US Proxy Wars - Some Perspective

A brief overview of proxy wars and US participation in that style of warfare

Your understanding of the proxy war concept probably started with the Ukraine-Russia war. But the method of rivals fighting each other through proxies has been around for centuries. It’s been done by the Byzantines, The Ottoman Empire, France, England, The Soviet Union, Iran, and more. Let’s get into it.

What is a Proxy War?

According to Wikipedia a proxy war is a conflict between two or more actors, in which one or more of the principal parties is backed or funded by another party that is not directly involved in the hostilities.

Why?

Well the why is easy, if a conflict is developing between someone else and your enemy, backing that someone else is probably in your best interest. You get to pay with money/equipment and not the blood of your own people. You have a chance to significantly weaken your enemy so that they can’t compete with you anymore.