Hindsight · review build · data not yet validated
Military conflicts between nations are rare, and most conflicts are between nations and smaller bands of terrorists.
Grader A: hit
Interstate wars were rare around 2009. Most active conflicts were civil wars and insurgencies against non-state groups, including the US-led fights against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The 2008 Russia-Georgia war was a brief exception.
Test: Share of active armed conflicts that were interstate, 2009: near zero; most conflicts were state vs non-state groups.
Grader B: hit
UCDP data show large-scale interstate conflict almost absent in the 21st century. From 2009 to 2014 there were usually only 1-2 interstate conflicts a year, against 30 to 40 active armed conflicts in total. In 2014 only India-Pakistan was interstate. The main US conflicts of 2009 were against insurgent and terrorist groups (Taliban, al-Qaeda). The 2003 invasion of Iraq was interstate, but it came before 2009 and is an exception.
Test: Test: interstate conflicts are a small minority. 2009-2014: usually 1-2 interstate conflicts a year out of 30 to 40 total (UCDP); 2014: 1 of 40.