it’s important to recognize the extent to which the U.S. has been mired in conflicts around the world. It’s impossible to list them all, but highlighting a few may help people see just how much the U.S. has been involved abroad and the duration of these conflicts.
It’s likely that very few have come across the joint U.S.-U.K. effort at regime change in Albania. There were legitimate reasons to be concerned about the Soviet Union’s control over many Eastern European countries in the late 1940s in the aftermath of World War II. This effort at regime change, code named Operation Valuable Fiend, involved the CIA. It didn’t go well. OBOPUS BGFIEND VOL. 14 (BGFIEND OPERATIONS)_0088.pdf.
The Korean War: June 1950-1953. The war begins when North Korean troops invade South Korea. U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.
Vietnam: 1955-1975: The Vietnam “Era” begins in 1955 with the U.S.’s Military Assistance and Advisory Group to train and provide military aid to South Vietnam’s army. U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.
The decade of the 1980s was a busy time of U.S. engagements abroad both militarily and in that fuzzy area of regime change as the list of activity includes: Lebanon (1982-1983), Grenada (1983), and Panama (1989-1990). U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts | Congress.gov | Library of Congress. The decade of the 80s would not be complete without mention of our messy involvement in Nicaragua and the Contra War. U.S. aid to Contras signed into law | October 18, 1986 | HISTORY.
The last thirty-five years have been marked by the U.S.’s military engagements in the Middle East. The brief Persian Gulf War (August 1990-April 1991) was followed by the prolonged operations after the September 11, 2001, attacks. In succession, we have had Operation Enduring Freedom (October 2001-December 2014), Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (January 2015-August 2021), Operation Enduring Sentinel (October 2021-no end date). Concurrent with these operations were other named operations in Iraq such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.
On February 28, 2026, the U.S. committed itself to Operation Epic Fury which continues in Iran. Interestingly, we have heard a list of reasons for initiating our campaign of “Fury”. We shouldn’t be surprised by Joe Kent’s statement that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation” as he states in resigning his position as the country’s top counterterrorism official. Joe Kent, a Top Counterterrorism Official for the Trump Administration, Resigns, Citing Iran War – The New York Times.
Trump is not the first president to lie about the reasons for getting the country into war. Sadly, it has happened far too many times with the loss of lives on all sides. Whether covert or overt, we have all too often initiated actions that have resulted in making situations worse. Our arrogance combined with ignorance and use of military force and power do more harm than good and will cultivate more enemies than friends given our current conduct and behavior.
For the citizens of the United States, heightened vigilance is not a choice, it is a necessity for everyday living
About the Timothy Trainer: Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer, who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector, and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world.
Tim found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; the 15th edition was published in 2022. Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore Books published Tim’s next title in 2015, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: The War on Fake Stuff.
Fiction was a genre he always wanted to try. In 2019, Pendulum Over the Pacific, was released by Joshua Tree Publishing. “This political intrigue story is set in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., and centers on trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan in the late 1980s,” Tim explains.
In 2023, his first series hit bookstores: The China Connection.
In 2025, he published the sequel, The China Factor, which ranked #63 on the Amazon Asian Literature list in May.
