There are only nineteen years since 1798 when the U.S. did not have armed forces engaged in military operations abroad, according to an updated tally from the Congressional Research Service. See Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2019, updated July 17, 2019.
The most recent year in which U.S. military forces were not used in a foreign conflict was 1979, according to the CRS. The CRS account does not reflect covert action, disaster relief, or training activities involving U.S. forces abroad.
Though there have only been 11 formal declarations of war, there have been hundreds of military actions including “extended military engagements that might be considered undeclared wars.”
“These cases vary greatly in size of operation, legal authorization, and significance,” CRS said. “Some actions were of short duration, and some lasted a number of years. In some examples, a military officer acted without authorization; some actions were conducted solely under the President’s powers as Chief Executive or Commander in Chief; other instances were authorized by Congress in some fashion.”
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Other noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
Critical Infrastructure: Emerging Trends and Policy Considerations for Congress, July 8, 2019
DOD’s Cloud Strategy and the JEDI Cloud Procurement, CRS In Focus, updated July 16, 2019
U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: An Overview, CRS In Focus, updated July 17, 2019
Immigration: Alternatives to Detention (ATD) Programs, July 8, 2019
Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Corporate Formation, Shell Companies, Real Estate, and Financial Transactions, July 8, 2019
Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress, July 11, 2019
Americans are paying too much for almost everything, because the United States has long treated its trucking industry as an artifact to be preserved rather than as an opportunity for innovation.
These ideas aim to advance the detailed policy solutions needed to foster public trust and implement fairness in the adoption of AI across diverse domains, from healthcare and government benefits to rural access, education, and worker protections.
The evidence is clear: algorithmic pay-setting is established in app-based work, and payroll/timekeeping failures show how software can produce systemic wage harm at scale
While a few states have taken steps to implement decision-making mechanisms for certain AI systems, too many leaders are simply accepting narratives about AI’s purported public benefit at face value – jumping to the “how” of AI implementation before thoroughly vetting potential systems and deciding whether they are appropriate to use at all.