There is something unsettling about how President Trump has surrounded himself with generals. From his defense secretary to his national security advisor to his White House chief of staff, Trump looks to senior military officers to fill key positions that have been customarily filled by civilians. He’s surrounded by generals and threatens war at the drop of a hat.
President Trump began last week by threatening “fire and fury” on North Korea. He continued through the week claiming, falsely, that Iran is violating the terms of the nuclear deal. He finally ended the week by threatening a US military attack on Venezuela.
He told reporters on Friday that, “We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary. …We have troops all over the world in places that are very, very far away. Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering, and they are dying.”
Venezuela’s defense minister called Trump’s threat “an act of craziness.”
Even more worrisome, when Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro tried to call President Trump for clarification he was refused. The White House stated that discussions with the Venezuelan president could only take place once democracy was restored in the country. Does that mean President Trump is moving toward declaring Maduro no longer the legitimate president of Venezuela? Is Trump taking a page from Obama’s failed regime change policy for Syria and declaring that “Maduro must go”?
The current unrest in Venezuela is related to the economic shortcomings of that country’s centrally-planned economy. The 20th century has shown us very clearly that state control over an economy leads to mismanagement, mal-investment, massive shortages, and finally economic collapse. That is why those of us who advocate free market economics constantly warn that US government intervention in our own economy is leading us toward a similar financial crisis.
But there is another factor in the unrest in Venezuela. For many years the United States government, through the CIA, the National Endowment for Democracy, and US government funded NGOs, have been trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government. They almost succeeded in 2002, when then-president Hugo Chavez was briefly driven from office. Washington has spent millions trying to manipulate Venezuela’s elections and overturn the results. US policy is to create unrest and then use that unrest as a pretext for US intervention.
Military officers play an important role in defending the United States. Their job is to fight and win wars. But the White House is becoming the war house and the president seems to see war as a first solution rather than a last resort. His threats of military action against a Venezuela that neither threatens nor could threaten the United States suggests a shocking lack of judgment.
Congress should take President Trump’s threats seriously. In the 1980s, when President Reagan was determined to overthrow the Nicaraguan government using a proxy army, Congress passed a series of amendments, named after their author, Rep. Edward Boland (D-MA), to prohibit the president from using funds it appropriated to do so. Congress should make it clear in a similar manner that absent a Venezuelan attack on the United States, President Trump would be committing a serious crime in ignoring the Constitution were he to follow through with his threats. Maybe they should call it the “We’re Not The World’s Policeman” act.
Is the world spinning out of control? Is this all culminating into the final war?
A lot of crazy statements have erupted from the Trumpmeister, but the Venezuela one takes the cake.
WORLD’S LARGEST DEPOSIT OF OIL…….BLACK GOLD…….that is all you need to know.
Looks like Donny is a garden variety Neo-CON.
Ron Paul, or whoever manages his site, has become more and more hysterical. It’s almost like they’re unable to see the forest for the trees. Patience Grasshopper.
Raven, you need to lay off the booze and coke (the snorting kind) in the morning. Ron Paul is not being hysterical. The dumbshit in DC who is threatening Venezuela with military force is the one being hysterical.
And to think many people voted for Trump thinking he would be the peace president. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Invade Israel.
Why post this cranks columns? He’s as predictable as the tides! He has no influence now if he ever did and doesn’t even write well.
….perhaps because he is the only politician in the last 100 years that maintains a cogent and consistent, constitutionally oriented political philosophy? I would think that predictability is a good thing; it kind of mean you don’t flip flop. And his influence? Well that speaks to the idiocy of the people, not his views.
Chavez was and Maduro is a corrupt populists. Straight from the manual. I feel sadness for the every day Venezuelan that hast to go without toilet paper, losing weight because of lack of food, and still trying to make a honest living out of his work.
Now, this is not to say that many in the US are not drooling about the prospect of grabbing a piece of the Venezuelan oil.
The playbook will go as it went in the 90’s in Argentina. A new “serious” president, that “inspires confidence” will get the post. So “capital” will flow into privatizations of the jewels (PDVSA), and that money will be spent in everyday consumption (imported Chinese things basically). Miami will be full of Venezuelan tourists.
People will be happy of the economic miracle until 10 years later the bills come due. That will start another round of devaluation/privatization/etc, etc, etc a la Greece, or a new populism a la Argentina in 2000.
Fuck Vaginazuela!
Fuck N Korea!
Fuck Iran!
Fuck Russia!
Fuck ’em all!!! We’re Amerika fer chrissakes! THAT comes wif special privileges. Like, fuckin almost anybody we don’t like, and at the time of our choosing.
I said “almost”. If he fucks with Austria, I’m gonna castrate Donnie and shove his balls down his throat.
Folks, very few nations in Human History have had the ability and/or desire to fuck up other nations at will. We live in glorious times. We MUST take advantage for this free for all nation-fucking before the opportunity passes. All you pussified little pansyboy peaceniks need an attitude adjustment or, you should just leave Amerika for us real men.
Be careful what you axe for, herr stuckmeister. Marcus Lucinius Crassus, Caesar’s ally in the Roman civil wars, defeater of the Gladatorial revolt under Spartacus, Governor of Syria (a very plum job at the time) and one of the richest men in all of history decided that Persia was just too full of plunder to ignore so he assembled a huge fuckin army and marched off to defeat the mono eyebrows. His Persian spy turned out to be a double agent and led him straight into a trap. Crassus got his head handed to him. Literally.
Sancho ,but didn’t the Venezuelans vote for this shit like so many Hispanics do .They vote for this in nation after nation in central and south America with the same results Everytime.They fuck their country and economy up then immigrant here and vote for the same shit as in California.I hope California does go belly up .They reap what they sow.
At least 10 years ago, GIs were telling me that Pentagon Planners were telling them that we would be going to Venezuela. One of the reasons the US invaded Vietnam (I learned from an Officer War College textbook) was Geologist thought there was oil there. The Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) one week after Pearl Harbor for their petroleum resources, primarily located on Sumatra, Brunei etc. There were also oil wells in Manchuria, Burma, and Taiwan.
Instant success planned by Maduro. Have a war with USA and lose. USA pours trillions of dollars in to nation build “democracy and freedom”. Prosperity beyond their wildest dreams.
But when we go, TPTB will say it is to free the slaves, or to save the world from monsters, or stop the Dominoes, to destroy the weapons of mass destruction, to save starving people from a tyrant etc. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matt7″