The U.S. has employed all of its regime change tools in Venezuela and although so far they have failed, there is still a chance that a military attack is in store, warn Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers.
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
Several signals point to a possible military strike on Venezuela, with high-ranking officials and influential politicians making clear that it is a distinct possibility.
Speaking at his alma mater, the University of Texas, on February 1, Secretary of State Tillerson suggested a potential military coup in in the country. Tillerson then visited allied Latin American countries urging regime change and more economic sanctions on Venezuela. Tillerson is also reportedly considering banning the processing or sale of Venezuelan oil in the United States and is discouraging other countries from buying Venezuelan oil.
In a series of tweets, Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican from Florida, where many Venezuelan oligarchs live, openly called for a military coup in Venezuela. “The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator,” the former presidential candidate tweeted.
How absurd — remove an elected president with a military coup to restore democracy? Does that pass the straight face test? This refrain of Rubio and Tillerson seems to be the nonsensical public position of U.S. policy.
The U.S. has been seeking regime change in Venezuela since Hugo Chavez was elected in 1998. Trump joined Presidents Obama and Bush before him in continuing efforts to change the government and put in place a U.S.-friendly oligarch government.
They came closest in 2002 when a military coup removed Chavez. The Commander-in-Chief of the Venezuelan military announced Chavez had resigned and Pedro Carmona, of the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce, became interim president. Carmona dissolved the National Assembly and Supreme Court and declared the Constitution void. The people surrounded the presidential palace and seized television stations, Carmona resigned and fled to Colombia. Within 47 hours, civilians and the military restored Chavez to the presidency. The coup was a turning point that strengthened the Bolivarian Revolution, showed people could defeat a coup and exposed the US and oligarchs.
U.S. Regime Change Tactics Have Failed In Venezuela
The U.S. and oligarchs continue their efforts to reverse the Bolivarian Revolution. The United States has a long history of regime change around the world and has tried all of its regime change tools in Venezuela. So far they have failed.
Economic War
Destroying the Venezuelan economy has been an ongoing campaign by the US and oligarchs. It is reminiscent of the US coup in Chile which ended the presidency of Salvador Allende. To create the environment for the Chilean coup, President Nixon ordered the CIA to “make the economy scream.”
Henry Kissinger devised the coup noting a billion dollars of investment were at stake. He also feared the “the insidious model effect” of the example of Chile leading to other countries breaking from the United States and capitalism. Kissinger’s top deputy at the National Security Council, Viron Vaky, opposed the coup saying, “What we propose is patently a violation of our own principles and policy tenets .… If these principles have any meaning, we normally depart from them only to meet the gravest threat … our survival.”
These objections hold true regarding recent US coups, including in Venezuela and Honduras, Ukraine and Brazil, among others. Allende died in the coup and wrote his last words to the people of Chile, especially the workers, “Long live the people! Long live the workers!” He was replaced by Augusto Pinochet, a brutal and violent dictator.
For decades the US has been fighting an economic war, “making the economy scream,” in Venezuela. Wealthy Venezuelans have been conducting economic sabotage aided by the US with sanctions and other tactics. This includes hoarding food, supplies and other necessities in warehouses or in Colombia while Venezuelan markets are bare. The scarcity is used to fuel protests, e.g. “The March of the Empty Pots,” a carbon copy of marches in Chile before the September 11, 1973 coup. Economic warfare has escalated through Obama and under Trump, with Tillerson now urging economic sanctions on oil.
President Maduro recognized the economic hardship but also said sanctions open up the opportunity for a new era of independence and “begins the stage of post-domination by the United States, with Venezuela again at the center of this struggle for dignity and liberation.” The second-in-command of the Socialist Party, Diosdado Cabello, said, “[if they] apply sanctions, we will apply elections.”
Opposition Protests
Another common US regime change tool is supporting opposition protests. The Trump administration renewed regime change operations in Venezuela and the anti-Maduro protests, which began under Obama, grew more violent. The opposition protests included barricades, snipers and murders as well as widespread injuries. When police arrested those using violence, the US claimed Venezuela opposed free speech and protests.
The opposition tried to use the crack down against violence to achieve the U.S. tactic of dividing the military. The U.S. and western media ignored opposition violence and blamed the Venezuelan government instead. Violence became so extreme it looked like the opposition was pushing Venezuela into a Syrian-type civil war. Instead, opposition violence backfired on them.
Violent protests are part of U.S. regime change repertoire. This was demonstrated in the U.S. coup in Ukraine, where the U.S. spent $5 billion to organize government opposition including U.S. and EU funding violent protesters. This tactic was used in early US coups like the 1953 Iran coup of Prime Minister Mossadegh. The U.S. has admitted organizing this coup that ended Iran’s brief experience with democracy. Like Venezuela, a key reason for the Iran coup was control of the nation’s oil.
Funding Opposition
There has been massive U.S. investment in creating opposition to the Venezuelan government. Tens of millions of dollars have been openly spent through USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy and other related US regime change agencies. It is unknown how much the CIA has spent from its secret budget, but the CIA has also been involved in Venezuela. Current CIA director, Mike Pompeo, said he is “hopeful there can be a transition in Venezuela.”
The United States has also educated leaders of opposition movements, e.g. Leopoldo López was educated at private schools in the US, including the CIA-associated Kenyon College. He was groomed at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and made repeated visits to the regime change agency, the National Republican Institute.
Elections
While the US calls Venezuela a dictatorship, it is in fact a strong democracy with an excellent voting system. Election observers monitor every election.
In 2016, the economic crisis led to the opposition winning a majority in the National Assembly. One of their first acts was to pass an amnesty law. The law described 17 years of crimes including violent felonies and terrorism committed by the opposition. It was an admission of crimes back to the 2002 coup and through 2016. The law demonstrated violent treason against Venezuela. One month later, the Supreme Court of Venezuela ruled the amnesty law was unconstitutional. U.S. media, regime change advocates and anti-Venezuela human rights groups attacked the Supreme Court decision, showing their alliance with the admitted criminals.
Years of violent protests and regime change attempts, and then admitting their crimes in an amnesty bill, have caused those opposed to the Bolivarian Revolution to lose power and become unpopular. In three recent elections Maduro’s party won regional, local and the Constituent Assembly elections.
The electoral commission announced the presidential election will be held on April 22. Maduro will run for re-election with the United Socialist Party. Opposition leaders such as Henry Ramos and Henri Falcon have expressed interest in running, but the opposition has not decided whether to participate. Henrique Capriles, who narrowly lost to Maduro in the last election, was banned from running for office because of irregularities in his campaign, including taking foreign donations. Capriles has been a leader of the violent protests. When his ban was announced he called for protests to remove Maduro from office. Also banned was Leopoldo Lopez, another leader of the violent protests who is under house arrest serving a thirteen year sentence for inciting violence.
Now, the United States says it will not recognize the presidential election and urges a military coup. For two years, the opposition demanded presidential elections, but now it is unclear whether they will participate. They know they are unpopular and Maduro is likely to be re-elected.
Is War Against Venezuela Coming?
A military coup faces challenges in Venezuela as the people, including the military, are well educated about US imperialism. Tillerson openly urging a military coup makes it more difficult.
The government and opposition recently negotiated a peace settlement entitled “Democratic Coexistence Agreement for Venezuela.” They agreed on all of the issues including ending economic sanctions, scheduling elections and more. They agreed on the date of the next presidential election. It was originally planned for March, but in a concession to the opposition, it was rescheduled for the end of April. Maduro signed the agreement even though the opposition did not attend the signing ceremony. They backed out after Colombian President Santos, who was meeting with Secretary Tillerson, called and told them not to sign. Maduro will now make the agreement a public issue by allowing the people of Venezuela to sign it.
Not recognizing elections and urging a military coup are bad enough, but more disconcerting is that Admiral Kurt Tidd, head of Southcom, held a closed door meeting in Colombia after Tillerson’s visit. The topic was “regional destabilization” and Venezuela was a focus.
A military attack on Venezuela from its Colombian and Brazilian borders is not far fetched. In January, the NY Times asked, “Should the US military invade Venezuela?” President Trump said the US is considering US military force against Venezuela. His chief of staff, John Kelly, was formerly the general in charge of Southcom. Tidd has claimed the crisis, created in large part by the economic war against Venezuela, requires military action for humanitarian reasons.
War preparations are already underway in Colombia, which plays the role of Israel for the US in Latin America. The coup government in Brazil, increased its military budget 36 percent, and participated in Operation: America United, the largest joint military exercise in Latin American history. It was one of four military exercises by the US with Brazil, Colombia and Peru in Latin America in 2017. The US Congress ordered the Pentagon to develop military contingencies for Venezuela in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.
While there is opposition to US military bases, James Patrick Jordan explains, on our radio show, the US has military bases in Colombia and the Caribbean and military agreements with countries in the region; and therefore, Venezuela is already surrounded.
The United States is targeting Venezuela because the Bolivarian Revolution provides an example against U.S. imperialism. An invasion of Venezuela will become another war-quagmire that kills innocent Venezuelans, U.S. soldiers and others over control of oil. People in the United States who support the self-determination of countries should show solidarity with Venezuelans, expose the U.S. agenda and publicly denounce regime change. We need to educate people about what is really happening in Venezuela to overcome the false media coverage.
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers co-direct Popular Resistance. [This article originally appeared at https://popularresistance.org and is republished with authors’ permission.]
Let us not neglect the immense influence of expatriate Cubans in Florida and it’s Right – Wing senator Marco Rubio — who has lent a loud and powerfully influential voice toward the overthrow of the leftist Venezuelan government.
The corporatist right wing, in their ravenous desire for personal wealth, have absolutely no regard for the lives of the majority populations in South and Central America. That’s why we see U S approved Right Wing government overthrows and takeovers throughout the region.
Les Blough’s (Axis Of Logic) detailed response to my question about Venezuela’s ability to resist a US-inspired coup: “The Military (FANB), Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), Intelligence Services (CICPC), Bolivarian National Police (PNB) and Civil Militia are intact and local to the government. Ideologically they are socialist and anti-imperialist. That of course doesn’t preclude an occasional rogue officer like Óscar Perez or Resistencia breaking ranks but when they do they are quickly neutralized which I fully support b/c we are in the Middleton [sic] of a war. In his Latin American destabilization tour this week [Rex Tillerson] began by stupidly calling for the military to rise up against Maduro and he did it in México, not exactly a friend of Venezuela. Reuters reportes that Mexican FM, Luis Videgaray quickly chastized Tillerson, “Mexico, in no case, would back any option that implies the use of violence, internal or external, to resolve the case of Venezuela,” along with many other Latin American leaders. They finally realize that “if they can do it to him, they can do it to me.”
“For decades the US has been fighting an economic war, “making the economy scream,” in Venezuela. Wealthy Venezuelans have been conducting economic sabotage aided by the US with sanctions and other tactics. This includes hoarding food, supplies and other necessities in warehouses or in Colombia while Venezuelan markets are bare. The scarcity is used to fuel protests, e.g. “The March of the Empty Pots,” a carbon copy of marches in Chile before the September 11, 1973 coup. Economic warfare has escalated through Obama and under Trump, with Tillerson now urging economic sanctions on oil.”
This is why people need to read. And they need good guides, including genuinely (if imperfect) people’s champions like Noam Chomsky.
Caring is knowing. When you put your head up and look around in order to see what dangers lurk for yourself and your loved ones, you see. Seeing is knowing. Unfortunately, We can’t, and should not, pass a law forcing people to care. Of course, There’s no danger that elites in developed industrial (carrying that label if no longer that reality) states will educate people. They are doing the opposite. But in countries, like Venezuela, where leaders are trying to resist absorption into the US-led Corporatocracy, education – real and political, as well as non political – should be top of mind. If my friend, Les Blough, at Axis Of Logic is correct (and he lives in Venezuela I believe), Venezuela has effectively curtailed the usual route that the US takes to doing regime change, which is to use a bought and indoctrinated (in Western values) military and police leadership. I asked about it in a comment and Les kindly gave me, and others, a detailed answer that was reassuring.
Chomsky long ago warned about the system encouraging the population to be mere spectators to what’s going on in the political realm, isolated at home in front of the tv sets. So, Give them ‘fancy’ tv sets and a zillion channels. And when they are not dumbing themselves down and being fed propaganda (passive learning), they now can do social networking as well. Even a former Facebook official warned of the damage that platforms like Facebook is doing to young minds.
Some of the details may need changing, but the overall explanation of the modus operandi of the US regime change program remains the same as when Chomsky and (the late) Edward Herman wrote their two-volume “The Political Economy Of Human Rights,” published in 1979. Consider:
“Military training and supply, the build-up and cultivation of the military and intelligence establishments, as well as CIA surveillance and destabilization, have been key elements of the “Washington connection,” employed to protect U.S. interests in its client states in the post World-War II era. The United States trains client military personnel in some 150 bases and training schools, and sends mobile units and advisors to serve on an in-country basis. This training has placed great weight on ideological conditioning and has “steeped young Latin officers in the early 1950s anti-Communist dogma that subversive infiltrators could be anywhere.” In addition to the ideological cement of this world view, U.S. military training has purposefully helped build a network of personal relationships between United States and Latin American military cadres. This tie has been further consolidated by military aid from the wealthier power as well as cooperative maneuvers and logistical planning. Over 200,000 Latin American military personnel have been trained in the U.S., and since 1949 over 35,000 Latin American officers have trained in the School for the Americas alone; a school identified in Latin America by its historic function as the “school of coups.” – page 53
The people’s champions who lead countries targetted by the ultra lawless, ultra violent U.S. who do not take serious steps to prevent their military, police and security orgs from actively betraying their countries, in the above fashion, are simply unfit for high office.
??I have the cd recording of the Chavez 2006 UN speech where he called GW Bush the devil.
i’ve said, and written many times, that specific verbal attack on President Bush equipped the CIA with cause to assassinate Chavez.
The sudden onset of the cancer that killed Chavez has been used many times to eliminate obdurate opponents of United States’ malevolent hegemony.
Read the first four paragraphs or the full speech at below link –
— then imagine the red-faced chagrin of the Bush-Chaney-Rumsfeld/CIA AXIS OF EVIL.
— Their plot to assassinate Chavez and demolish his government went into Full Effect mode swiftly after the shaming of Bush.
http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/61/pdfs/venezuela-e.pdf
I should add, the speech is fittingly appropriate for our current President… .
It’s we who are coming under a dictator. The signs are in plain sight. Wake-up Americans before it is too late.
This sounds like Trump thrashing around for somebody to make war on other than Vladimir Putin. Venezuela won’t get him off the Russiagate hook, particularly as Putin is now openly interfering in the Italian election in support of thr regional Lega Nord.
I think many are missing an important point. Any country that threatens the Petro/Dollar will be destroyed, period. Venezuela agreed to sell oil to China for yuan not long ago. They will be destroyed.
Dear Melvin: you are correct for that was the main reason Saddam Hussein and Mohammad kadafy were toppled and assassinated.
yes…dollar as reserve currency is looking at a 50% drop in a few short years if yuan is successful…it would destroy the US ability to pay its debt…cant have that…
The tell that “regime change” for Venezuela is on the Rogue Nation USA dance card will be the undertaking of a giant Orwellian doublethink PsyOps campaign aimed straight at us by us. It hasn’t fully begun yet, but it’s time to be on the lookout.
At the moment I would venture to say 95% of the USA gen pop know nothing about Venezuela unless they are Major League baseball fans aware that Jose Altuve and Victor Martinez are Venezuelan. Fernando Valenzuela, of course, was not! He’s Mexican. Mention South America to these same deep thinkers and they are just as likely to think: Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina & Florida.
But once the Mighty Wurlitzer propaganda/disinformation machine is cranked up full steam, 75% of the gen pop would overnight swear: We have always been at war with Venezuela. Let the (war) games begin.
As another diabolical example of deja vu all over again all over again, the country formerly known as Venezuela would inevitably be left in ruins (like all the other countries we have “always been at war with”), but our own banana peel republic would also be one more giant helter skelter step closer to its own inevitable graveyard of empires. Eventually, when every country on the planet hates our guts, the Wall Street/War Street/ Washington DC Axis of Evil can truly declare Mission Accomplished.
Two communists writers who enjoy seeing people suffer with scarce of food, and basic survival needs. Turning a blind eye to Venezuela’s narcodictatorship! What a shame you’re misleading people to believe such lies!
Dear Igor S.: Assuming that every thing you have asserted in your post were true, I just cannot trust the USA to deliver the knock out blow against president Maduro. All you have to do is take a look at places in which the USA has intervened. For instance, countries such as Iraq, Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, etc. These interventions have killed millions of people and created countless refugees worldwide. If America is seeking regime change in Venezuela, I can assure you it has nothing to do with restoring democracy or human rights in that country.
Narcodictatorship? You are thinking of Columbia. That’s one country over.
I concur with the article when states that USA has been trying to apply regime change in Venezuela since Hugo Chavez was elected; America has not quite achieved success but keeps forging ahead vigorously against Maduro. The facts indicate that It is a USA foreign policy objective irrespectively who occupies the white house. For instance, on Mar 10, 2015 – US President Barack Obama has issued an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat. Hungry for more, the following year, Mar 4, 2016 – President Obama extended for one year an executive order declaring the situation in Venezuela a threat to USA national security. In renewing the measure, Obama reiterated that the situation in Venezuela constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” and that he was declaring a “national emergency” to counter that threat. You have to be mentally retarded to believe that Venezuela could pose a threat to anybody let alone USA.(emphasis mine) Not to be outdone, President Trump declared on August 12, 2017 that he is not ruling out “military” action in Venezuela… many of whom appeared to be leveraging the threat to stoke dark memories of U.S. interventionism in the region” These two presidents have the nerve to threat publicly a third world country with the use of force, economic sanctions, travel bans, etc and then turn around and say USA is the one being threaten. That they are not challenged by the main stream media is a testament of how powerful the doctrinal system is.You have to keep calm, stay strong, and use sheer logic to see the deceptions and lies.
Powerfully and succinctly stated, Jose. I hope you people can persevere against the imperialists from Washington and make your own future as a sovereign nation.
Dear Realist:I would like you to analyze the following about the brilliance of Florida senator Marco Rubio that tweets:“The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator,” The article’s reporters commented the following: How absurd — remove an elected president with a military coup to restore democracy? By now, if you think that it is a circular argument written by Rubio you would be correct. This shows you that he must think we are very sick children unable to read, write, or put two plus two together. And yet, it is precisely this type of politician that is calling the shots when it comes to US foreign policy. The Americans here may in darkness but the victims in Venezuela know what the US end game is.
Alas, Jose, Senator Rubio is a disingenuous fool. He mainly caters to what he thinks the virulently anti-Castro Cuban expats living in South Florida want to hear. Unfortunately, he holds one of the two senate seats from my state of Florida, though I have never voted for him. But since he was elected, I would never call upon the army to throw him out of office. Some day we will defeat him at the ballot box.
I am a Venezuelan living in Venezuela. I have lived and experienced our crisis for the past years. The more I learn about Chavists, Madurists (and all related) and all the opposition leaders I realized nobody is sincere. None of them has been telling the truth. The government wants us to become their submissive pets (have almost gotten us to be it) that depend on them for all and adore them for being so good to us. Opposition leaders´self-centered interests, and many times indiference, make us only see how much they care for power and wealth. The mere objective of politicians is to manipulate information and twist it in their own benefit. What I read here does as well. Every person expresses from their own ideology/window/perspective, which seem to be far from reality. I can only think that the only true thing is what I see in my streets, what I lack in my pockets and food shelves and the desperation I feel in my patriots’ heart. Suddenly I question everything and trust no one (no nations, no parties, no organization). It all comes down to men destroying each other.
Forgive me I am just angry and depressed.
Seems to me you should be most angry at foreign interlopers like the American government that sticks its nose into the interests of your country. Look at the damage they’ve created, the deaths they’ve caused, around the world and try to believe they have your best interests at heart. Do you think they are Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas or however he is called in Venezuela) and just want to lavish only goods things upon you for nothing in return because they are pure and altruistic? Look at the history of your own South American continent and how it has been politically dominated and economically exploited by Uncle Sam from up North because he thinks you people are in his sphere of influence and there to serve him.
The article to which you are responding actually represents a fairly good thumbnail history of that relationship between the two America’s. I think it’s fair to say that most of the regular readers of this blog (Consortium News) want nothing more than complete self-determination for your people and all citizens of Latin America. I don’t know what the readership of Consortium News is in Venezuela, but it must be quite low and you quite a rare bird, as that is true even in the United States. Generally, only the most educated and informed among us seem to find our way to it, with the propaganda-spouting so-called mainstream media basically monopolizing the government-sponsored narratives they want us to hear and accept as the truth. It also requires ownership of a computer, which, I suspect, most Venezuelans living off the land in the countryside probably lack. You should take the realisation back to your people that not all Americans want their generals and capitalist oligarchs to move in and dominate your country once again, as they have so many of your neighbors. Left wing or right wing government, it should be the decision of the Venezuelan people.
No you are just prey to post-modernist relativist claptrap: who really knows? They are all the same anyway. The bolivarian revolution brought your country forward by leaps and bounds with utilities extended everywhere, free universal education and healthcare (in short basic human dignity) in a very short space of time. And there are trolls or those who are thick as two short planks aspiring to some sort of american ‘democracy’? What a jokefest. There is no moral equivalence here between the elected government and the american lackeys
Really? Where do you live in Venezuela?
How did your English get to be more American than any Venezuelan I know?
Do you post as the Ukrainian who was once such a fan of this site until God told him about Putin?
This makes me very sad indeed
This article is obsurd. The Venezuelan Dictatorship is killing innocent Venezuelans. Venezuelans pray for U.S. intervention everyday so that one day their beautiful country will return to peace. Maduro is hardly an elected president. This article is pathetic.
Define “dictatorship.” You seem to prefer a leader elected by force–by a military whose puppet strings are pulled by Washington, rather than a person elected by the citizens of Venezuela. (I almost said “your country,” but you are probably sitting in the same cubicle with Juan and Simon somewhere in Virginia.)
Not necessarily. I had a Venezuelan acquaintance -boyfriend and now husband of a friend actually- and despite his apparent lefty bonafides, he would go near apoplectic with the mention of Chavez (this was back shortly after the failed coup). Really hated the guy and seemed especially angry about the whole Boliverian revolution thing. Seemingly felt that Chavez was misapproppriating Bolivar’s good name. I chalked it up to the fact that he was a tall thin very spanish looking dude with rich parents while Chavez (and his most ardent supporters) had the appearance of being short crude Indios. He really couldn’t seem to come up with any really good reason for hating Chavez; he just did.
You are a chump. Propaganda was invented for the likes of you.
We are having a mini-trollfest. Either these guys are all really the same guy, or they all just speak the same stupid, meaningless tripe.
Probably the same lowlife troll as above. Only fools think that all others must be greater fools.
There can be little doubt that the neocon/neolib alliance is pulling out all the stops for regime change in Venezuela and it’s not hard to believe that they would try to do this with proxy regimes next door, but such a move could easily backfire and a foreign invasion could readily strengthen Maduro. I believe the unpopular Brazilian regime would be particularly at risk once it confirmed its position as an “American stooge”.
A “Military coup or invasion of Venezuela”, could be, but there are other possibilities for our declining empire. A war on the Korean Peninsula to prevent the coming economic integration of China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas. A proxy war in Eastern Europe to halt any further rapprochement between our vassals in Europe and Russia. And there’s always an attack on Iran to keep the chaos in the region going. A very popular choice with our Israel-first crowd.
https://sputniknews.com/popup/radio/?audio_id=74907669
Trump has an embarrassment of riches in possible military targets, all stupid and doomed to failure.
The American people must condemn what their low life leadership is doing to civilisation.The greed of these lowlives and the murderous actions perpetrated by them are so so evil.God help us.What more can we say.
I agree, but any actions taken by the U.S. will be sold to the American public as a humanitarian effort to release the Venezuelan people from their communist chains of despair. Well, at least that’s the way it will appear here in the states for all practical purposes. But you are right Patrick what more can be said. Joe
This article is a long time coming and I have waited awhile for it to show up. I miss Hugo, and the way he called out W. at the United Nations.
I loved Chavez for calling out Bush also. If only more leaders had the guts that guy had.
Ah the spell of sulfur line was great, but Charlie Rangel was offended, if memory serves me right.
This is utter left wing bullshit maduro is killing us and all you talk about is oligarchs and economic war? All this is full of shit , we need maduro and all his cronies dead and buried a democracy to be restored
You working out of the same troll factory as Juan? You need to space your activities further apart to be more convincing to simpletons.
Use some common sense. Why would Maduro want to be “killing” his own base of support–the common people? The economic hardships in Venezuela were not something purposely imposed by the socialist government, but rather are mainly collateral damage from the US-instigated manipulation of the worldwide oil markets by Saudi Arabia done to harm Russia. Venezuela was basically gravy for the Yanquis de imperialismo. All the sanctions and embargoes were then applied as so much icing on the cake. They sure weren’t the handiwork of Maduro.
But all is not harmonious in tierra Yanqui. Having shot ourselves in the foot by basically decimating the domestic shale oil industry in the process of Obomber’s glorious hybrid war against Putin, we’ve got wheeler-dealer oil-tycoon/statesman Rex Tillerson now going completely medieval and threatening a shooting war, not only with Syria (to control the country’s Northeast, which just happens to have all the oil fields), but against Venezuela as well. So much for the promised Trump approach of making deals around the world in preference to making war.
Yes, and after Tillerson plants the Exxon flag into Venezuelan soil, the mighty oil giant Exxon-Mobil will get another tax break in order to rape the Venezuelan landscape of every previous asset it has. Joe
Precious (darn spell check)
Your violent language gives you away Simon. Typical troll talk.
Troll. Who do you work for? Do you think everyone can be fooled with lies?
Simon respectfully allow me to tell you how this all works here in the states. They lie to us Simón, all the time. Read Orwell’s 1984, for further instructions to how our American news works, or rather is refined. You see we here feel for you Simón, so tell us more, but they lie to us here, all the time Simón.
Taking out Gaddafi was probably the most deceptive, and sadistic of them all, oh how we were spun & wound up to hate Gaddafi the terrible rapist, child murder, as only for to later find out by journalist who were able to get out the truth that Gaddafi was a pretty amazing leader. He, Gaddafi was the unifier, not NATO or the U.S..
Simón, becareful to what you wish for, and if you need to look at Libya, the Donbas, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and while these countries for some of them were released from the burden of being under a bad leader, the people went from that to utter hellish on earth chaos. Simon if Venezuela suddenly overnight gets a branch of ISIS, then you’ll better well know it’s time to move… and oh Trump doesn’t want you here stateside. Joe
The best democracies are built right after the mass execution of the members of the previous government…
The remarks about American hegemony and bullying might be true, but this is deflecting attention and blame for the Homeric incompetence and corruption of Maduro and yet another inane foray into socialism, a kind of quagmire for political delusions, and a platform for white collar ranting. The suffering down there now is tragic, and trying to tag the US – for all of our follies – as the efficient cause of this failed state would be laughable if it weren’t so grim down there.
So this is the standard neoliberal PR monkey routine; Venezuela’s problems are due to its nationalization of private industries and corruption in the Chavez circle. The solution is to overthrow the elected government and send in the Chicago free-market ideologues to run the country. Then, hand over control of the Venezuelan oil industry to the responsible people at ExxonMobil and Chevron, apply IMF austerity packages to put the public in their place, load up the government with the Venezuelan spoiled brat aristocracy, etc.?
Let’s call all those talking points what they are: distractions. Now, it is true that escaping from under the thumb of the US neocolonial system is no easy task, and Chavez did make a few serious mistakes that could have been avoided.
First, he should have assumed that oil prices would crash and kept at least half the revenue in a sovereign wealth fund (like Norway, for example). That sovereign wealth fund would have allowed the government to weather the oil price crash without economic hardship for the Venezuelan poor and middle class.
Second, and this is perhaps a bit controversial, he should have done to Venezuela’s oligarchs what Putin did to Russia’s oligarchs in 2003 – told them they had no business in politics, and exiled and imprisoned the worst offenders (as Putin did with Khodorkovsky (prison) and Berezovsky and Gusinsky (exiled)). The others, as long as they kept to business, could have been tolerated (as Putin did with Roman Abramovich, etc.).
Now, if Chavez had taken these two steps, the Venezuelan economy would be in far, far better shape than it is now. Let others learn from his mistakes, right? No need to sweep them under the rug, it’s better to openly discuss these failings, so that they are not repeated by others.
Let me also point out that the American Empire, the imperial neocolonial system, does NOT improve the lives of the average American citizen. The profits flow to a small group of politically connected and grossly corrupt insiders (less than 1% of the population), and the general public has suffered greatly from job outsourcing, degraded domestic infrastructure, poor education and health care – because the public funds have to be diverted to propping up the Empire. This kind of imperial malaise is the norm in all empires, that’s why they all eventually collapse. To be blunt, after the collapse of the American Empire, and a short but painful period of readjustment, the average standard of living and quality of life for the American citizenry will greatly improve.
I like the way you think nonsense factory. Joe
Amen to all but your last sentence. Adjusting to a toxic, overheated, radioactive planet will not go very smoothly. The American Empire is not the world’s only critical problem, and the collapse of the empire will probably speed up the processes of our extinction.
Hey, I’m trying to maintain a positive attitude here! The worst case scenario you envisage, in which human civilization is reduced to a pack of naked monkeys fighting over the scraps on a rubbish heap, that’s what we’re trying to avoid, by any means possible. I still believe there is a way out of that nightmare end-game, although it might be a very difficult struggle to escape it. Gotta try, though.
With over the top surveillance, fema camps and the NDAA’s having obliterated habeas corpus, rather tame of you to call it “imperial malaise”, more like insidious police state.
nonsense factory – Excellent post. All points well made.
“The suffering down there now is tragic”, okay, but is an American backed junta or an American invasion of the country really going to improve their situation?
The American track record with it’s list of invaded nations and their domestic outcomes speaks for itself. Good comment Putin Apologist. Joe
Only for the oligarchs.
Troll. You have never been there or even outside the US. Who do you work for?
We must remind ourselves again and again: It’s the oligarchs stupid. Get rid of these monsters and create an egalitarian and just economic order, and the world will become a much more pleasant place, without war or poverty.
Easier said than done, eh? Well, just consider the alternative, that is, a human world sliding rapidly towards extinction, with horrible suffering for millions on the way……
Dear Mike: I believe that the oligarchs are not stupid: I think they reckon each one of us is either dumb or suffered some mental retardation. Let us take senator Rubio tweet to show my point: “The world would support the Armed Forces in #Venezuela if they decide to protect the people & restore democracy by removing a dictator,” Both reporters then asked: How absurd — remove an elected president with a military coup to restore democracy? Definitively, Rubio might think that we are incapable of rationalizing his contradictory tweet. How can we fathom the reporters’s question? It reminds me the statement written during the Vietnam war: in order to save the town, we had to destroy it.
Most people don’t remember we sent the CIA to fly Chavez out of the country after the coup that we or let some of the people who failed to depose him flee to South Florida. Of course that wasn’t reported much or for long. The following years involved a whole lot of demonization of Chavez and even more (some of it probably deserved) for Maduro. And then there is the reportage of the chaos here (sown at least partially by us). Ask the proverbial man on the street here in Amerika, and if they know anything about Venezuela at all, it will be pretty distorted-a chaotic place run by a bad man-that is by design. The thing that’s not being pushed is stories featuring attacks on Americans, or murders of children or intent by VZ to invade other countries. Since no one will buy that ISIS is operating there, my feeling is we aren’t seriously setting the place up for invasion. I feel like the Columbians have their hands full to some extent with FARC boycotting elections (last I heard, anyway). Hard to believe they want to engage in a war outside their borders right now.
I think a great question is this: If Trumpkin could invade anywhere (or simply send more troops somewhere we’re already fighting); where would that be most likely to occur? I think we can admit that oil prices are down (and probably down at least partially because we want to deflate the economies of certain oil producing countries). That would would tend to take VZ off the immediate “to do” list, especially since they seem to be coming apart at the seams quite nicely, and without any invading armies needed.
Will, President and CEO, Hasbera Troll Industries
The vicious oligarchs in charge of US policy think nothing of destroying millions to satisfy their greed for power. Unless they can be stopped, they will most certainly destroy the world.
Zero chance? The pseudo-left press? That’s troll talk. Don’t take the bait. Don’t feed the trolls.
If you disagree with me, “mike k”, then say something coherant. To my ear, your comment sounds like ” troll talk”.
David Smith – ah yes, I do detect some “troll talk” but it isn’t coming from those you disagree with. Your comments are a wonderful example of “The 4 D’s” as the Snowden documents on government trolling so clearly delineated. “The 4 D’s: Deny, Disrupt, Degrade, Deceive.” Let’s go down the checklist and see how you’re doing so far David. “Deny” – check; “Disrupt”-check; “Degrade”-check; “Deceive”-check! Congrats! You either “are” a government troll by profile, or you simply “post like” a government troll. Personally I could care less which it is, but if your posts essentially carry out the agenda of government trolling I fail to see them as a useful contribution to productive discussion. That’s just me.
Projection.
The article made no such “bogus prediction” of a direct US invasion; it considers a “military attack on Venezuela from its Colombian and Brazilian borders” much more like other US interventions in Latin America. The attack by “David Smith” is lame troll talk, not the article or the comments in reply to the troll.
I’m shattered shattered I’m in tatters pile it high on the platters
Absolutely zero probability of a United States invasion of Venezuela. This bogus prediction is neccesary to generate interest in an otherwise lame article. It seems to be currently fashionable for the pseudo-left press to predict imminent war, almost as if they want it.
“Absolutely zero probability of a United States invasion of Venezuela.” Until it happens. Read the handwriting on the wall, David. The U.S. has long considered Latin America its private domain. Have to have a finger in every pie, you know.
An invasion would make the Maduro government instant patriotic heroes. The Venezuelan Army would fight like super-patriots and if defeated would distribute arms to the people to wage an insurgency that could not be defeated. Pro-US Venezuelan oligarchs would look like traitors. All Latin America would denounce the invasion and even NarcoStates like Colombia would oppose the precedent, Venezuela is not Panama with its Canal. It would be a political and military disaster for the United States and US leaders know that, so it ain’t gonna happen. If you disagree with me then describe a realistic scenario of a successful invasion, quotations from the torah do not make it.
No, I think you’re basically right about what would happen. Any large-scale military action by the U.S. today, be it North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, etc. would almost certainly have an outcome for the American Empire similar to that for the British and French Empires in Suez, 1956-57:
“The Suez Crisis or the Second Arab–Israeli War also named the Tripartite Aggression (in the Arab world) and Operation Kadesh or Sinai War (in Israel), was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalized the canal. After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated Great Britain and France and strengthened Nasser.” (Wiki)*
The U.S. doesn’t really have any allies right now other than Israel and Saudi Arabia; it would be end times for the American Empire. Some kind of covert regime change scheme involving delivery of heavy weapons to some Venezuelan aristocrats is far more likely, but they don’t have any lunatic religious fanatics on hand to arm down there, unlike in Syria. That would likely fizzle out quickly.
*Interestingly, it was right after the Suez Crisis that CIA support for the radical Islamic forces began, starting with supporting the Muslim Brotherhood as an anti-Nasser proxy force in Egypt. Israel got involved later by covertly supporting Hamas as an anti-PLO group, 1970s I believe, and then there were the mujahedeen in Afghanistan, who were supported starting with Carter & Brzezinski in summer 1979, followed by Reagan & Bill Casey in the 1980s. . . And most recently, the McCain/Clinton gang in Syria backing Al Qaeda and ISIS as anti-Assad forces. It seems they – the neocons & neolibs – don’t care at all about the rise of international terrorism, 9/11, ISIS slaughtering Iraqis and Yezidis, that’s all just collateral damage in their quest for geopolitical dominance. What a pack of psychotic sociopaths.
Far more difficult to keep an Empire than to win an Empire.
“If you disagree with me then describe a realistic scenario of a successful invasion, quotations from the torah do not make it.”
Awesome comeback. I also think that we don’t need to invade. We have had a great deal of success in wrecking the place and letting the oligarchs know that they will be supported in a coup. It’s likely that that will be enough.
Unfortunately, I think your assessment is 100% correct.
No invasion, but guerilla war against established government with US military advisors arming, training, and sustaining the guerilla’s using Columbia as their safe haven, with plausible deniability that the guerilla’s are indigenous and not helped by US. There will also be real and character assassinations against the ruling party by spreading rumors, lies and false flag events. Just like US did against Assad in Syria, using the Contra’s in Honduras, and the Mujahdeen in Afghanistan, and too many other numerous places. And through operation Mockingbird or whatever it is called now, the media in the US and other outlets throughout the world will manufacturer consent to support the rebels against the elected government of Venezuela. The US will make Maduro into a monster to rank up there with Hitler, Stalin, and every other leader than has opposed the US. And the media will appeal to people’s responsibility to protect the people of Venezuela and intervene militarily because some red line has been crossed by Maduro, And once we do the government will fall and the US and it’s expat Oligarch Venezuelans living in Miami will step in to form new government which does what US and our Oligarchs want.
Contras Out Of Colombia, a very interesting proposition deserving of further discussion. To topple the Venezuelan government it would need to be on a much larger scale than the Anti-Nicaragua Contras. Why is such a program not already happening if it the way to go?
The article made no such “bogus prediction” of a direct US invasion; it considers a “military attack on Venezuela from its Colombian and Brazilian borders” much more like other US interventions in Latin America. The attack is lame, not the article.
The article cites two NY Times articles, one “Should the US military invade Venezuela?” , the other quoting President Trump threatening Venezuela with “the military option”. The government of Brazil is on the record stating it will not participate in an attack on Venezuela, despite what this article erroneously claims. That leaves The United States and Colombia, and Colombia is unlikely to participate in an invasion, so yes, the article archly implies that The United States intends to invade Venezuela.
Siting two NYSLime articles is hardly a growing endorsement of factual based reporting. This is what today’s journalism looks like. Site other journalists who site other journalists who site “Unamed” or “Inside sources who dont want to be named for giving info off the record”. This is the circular firiing squad of today’s “Fake News” and massive increase in lack of trust for unbiased reporting. It sullies the rest of the findings and predictions in the remaining article.
I agree with Anon. The article expresses the fact that there is and has been for some time a campaign for regime change in Venezuela. And that just about everything short of war has been thrown at Venezuela, with no success. And that there are contingency plans for war that were initiated as part of the 2017 NDAA. And that war games have been carried out that involve U.S., Brazil and Colombia.
As far as Brazil goes, David Smith says, “Brazil is on the record stating it will not participate in an attack on Venezuela, despite what this article erroneously claims.”. Even if that were so, Brazil’s actions, participating in the war games, including the creation of a “multinational logistics base,” as Dilma Rousseff described it, only about 600 km. south of the Venezuelan border, along with build up of troops along the border, seem to belie the words.
David Smith goes on to say, “Colombia is unlikely to participate in an invasion.” But, here again, there has been a build up of Colombian “security forces” along the border including a couple thousand troops, citing the pretext of the “migratory and humanitarian crisis” (as does Brazil).
It seems the U.S. strategy is to ratchet up pressure with the intent of triggering a military coup. I mean, it’s not exactly a big secret or anything. Tillerson, Rubio, and others have openly expressed it. But failing that, all the pieces are in place.
It’s imperialism 101. Like John Perkins says, you start with the economic hit men. If that doesn’t work you call in the jackals. And if that doesn’t work you call in the marines. Situations may vary, but that’s the basic template.
Read “Open Veins of Latin America” by Eduardo Galleano. If you have a decent library nearby it is probably in there.
Fallacy of Appeal To Authority
used to be Narco news was the place to go. not much on Vz currently.http://www.narconews.com
David while I do appreciate your reluctance to get behind the insane pseudo Left I find it hard to overlook statements made by our president, like this one….
“We have many options for Venezuela. This is our neighbor … this is — we’re all over the world, and we have troops all over the world in places that are very, very far away,” Trump added. “Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering, and they’re dying. We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-im-not-going-to-rule-out-a-military-option-for-venezuela-2017-8
Also I took the articles referencing of Rubio calling for an armed rebellion to occur, as opposed to our putting U.S. troops on the ground in Venezuela to be the idea. Maybe I read the article wrong, but you must admit that Trump’s words to give reason for pause. Joe
Joe, excellent counter-arguement. President Trump doesn’t sound very sure of himself, and Little Marco, with his eye on his Latino constituency, definitely is unenthusiastic about an invasion. It is only my opinion, but I think The Joint Chiefs Of Staff would be opposed to American troops fighting a patriotic Latin American insurgency and there is not a scrap of diplomatic cover to justify an invasion, as there was in Syria or Iraq or Afghanistan.
David thanks for the level headed reply, as you may know the Internet comment boards are often found to be the last place you will ever find politeness, so thanks for keeping it cool.
Rather than argue over something which by one article to the next concerning this ‘military options’ jazz spouted out by President Bombastic, leaves us with no clear answer to a U.S. military invasion, as pondered over from one writer to the next reporter to what we may expect. In other words everyone is speculating over this idea of a military invasion of Venezuela.
I lean towards taking this invasion thing over Venezuela as a very serious thing. I mean David it isn’t like our U.S. Government hasn’t lied to us before about such matters. I mean did anyone back in 1988 suspect that Poppy Bush would order an invasion of his pal Manuel Noriega in 1989? And the lies our U.S. government concocted in order to brutally take out Gaddafi, remember the viagra propaganda, was evil and awful, but it was also another unexpected event in it’s early days that took on a life of it’s own.
So, taking into consideration Rubio’s call for rebellious regime change in Venezuela, and Trump’s not ruling out any military action to be used against Maduro, it may be better for us to think the worst, and wish for the best, when it comes to the U.S. dealing with Maduro, and his Venezuela.
Read this short bio concerning Ricardo Hausmann, and then think of all that was made of Ahmed Chalabi‘s words, and then believe what you want. You make a descent argument for the U.S. not invading Venezuela, but in the year 2000 if I had told you of how the U.S. will invade 7 nation’s within 5 years would you not have told me of how plum loco I sounded? Joe
Ricardo Hausmann, a former minister of planning of Venezuela and former Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank, is Director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University and a professor of economics at the Harvard Kennedy School.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/venezuela-catastrophe-military-intervention-by-ricardo-hausmann-2018-01
Here is an excerpt ….
“As solutions go, why not consider the following one: the National Assembly could impeach Maduro and the OFAC-sanctioned, narco-trafficking vice president, Tareck El Aissami, who has had more than $500 million in assets seized by the United States government. The Assembly could be constitutionally appoint a new government, which in turn could request military assistance from a coalition of the willing, including Latin American, North American, and European countries. This force would free Venezuela, in the same way Canadians, Australians, Brits, and Americans liberated Europe in 1944-1945. Closer to home, it would be akin to the US liberating Panama from the oppression of Manuel Noriega, ushering in democracy and the fastest economic growth in Latin America.2
According to international law, none of this would require approval by the United Nations Security Council (which Russia and China might veto), because the military force would be invited by a legitimate government seeking support to uphold the country’s constitution. The existence of such an option might even boost the prospects of the ongoing negotiations in the Dominican Republic.”
David not to beat a dead horse, but as of 1/1/17 CIA World Fact Book shows Venezuela as having 300,900,000,000 bbl of crude, Venezuela comes in at number 1 in the crude order category, Venezuela is followed by Saudi Arabia who has around 35 billion bbl’s less than Venezuela, where Canada barely peaks the half mark of Venezuela’s amazing bbl amount, and then Iran & Iraq doubled together equals Venezuela’s communist crude bbl total.
The U.S. is number eleven on the World Fact Book. Out of the 11 countries including the U.S. there is Iran at number 4 & Russia at number 8. If the U.S. were to lead from behind, and be a silent partner on a coalition of nations, pick a few, and have them take out Maduro, as that then Exxon could under a unnamed country representing the coalition that took out Maduro would allow the mega oil corporate giant to still lay claim on Venezuela’s huge reserves. Country names don’t mean anything in this era we are now in, well I am talking international corporations of course., and not you and me.
What I just described didn’t even mention of what taking Venezuela would do to Iran and Russia. I would suspect an even lower price selling of bbl would about do Iran and Russia in at least the crude oil market, unless Iran and Russia somehow took the market by friendship, faith, and or trust then I would believe that by sacrificing Venezuela’s crude oil would still have 276 billion bbl’s of crude left if Russia and Iran were to be completely drawn down to dry rock. As you will soon discover when you do the math that I’m no mathhead, but still bbl’s are bbl’s and I can count that by capturing Venezuela the U.S. wouldn’t even need to fight another war for oil ever again…. I better watch I’ll be giving some neocon selling bullets.
Anyone with crude oil knowledge feel free to correct me.
I seriously doubt war for the U.S. in the front, but the more I think of what you said, our Pentagon won’t want it, and then I remember I a certain General Tommy Franks didn’t want to go into Iraq either, if rumor is to be believed. So I’ll finish it this way, let’s both keep an eye on it, and I don’t know nut’n.
Think about it David. Joe
Joe, I do not believe the US military has any appetite for dealing with a patriotic Venezuelan irregular insurgency employing thousands of IEDs.
David my first comment was hung up in moderation for quite some time, so read it when it comes available.
David I don’t see you and I being that far apart. I personally see a coalition of nations being formed if military action is thought to be required in Venezuela, and at best an American adviser unit or two will be present. I also would add that U.S. air power could accompany the multi-coalition. In fact, see Libya as it’s model. Today’s U.S. military is ordered to lead from behind. Joe
Joe, read your first comment which is an excellent summary of the arrogance of the “interventionists” and I understand now why you take the threat of an invasion of Venezuela seriously. IMHO, the fiasco on Iraq should be considered as a likely model for what could happen following a foreign invasion of Venezuela. Latin Americans are very patriotic and sensitive to Gringo meddling and an invasion would provoke a ferocious insurgency armed with IEDs and the fearsome Explosive Formed Penetrator.
David I hope you are right, and if so, this may prove that the Pentagon is finally getting wise. Good discussion David Smith. Joe
Good points Joe, but I’m sure David will see these as idle threats, and maybe they are. It’s unfortunate that he dismisses the entire article as lame when it addresses not only our interventionism in Venezuela, as well as elsewhere, and indirectly addresses our hypocrisy, especially when one considers the outrage that our government expresses that Russia hacked our elections. That being said, we’re so out of touch with reality at this point all things are possible, even though a direct military attack on Venezuela would create a lot of blow back, and would do irreparable harm to America, but then again we are on the eve of destruction.
Talking to David is much like what we talked about Annie in regard to our discussing politics with our many friends, and relatives. The idea though is to keep talking, and to debate this stuff, until they start calling us traitors, or conspiracy gooks. Which may happen at any moment during our debate, but so what I’ve been called worst.
I see where David is coming from though, because American politicians huff and puff a lot about waging war on uncooperative nation’s to who reject our business hegemony, as this is our capitals mantra. It’s like these people who run this country like to make threats, but they always deep down inside don’t believe any nation who is resisting their hegemonic overtures will stand up to them, and that our threats will always work to make our opponents concede to our wishes because we are tough. There’s seems to never be a concern to an enemy choosing to protect itself by committing their nuclear arsenals to a first strike nuclear attack. The popular thought, is who would do something so stupid and crazy. And with that in mind America marches on to bully everybody and anybody it wishes to, because we are the exceptional and indispensable nation to the world. What more is necessary to keep peace the American way? Joe
I know dialogue is important and can change things, but I wish the type of dialogue that goes on here would have a wider audience. As I’ve said previously, everyone I know reads, views, mainstream’s take on things. I could understand Dave’s belief that the threat of war with Venezuela is nothing more then bravado, and I tend to agree, but at the same time I don’t trust us anymore to act in a sane manner. However calling it a lame article is ignoring much of what the article addressed. I felt nauseated when I was reading it, and the word rape came to mind, and really how is it any different? Our world wide interventionism is not a new topic for me, but I was feeling how abusive we are, and the politicians and the oligarchs that determine their political decisions are not only never held accountable, but too often are recognized and respected in this country. I’m thinking of people like Kissinger, Reagan, etc, and now even Bush is climbing the ladder into respectability.
Since you put it that way bringing up the lack of accountability you have every reason on earth to feel nauseated. I also agree with you that David’s remark about the article being lame is a bit to much to fathom considering all of what has gone on inside Venezuela, as I too believe this article was an excellent description of that country’s troubles. I also maybe am to understanding of David’s remarks, but that’s me. I like you Annie actually enjoy the back and forth with various opinions of the commentariat, and welcome a wider range of same. I wish that the many, many, others who frequent this site who don’t leave comments were to sometimes drop in with their views, but in the beginning I hesitated for a real long time before I finally did speak up, so possibly the silent ones will eventually speak up. Joe
The US has already invaded Venezuela covertly, David Smith, via the CIA. You are blind because you seem to wish to be so. Ulterior motives, perhaps? I lived in Colombia for nearly four years. I know of what I speak. Shameful what we do to nations who wish to determine their own form of government, especially if they have natural resources we want to steal…
Strawman Fallacy. This article promotes the idea that the US military will invade Venezuela, that is what I disagree with, and I make valid arguments that currently you can’t see, as they are stuck in moderation.
Will the Venezuela coup come with film footage showing the eight to a dozen paid civilian actors waving both the Venezuelan flag alongside the American flag, and show their appreciation for their being liberated by the awesomeness of the U.S. Empire? Will we Americans hear the word ‘regime’ used over and over a thousand times to describe the Maduro government? And will all this madness make one feel safe and secure to live inside of the U.S.? Will the U.S. deny entry to Venezuelan refugees? If you answered yes to every question I raised, well then you are experienced to how this all may play out. It’s a war crime kids, and the U.S. is guilty of it, but pay no never mind to that man behind the curtain. Thank the stars and the moon for Toto, and for Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers.
Ahmen Joe!
Considering that the US and UK want to import the murderous White Helmets model globally, this post is quite important. We need to stop the use of “R2P” and NGO’s that the government uses to conduct regime change. This post reveals some of the main players involved and their actions related to past false flags.
Revealing the Links Between Brown Moses, Bellingcat, PropOrNot and the Atlantic Council in Relation to Psy Ops for Syria and Ukraine
https://steemit.com/news/@clarityofsignal/revealing-the-links-between-brown-moses-bellingcat-propornot-and-the-atlantic-council-in-relation-to-false-flags-psy-ops-for