If you’re getting a sense of deja vu, no, it’s not a glitch in the matrix. You have been right here before and many times. Shall we speak of Vietnam, or maybe Afghanistan, or my favorite, Iraq. This invasion of Venezuela shadows that particular misstep most perfectly. One would think that we are an unteachable race of people, Americans, but the fact is that Donald Trump promised big oil a big payoff. They donated $500 million to his campaign. And now they’re going to reap the profits, while the rest of us reap the whirlwind. Some great anecdotal quotes from Meidas Touch on this weekend’s debacle, which is just beginning.
… ABC: “Trump’s plan to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it after capturing Maduro in a raid isn’t likely to have a significant immediate impact on oil prices. Venezuela’s oil industry is in disrepair after years of neglect and international sanctions, so it could take years and major investments before production can increase dramatically.”
… Oil industry analyst Patrick De Haan: “While many are reporting Venezuela’s oil infrastructure was unharmed by US military actions, it has been decaying for many many years and will take time to rebuild.”
… “There is currently a surplus of oil on the global market. Venezuela is known to have the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves of approximately 303 billion barrels. That accounts for roughly 17% of all global oil reserves.”
… Business Insider: “A group of about 20 US investors is already planning to travel to Venezuela in March, following news that Maduro had been taken into US custody. Charles Myers, chairman of Signum Global Advisors: ‘I think the centerpiece of Venezuela’s success, looking out 12 months or even 24 months, is foreign investment. A big part of the Venezuela story, starting today, is foreign investment, especially in oil and gas, which is pretty straightforward, but there are massive opportunities in construction, in tourism.’”
… “Myers said it’s not the responsibility of his firm to take a ‘moral position’ on whether it was right or wrong for the US to involve itself in Venezuela’s govt, but rather to help the firm’s clients anticipate investment opportunities or mitigate risk due to geopolitical events.”
… Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): “Big Oil spent millions and millions to get Trump elected. They’re getting a great return on their investment.”
… Rep. Dan Goldman: “Trump promised oil executives that if they gave him $1 billion for his campaign, that he would do right by them. And they gave about 500 million. And this is a massive gift that is in violation of international law and is essentially just co-opting an entire country’s natural resources for the benefit of US companies.”
… Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO): “All I can think about is the 20 years, trillions of dollars, thousands of American lives that we spent in Iraq and Afghanistan without votes, without accountability, without Congress putting an end to it, trying to nation build. And here we are once again, toppling a foreign regime in control, trying to run a foreign country for its oil.”
… Marge Greene on NBC: “After this regime change in Venezuela, I fear that we’re going to see jobs just move south because we’re already hearing about big corporations lining up their trips to Venezuela for the next big business opportunity that exists while Americans sit here with no options that are going to provide them with good paying jobs and affordable health care.”
… Sen. Ruben Gallego: “This is a dumb admin following a dumb man into a dumb war.”
… Bloomberg: “Trump’s capture of Maduro sparked widespread discussion on Chinese social media, with many users saying the operation offered a template for how Beijing could handle tensions with Taiwan. Trump’s operation shot to the top of China’s Weibo late Sat, with the topic gaining some 440 million views on the platform. Many commentators were quick to make comparisons between the fate of the South American nation and that of the self-ruled democracy Beijing has vowed to claim.”
… One viral post: “I suggest using the same method to reclaim Taiwan in the future. Since the US doesn’t take international law seriously, why should we care about it?”
… Another: “The US imperialists’ lightning raid on Venezuela to capture Maduro and his wife provides a perfect blueprint for our military to launch a surprise attack on Frog Island and seize Lai Ching-te.”
… “China’s Foreign Ministry urged the US to release Maduro and his wife and ensure their safety. The raid on Venezuela violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations, as well as the principles of the UN Charter, it said in a statement. Earlier, the ministry said it was ‘deeply shocked’ by the ‘blatant use of force against a sovereign state.’”
… House Oversight Dems: “We are sure it’s just a coincidence, but today is the statutory date for DOJ to explain its redactions in the Epstein file productions. We have not forgotten, and we won’t let up – regardless of the President’s new unconstitutional actions.”
There you go. We know that Trump will stop at nothing to stonewall the Epstein investigation, but who knew that he would go to the length of invading another country and implicating the United States in who knows how long of a conflict?
Those other wars were complete waste of lives and money clusterf**ks – and they were run by competent people.
Now we’re about to find out how well incompetent people do it.
We’ll need new metaphors.