Another oil-rich nation invaded in the name of regime change. Another dictator with a cheesy mustache toppled. Another pack of lies to justify invading said oil-rich nation. Does any of this sound familiar?
Seven years ago almost to the day, DNI Tulsi Gabbard warned us about this. Of course, at the time, she was just winding up her presidential ambitions in preparation for crashing and burning in the 2020 Democratic primaries but one has to admit she was right.
Early this morning, America did what one would think was the unthinkable and we invaded and bombed a sovereign nation and even kidnapped its head of state. Nicholas Maduro is now in New York awaiting charges of trafficking in drugs. We even kidnapped his wife.
Let's get one thing straight- I'm no fan of Maduro. Like Trump last year and 2016, he robbed his way to power and nakedly stole Venezuela's last election. And, like Trump, he tanked his own nation's economy, not because Socialism doesn't work, but simply because he's a corrupt asshole.
But regime change spearheaded by the US government has a very, very poor history. Iran. Vietnam. Chile. El Salvador. Nicaragua. Iraq. Afghanistan. The list goes on. Since WWII, the United States, usually under Republican leadership, has done the bidding of giant corporate interests whether it be fruit companies or oil cartels. In the 80+ years since the end of WWII, we've toppled no fewer than 60 democratic nations virtually every time their leaders don''t toe the right wing corporate line.
Venezuela is the latest casualty of those interests.
As with Iraq 23 years ago and their phantom weapons of mass destruction, we, too, have invented a false rationale to bomb the capital city of a sovereign nation and capture its head of state. Now Trump is saying we're going to "run" Venezuela as if it's a distressed company under receivership. This is coming from a buffoon who can't even run the United States except as a banana republic.
It started with the US military bombing back to the Stone Age over 20 boats, probably all fishing boats, out of the water under the guise of combating drug trafficking. Keep in mind, this is being engineered by a clown who'd pardoned no fewer than four drug dealers.
And now, Trump is openly admitting it was all about capturing Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world. He's not even pretending, any more. It's all about the oil, always has been, always will be.
Just like Iraq.
Did Venezuela need regime change? Absolutely, it did. But their fate, their destiny, as Gabbard said seven years ago, should've been left in their hands, not in our grasping ones.
Whatever happened to Gabbard? I haven't heard her name in the news since last summer, if not earlier. Looks like she's been marginalized.
ReplyDeleteNow MAGA World is trying to frame Trump's attack as not really a war in an attempt to keep intact his vow to not involve the U.S. in any new war.
If Trump really wants to run Venezuela, as he mentioned, then he'd have to pacify the country first through a war and put boots on the ground. In that case, his followers should be the first to sign up.
Trump obviously already has boots on the ground, otherwise how do you think he was able to kidnap Maduro and his wife? As for Gabbard, of course she was marginalized. Last summer, she publicly broke with Trump over the bombing of Iran. Historically, Gabbard has been opposed to regime change anywhere and, as you've seen, she was especially insistent on not doing so with Venezuela.
ReplyDeleteThe kidnapping was a raid and perhaps the first shot of a high-intensity war against Venezuela. For Trump to truly control and run the country, he'd have to commit to a long-term campaign with a lot of boots on the ground. Given Venezuela's size and terrain, it could become another quagmire. Panama this isn't.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, millions of Americans just saw their health premiums spike. So much for America First.