Are we going to invade? “We are certainly looking at land now,” said Trump.
Head of the U.S. Military’s Southern Command Resigns
The New York Times reports Head of the U.S. Military’s Southern Command Is Stepping Down
The officer, Adm. Alvin Holsey, is leaving his job as head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America, even as the Pentagon has rapidly built up some 10,000 forces in the region in what it says is a major counterdrug and counterterrorism mission.
It was unclear why Admiral Holsey is suddenly departing, less than a year into what is typically a three-year job, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career. But one current and one former U.S. official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said that Admiral Holsey had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.
“Prior to Trump, I can’t think of a combatant commander who left his or her post early, ever,” said Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was even more pointed in his criticism.
“At a moment when U.S. forces are building up across the Caribbean and tensions with Venezuela are at a boiling point, the departure of our top military commander in the region sends an alarming signal of instability within the chain of command,” Mr. Reed said in a statement.
Since early September, U.S. Special Operations forces have struck at least five boats off the Venezuelan coast that the White House says were transporting drugs, killing 27 people. American officials have privately made it clear that the main goal is to drive Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, from power.
As a matter of international law, for a nonstate group to qualify as a belligerent in an armed conflict — meaning its members can be targeted for killing based on their status alone, not because of anything they specifically do — it must be an “organized armed group” with a centralized command structure, and engaging in hostilities.
The size and scope of the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean region is significant. There are now about 10,000 U.S. troops, most of them at bases in Puerto Rico, but also some 2,200 Marines on amphibious assault ships. In all, the Navy has eight warships and a submarine in the Caribbean.
Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Operations in Venezuela
In the irony of the day, please note Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Operations in Venezuela
President Trump has authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert action in Venezuela, while also floating the idea of land strikes, in a broadening campaign against alleged drug trafficking.
“I authorized for two reasons,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House, alleging Venezuelan leaders have “emptied their prisons into the United States of America” and “we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela.”
The authorization enables the CIA to operate clandestinely in the country and potentially take action against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, his government and drug traffickers, according to an administration official. Covert action, which is authorized in what is known as a presidential finding, can involve a range of secret activities including paramilitary and lethal operations meant to influence political, economic or military conditions in foreign countries.
The move by Trump comes amid the biggest U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean in decades.
The administration is facing questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about the legality of the boat strikes. It has argued that Trump’s designation of the gangs as foreign terrorist organizations earlier this year grants the Pentagon authority to use military force against them, an argument that many experts say isn’t legally sound.
Covert Operations
Am I the only one who finds it amusing that we are announcing “covert” operations.
A covert operation is a secret military or political activity where the identity of the sponsoring government is concealed or publicly denied. Unlike a clandestine operation, which emphasizes concealing the action itself, a covert operation primarily aims to obscure its source.
U.S. Military Looms Offshore
The Wall Street Journal reports Venezuela Mobilizes Troops and Militias as U.S. Military Looms Offshore
Venezuela is moving troops into position on the Caribbean coast and mobilizing what President Nicolás Maduro asserts is a millions-strong militia in a display of defiance against the biggest American military buildup in the Caribbean since the 1980s.
The strongman’s regime has cranked up its propaganda machine. On state television, radio and social media, announcers are telling Venezuelans that the U.S. is a rapacious Nazi-like state that wants to dig its claws into the country’s oil wealth but that the Venezuelan military, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, are positioning to repel any invasion.
The regime’s aggressive posturing obscures the vulnerability of its armed forces against the world’s most powerful military. Experts say the U.S. buildup isn’t enough to support an invasion of Venezuela but would be sufficient to support sustained strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs to the U.S. or the bombing of targets on Venezuela’s soil, as President Trump has warned.
What’s Being Deployed
- Guided-missile destroyers
- F-35B jet fighters
- MQ-9 Reaper drones
- Special operations ship
- Eight Navy warships
- An attack submarine
- P-8 Poseidon spy planes
- Army’s secretive 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the “Night Stalkers”
- B-52 bombers
- 10,000 troops
Deployment bullet points compiled from the preceding links.
Is That enough?
Trump said Wednesday that strikes could take place on suspected drug smugglers on Venezuelan soil. “We are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he told reporters.
Trump on Afghanistan
In September 2017, the Trump administration began deploying more than 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of US forces in Afghanistan to more than 14,000.
Biden finally ended the nonsense after Trump promised to and failed.
Biden made a big mess of the exit but at least he got us out after Trump failed to deliver. But now what?
Please note Trump suggests U.S. troops could return to Afghan base over China concerns
President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he is working to reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from the country left the base in the Taliban’s hands.
Trump floated the idea during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he wrapped up a state visit to the U.K. and tied it to the need for the U.S. to counter its top rival, China.
“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of the base in an aside to a question about ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity. [Yeah right. Why didn’t you do it?]
More involvement in Afghanistan is madness.
And yet another ridiculous regime change operation is taking place in Venezuela. Shhh. This one is a covert secret.
We never learn.
we can’t stop frugs targeting supply. Just look at where drug use is highest: prisons.
just think about that and then about the stupidity of thinking you can solve drugs by trying to stop supply into a country as big as the US
Back in the 90’s, drug dealers would offer up to $15,000 to any law enforcement who warned them of a drug raid.
The Permian and Bakken are going to run down in the next few years. There’s already some issues with waste water and the cost to get rid of it. Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves in the world and the country is in the U.S.’s backyard.
China is getting its oil from Iran and Russia. If the mid east oil is curtailed by political upheaval, Mr Puti better watch out, China considers Siberia and further west as ancient Chinese territory.
Permian run down in a few years? It has increased oil production in 14 of the last 15 years! Production is 10 times more this year than in 2008.
Looking back in history Venezuela was prosperous in the 80’s and lots of them were tourists here and invested their money in real estate. I confess to not knowing what happened? Anyone?
It’s an XK-Red 27 technique
Our country used to be a beacon of rule of law. Now, it is rule by force and to hell with what anyone thinks is morally correct. The destruction of the so called narcotic trafficking vessels is a clear violation of due process. Just wait until the government starts arresting or killing citizens for thought crimes.
There is far too much “due process” in the USA these days.
Due process was created as a make work plan for lawyers!
I was hoping America’s drug war was finally over but nah, the narco warriors are simply taking it international.
democracy works. amerikan people keep voting for their representatives to engage in endless world wide warfare with bases and troops on every continent. we have been at war since at least 1898. democracy works. hat tip to republic by plato. the greatest book on what to expect.
Exactly.
Stop blaming our leaders, all you hypocrites who only vote Democrat or Republican.
YOU are responsible for what our government does because you CHOOSE our government. You ARE the government.
Everyone has gone insane…
Trump deploys secretive ‘Night Stalkers’ regiment as Venezuela mobilizes MILLIONS of troops raising fears of all-out war
18 October 2025
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15203837/Trump-deploys-Night-Stalkers-Venezuela-Maduro.html
Maduro claims to have mobilized a millions-strong militia and is warning the population that Trump is preparing to invade.
Military experts say the true size of his army is just 125,000 soldiers and his rusty Soviet-era hardware stands no chance against America’s warfighting machine.
Trump has deployed B-52 nuclear bombers, guided missile destroyers, F-35B fighter jets, P-8 Poseidon spy planes, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops.
Included in that group is the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the ‘Night Stalkers.’
Maduro is pumping out propaganda calling the US a Nazi state that wants to claim Venezuela’s oil as he rushes troops to the coastlines and the border with Colombia.
‘Raise your hands if you want to be a slave to the gringos,’ Maduro said earlier this week. ‘If you want peace, get ready to earn peace. The people are ready for combat,
ready for battle.’
I’m surprised that some clandestine service doesn’t drone eliminate some of our top leaders, just to send a message that no one is actually safe.
The continuation of this administration is the best evidence that there was no government conspiracy surrounding the assassination of JFK.
Good thought, but JFK was a good guy… Killing him and empowering trump go hand in hand. There is a company that sells munitions carrying drones to our government already. Ondas Holdings, the technology can simply hone in on your cell phone signal and boom, yer gone…
Feel better now?
I agree. I have long wondered the same thing. I guess we shouldn’t believe what we read/see in books and movies.
There is a video by Bald and Bankrupt on YT where he’s touring Venezuela and asks shop owners in the area that was once the worst part of the country for crime about the level of crime. They say it had dropped tremendously because the gangs “went to other countries.” Grok: In summary, while TdA and affiliated Venezuelan gangs have moved to the US amid mass migration—posing a targeted threat through crimes affecting migrants and locals—their numbers and influence are not in a way that overwhelms communities. So, there’s the exporting criminal gangs to the US excuse enabled by the Senile Manchurian Puppet’s (Biden) wide open borders policy.
On drugs, Peter Schweizer has written a 2024 book, “Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans” which shows that it is primarily China that is the source of our illicit drug issues but China, unlike Venezuela, is not an oil exporter and not an easy target for mostly useless PR attacks on 6-man drug boats.
Also, thanks to short term profit seeking being inherent in Wall Street behavior, China has proved the great truth of the old commie adage which is the fundamental message of a much longer Lenin quote, “A capitalist will sell you the rope you hang them with,” which in this case is “will effectively finance the construction of your rope making factories, provide rope making IP or ignore its theft, and then BUY the rope you hang them with.” As a result we’ve become dangerously dependent on a political adversary.
That has led to the profitable situation for our Military, Industrial, Congressional Complex (as Eisenhower was originally going to call it) where an enemy has been created primarily with our help and we’ve become so dependent on the products of the industries we’ve exported to them that we are doomed to continue to support the enhancement of the growth of their military strength by buying their products which are no longer made here.
In other words, it’s a self-licking MICC ice cream cone.
– The officer, Adm. Alvin Holsey, is leaving his job as head of the U.S. Southern Command.
> Could be that He simply wishes to retire? Maybe He wasn’t following the script laid out for Him? There is always the issue of incompetence, as we have seen way more of that from Our Military over the past few years!
– Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was even more pointed in his criticism.
> You don’t say… Surprised? not!
– Since early September, U.S. Special Operations forces have struck at least five boats off the Venezuelan coast that the White House says were transporting drugs, killing 27 people.
> Let’s hope that they got the message To Stop! If not, then more action will be necessary. When & Why is Protecting Our Country from Drug Pushers an issue NOW? Oh TDS of course…
– The size and scope of the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean region is significant. There are now about 10,000 U.S. troops.
> Finally Time to show that we are serious about Drug Infiltration Into America by Foreign Countries. Get used to it, and push your crap elsewhere or pay a hefty price for your actions. Love It!!! Ha anyone reading this ever lost a child to drug pushers? It must be stopped! I don’t envy that position at all!
Yeah, no
Maduro loves Lisa. Lisa belongs to XOM and CVX. Gold Engulf. SPX and QQQ: 5 inside bars. Lower rates/higher oil prices.
United States of the world…
Has a nice ring to it?
Rolls right off the tongue?
We’re turning Chinese?
I don’t think so..
Not enough money in world domination apparently…
So we’ll have forever wars instead because those folks over yonder are bad and likely to take everything we cherish
Yeah, those folks right over there, on the next block.
Son’s of bee atches have been looking too different from what i’m used to.
You too?
I’m just saying that “margarine-tay-tay- used- to -be -orange- now- Green is enlightening me to the FACT that we might as well get it over with.
Swear in that new critter, release the eye- stain -files- list -pictorial- coming- to- gee- juss- one- for- now- and -forever -who’s
NOT innit. …
Stay with me now, don’t be getting distracted at this critical juncture…
United States of the world!
Brought to you by the greatest nation that ever infected the universe!
C’mon, all you high EYE CUE meat bags have thought there is no better way, ( nor ANY OTHER), to achieve world peace…
I F F I N we started tomorrow we’d prolly be done b4 the AI over lords removed us us all since we created them no longer have any value whatsoever..
I’ll leave it up to you and all your genius progeny since like the great MISH ALMIGHTY me and the missus decided forty freaking years ago that bringing children in to the PRESENT state of affairs would make us a couple of SADIST…
The oil is offshore and easy to take while the Venezuelans throw sticks at our drilling operations and FSOP’s protected by our military. Kinda like taking candy from a baby.
We do not need to invade the land to get the oil.
Don’t forget, it’s always about the oil baby!
<><><><><><><>
To get Lisa Maduro has to get Guyana. Venezuela oil fields are in the Orinoco belt, Lake Maracaibo, Delta Amacuro and Sucre. US, Chinese and Russian co are drilling oil in Venezuela. They are paying Maduro dividends. Without Maduro Guyana can nationalize Lisa. The US protects Guyana from Venezuela.
There are no good options. I actually commend Trump if hes actually going to stop the drug problem. But dont most drugs come from all over south america and central Anerica?
It does not come in via little rag tag boats. It comes in on C-130’s owned by people that do not tolerate competition by mush heads in small boats.
It’s the DEMAND knuckle head.
Comments on Mish are top of the line because of people like you CO!
Economics masters of the forecasts to minimize or remove uncertainty to elevate our future quality of life?
/s
You and most of the peanut gallery commentary is why I’m fascinated with this BLOG since the GFC….
let’s be strict about what drives an product?
Demand 🫴
Class dismissed.
This is a AI generated comment.
Sleep well comrades.
“Biden finally ended the nonsense after Trump promised to and failed.
Biden made a big mess of the exit but at least he got us out after Trump failed to deliver. But now what?”
Say what? Biden replaced Trump before Trump had executed the planned exit because he lost in 2020. Biden went against the advice of his entire chain of command in conducting the exit and then lied about it and blamed Trump. He should have been impeached just for that. If we had a real press corps, they would have pushed Biden on this issue alone.
Thank for the comedy… Sheesh!
Trump set the schedule and pledged to leave on that date but did no planning to get people out. Then he lost the election and left the mess for Biden to take the blame for. That is what pathological liars like Trump do.
I sure do not like the far left and far right. They make our nation look petty and quite frankly Stupid.
Americans are better than this!
There are endless commercials on TV about how Trump has “secured” the border and stopped the flow of illegals and presumably all the drugs they were bringing in so why is it necessary to invade/bomb Venezuela if the border is secure and no one is crossing over?
If drugs are still getting thru then who is doing it if no one is crossing the border? I have commented before that what’s NOT been in the news is the huge surge in cost of any illegal drugs.
Becuz ‘murica, you wuss!
Underground tunnels & ports.
Simon Bolivar laughs as another empire shatters against his land. Really funny when you realize we just lost a war with the other graveyard of empires and went, “yeah, we just need to try again!”
Whoa… huge amount of missing context here.
Venezuela has been threatening to invade its neighbor Guyana and take an oil-rich region known as Essequibo. The U.S. is against this. The U.S. force sends a strong signal in this regard.
I can also think of many reasons why someone might thoughtfully pre-announce likely upcoming covert operations. One example: the adversary already expects such operations, so the announcement gives nothing away, but it does ratchet up the official public pressure on the target. There’s value in that.
Finally, keep in mind that in serious conflict, nothing is as it seems. So whatever they’re saying publicly is for show, not to “tell you the truth”. The public story is frequently a diversion or distraction.
For more context on Essequibo, see The NY Times article “Venezuela is Holding an Election. For Another Country’s Land.”: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/world/americas/venezuela-election-essequibo-guyana.html
Ain’t invading with only 10K troops. Call me back at 150K
“No new wars”
And now we’re looking at a land invasion in South America
Absolutely insane
Remind me Hitler in 1939. He was to be awarded the peace nobel price but instead declared WW2 a month prior prices declaration and thus the price was cancelled.
Maybe the price wasn’t right…
One good way to stop the drug war is to legalize all that shit. Will put the cartels out of business as well our prison industrial complex. When has outlawing anything worked??
Just look how well legalization is working in Portland
The south is full of drug addicts. Sickest states in America are red conservatives states you idiot.
When has legalizing it actually worked?
Since virtually forever.
Opium and cocaine has only been illegal in the US for a little over a century.
And yet…we are fighting them endlessly. Because Americans love their drugs. Keep in mind America has more mentally ill people than any other advanced nation. Because, we are creeps. We make people feel unacceptable. It’s a national past time. Americans citizens know where they live. It’s a mean ass country and you conservatives love love love that.
I say any drug conviction (use or selling) and you get sent to the Soylent Green tanks. Same for any crime above a misdemeanor.
OK, you are for pain.
Against pain relief.
Jojo you need real deep physical pain that lasts for years.
Gonna make you a believer of an addiction that stops your pain.
What if the prescription for such neverending pain was the tanks?
With drugs powerful enough to block out the pain it is doubtful that one could be a productive member of society.
World average IQ is ~90. World average IQ without East Asians is ~84.
It obviously hasn’t occurred to you that many 3rd world countries have very little to offer besides the social disorder of ‘unskilled labor’ and illiteracy because the quality of their human capital is so low.
NPCs like Bridge believe in the frictionless surface argument, that all humans have exactly the same average/median capabilities across each and every dimension despite evolving in different environments while also supposedly believing in “science” and Darwinian evolution. Morons.
It worked for alcohol and marijuana. It worked for heroin in portugal and Switzerland. Portland is a dumb example. It caused people to flock there as a result. Worked for prostitution in Nevada. Works for gambling. Was that a serious question???
Its the lesser of two evils.
Hahaha…alcohol was legalized and has stayed legalized after endless amount of attempts to control it. I’m stunned by conservatives lack of historical knowledge. Fucking idiots…the whole lot of you.
Unfortunately the secondary effects of drugs are felt by society. There is no way to prevent someone under the influence of marijuana from providing a professional service (healthcare) or performing safety critical tasks (auto repair, construction). To a lesser extent the smell of pot fields is bad and smoke on clothing is even more offensive.
I get your point. Thing is humans are pack animals. If they are told they are unacceptable, they will feel terrible. Because we are multi cultural we are more inclined to be angry about people who are different. That means we are constantly challenged in our country. Our pack hates us. Leadership is essential for our nation of immigrants. We are easily played. This one is worse than that one. This one is better than that one. Most Americans are struggling to stay alive and have no patience for our differences. So we fail if our leadership is prejudiced.
.
That’s doing to happen whether it’s legal or not. I don’t understand your point
It is a fact that people under the influence of every drug there is has helped you in your life..
You are and were un aware.
Legalization of hard drugs would be an absolute disaster, how many people are addicted to prescription pain killers that were prescribed by doctors? Too many to count. I have a friend who was over prescribed oxycontin years ago and his life has been in shambles since. Now add into this prescription painkiller mess heroin, cocaine, Fentanyl, meth that people will start using recreationally? That’s how they all become addicts, doing it for fun or for escape.
I used to watch “Intervention” on A&E TV, the one thing I took from that is what an absolute death grip addictions can have on people. Allot of these people went from individuals with tons of potential to become just zombies, totally controlled by their addictionsl
British Columbia decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs a couple of years ago, it was a failure and they had to backtrack and recriminalize drug possession.
People addicted to hard drugs like opioid have helped you achieve your goals…
You are and were an aware.
Under the influence of drugs is a natural state of being
Sure and that is how we get situations like below. Now imagine that meth, coke Fentanyl and heroin are also legal.
Nearly half of drivers killed in crashes had THC in their blood
THC-impaired driving deaths are soaring, and legalization hasn’t slowed the trend.
October 5, 2025
American College of Surgeons
Summary:
Over 40% of fatal crash victims had THC levels far above legal limits, showing cannabis use before driving remains widespread. The rate didn’t drop after legalization, suggesting policy changes haven’t altered risky habits. Experts warn that the lack of public awareness around marijuana’s dangers behind the wheel is putting lives at risk.
…
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251005085621.htm
Exactly my point, Legal or not people are still going to take that garbage. Somehow legalizing heroin in Portugal worked after they tried everything else. The overall cost savings in crime and the prison system and increased tax revenue will help with treatment and maybe prevention. Prevention worked for tobacco which is about as addictive as drugs.
Oh please. I’m certain that you would change this viewpoint if someone high on these free, unrestricted drugs plowed into your car, crippling you for the rest of your life and perhaps killing some family members.
Americans want their illegal drugs. What does that say about Americans?
By what metric? The only wars I can think of that they won the past 100 years are Panama, Grenada, arguably Haïti.
Shooting these fishermen is straight out murder.
Those boats with outboard motors cannot even carry the 300 or so jerry cans they need to get to American shores. Why 11 people on board taking the place of the drugs you want to take along? Venezuela is not an important vector of smuggled drugs. The whole narco-terrorist deal is CIA narrative gaslighting.
Everybody know this is just straight out overt regime change.
How do you know they are shooting fisherman? And I am not saying its right to shoot the drug dealers buy how do you know they are fisherman??
I don’t trust the govt at all but this I believe is true. They know how much change you have in your pockets. Their surveillance capabilities are incomprehensibly scary.
I have not trusted the government for a long time too, PRE Trump BTW, anyway, saying you are shooting innocent fisherman is a bold statement.
Can someone prove that? Or is this just say whatever the fuck you want about Trump because its popular?
Well, Trump does have a history of sending covert ops guys who end up knowingly killing innocent fisherman who stumbled upon their “mission” and then puncturing their lungs so they’ll sink into the ocean. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/6/us-navy-seals-killed-north-korean-civilians-during-botched-mission-report
Remember when we knew exactly which weapons of mass destruction they had and exactly where they were located? Then there was that special day when some Iraqis citizens were leading the military around a town claiming they could hear screams from an underground prison, so they dug the whole city up and found… exactly nothing but dirt. It doesn’t prove they were fisherman, but it ain’t exactly unlikely.
The WMD bs was a deliberate lie. That is when I realized how malevolent the govt really is. This is why Colin Powell resigned.
Maduro as drug kingpin is also a lie.
Powell was in charge of the US Army’s coverup of the child rapes, baby murders, and hundreds of other civilian murders in My Lai, South Vietnam. The WMD lie wasn’t his first rodeo and I seriously doubt he felt guilty.
Whenever someone says “everybody knows”, I just roll over laughing.
The single most obvious thing is that we aren’t being told very much, and what we are being told doesn’t add up. Therefore the claim that “everybody knows” is absolute B.S. Rather, “no one knows”.
Consider a cat being entertained by a laser pointer… or Pavlov’s dogs. Here, they flash a few juicy photos and say a few words, and you’re all jumping all over and drooling from knee-jerk reactions…
P.S. Wars won in past 100 years:
(1) World War 2 (80 years ago),
(2) Korean War (S. Korea remained free),
(3) Cold War (USSR disintegrated; Eastern Europe regained independence; no nuclear war),
(4) First Persian Gulf War (Kuwait not annexed by Iraq)
…
I would add that the best victories are the ones where your aims are achieved without any battles needing to be fought… those are legion but don’t get recorded as “wars won”. Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Airlift …
1-Soviet Union broke the back of the Wehrmacht before the Normandy landing even got started
2-Korea War was lost to the yellow hordes, goals not attained, 1/3 of NK population killed, no buildings left in Pyongyang left standing, perpetual enmity. How was that winning compared to doing nothing?
3-Cold War was not a real war, and could easily have been avoided entirely; Soviet Union was militarily an insurmountable obstacle
4-Iraq was signaled in advance it was ok to take Kuwait — No regime change or anything else achieved. Do you consider a man who beats up a kid in the sandbox to be a champion?
And let’s not forget the war against drugs, the war against inflation, and a number of other “wars”.
(1) A win with allied assistance is still a win. Your comment about “Normandy” is overly narrow. The allies also ground up Wehrmacht in Italy, and the U.S. more or less single-handedly destroyed Japan.
(2) It was the North that invaded the South. The South remains free. That’s a win. Any residual enmity is on the North not on the South.
(3) You utterly missed my point about the greatest victories being the ones that don’t require battle casualties…
(4) Most wars start due to something stupid, but that’s irrelevant to the question of victory. At the time of the war the Iraqi army was considered quite powerful, and there was absolutely no chatter about “kids getting beaten up in the sandbox”. The decision to fight with overwhelming force and finish quickly was sound, and reduced cost and casualties. Also in Gulf War 1, the wisest choice made by Bush Sr. was NOT to try to “change the regime”. He stuck to the point. A pity that all those lessons were forgotten 10 years later.
Trump wants its back, calling it American built (the Soviets built it in the 1950’s).
Because it’s so conveniently located in China’s backyard.
Next thing you know, Pakistan and Afghanistan are at war, after Pakistani PM has meeting with Trump.
Trump wants to rewrite history.
Just like cancelling the JCPOA with Iran…
Israel first.
That base should have never been closed before all American military and every other person in Afghanistan was out. Forcing all withdrawals out of the country from a commercial airport was to put in bluntly fucking stupid and it cost peoples lives, both civilian and military whether American or Afghani
Meanwhile China has infiltrated the whole country but I have to worry about wanting a base in China back yard? LOFL
And you are blaming Trump for another war?
Got it………
Do you want America to take Bagram?
From the 1840s at least, after considerable debating here, decisions were openly made about how much we would extend our annexations and interventions down south. In a frankly ethnic position, there were choices not to overextend and take over too many indigenous people southward. The west coast was readily snapped up in part because it had a low indigenous population. That was the temper of the times. In recent decades I have seen the federal chieftains here forgetting all kinds of lessons of history, and messages from older politics, such as our glaring fiasco of firing everyone in Iraq (not done in the case of Germany and Japan). Now, the apparatchiks they are putting in top positions are TV pretty faces with absurd cartoon notions of history, more glaringly ignorant than the last war-making generation, which was horrible. We ended up making historic blunders in the 2000s, paid for with borrowed money that still has an impact on us. This new lurching around is historically stupid. We don’t have the spare resources for wars of such completely optional need. Absent a looming emergency, the people of the USA through Congress are explicitly holding the war power. This is a constitutional abuse as well (though not the first one by our government, from both parties). Trump has a circa-1900 historical fantasy obsession. He wants to be McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt.
I am so sick of this lying sack of Sh*t fraud Trump. If he really wanted to stop the flow of drugs to the USA he would bomb Langley.
What did Biden say about Russia massing tanks and men along the Ukraine border? “As long as it’s a minor incursion…” and we know how that went.
Will this be Trump’s ‘minor incursion?’
Dear Mr. Trump, if the good people of Venezuela want a new leader, they will rise up and find one. As for us, just keep blowing up the drug boats and relax.
Sincerely,
The American People
You break it, you own it. Didn’t that work wonderfully in Iraq and Afghanistan? (It did make VP Richard Cheney some nice rewards.) We are great at breaking things, since year one. We are awful at nation building, for anyone outside our own, recently anyhow, and even that has some signal failures lately. The US as a widespread insurer of rights (and some outcomes like FEMA stuff) at home is pulling the rug on all kinds of things, right here. America first, huh? Meanwhile, ADHD Boss Man has his nose in every pot on earth.
Speaking of covert and clandestine operations, here’s a fascinating story greenlit by President Trump in his first term:
“It’s the oil” – James Baker, 34 years ago RE Iraq
We don’t need Venezuela oil these days.
We never *need* foreign oil. The point is to control what everyone else uses. To be able to turn it off at any time, like turning it off on Japan because they were taking too more Chinese territory than European-USA empires liked. (In turn, that reminds me of them approving Saddam attacking Iran but (belatedly) not Kuwait.)
Yes, it’s still about “oil”.
The war in Afghanistan cost the U.S. $2.3 trillion. U.S. casualties were 2,459 lives and 20,769 wounded. Afghanistan casualties were in the tens of thousands.
Was anything accomplished except a bunch of people getting rich off of it?
>> “Was anything accomplished except a bunch of people getting rich off of it?”
Sadly, I’m sure you know that’s all the justification TPTB need. But, yes, TPTB accomplished more. It was part of their “7 nations” plan to destroy the middle east and create a power vacuum.
“Shhh. This one is a covert secret.”
lol, I know. This is ridiculous.
Sleepy Joe’s world was much more relaxed. Now the world is being led by a bunch of wannabe dictators, and we know what that leads to. Why can’t people just be happy with doing just enough to keep us all from going mad?.
8 cuckservatives disagree!
Yes. I’m genuinely shocked this admin is worse than the last. Not like I vote(d) for Biden or any D. But Sleepy Creepy warmaking Joe was actually “less frightening” IMO. And, from where I sit, less corrupt too.
less frightening from a foreign relations perspective I see your point.
Less frightening from a domestic perspective, I do not agree
I can imagine why you say that. I guess it depends on what frightens us most. Also, this admin has only just begun.
(I did not downvote.)
Admitting Biden did some stuff right is too close to admitting that 1000% wrong (Trump math) is abnormal
I give Biden credit for pulling us out of Afghanistan, ugly as it was. Most foreign policy goals continue unchanged. “Continuity of agenda” as Brian Berletic says https://www.youtube.com/@TheNewAtlas
Continuing the proxy war in Ukraine to weaken Russia? Check
Complete subservience to Israel in their genocidal wars? Check
Continued attempts at regime change in Georgia? Check
Successful regime change in Nepal? Check
I love that guy.
A couple of questions – Do we have any real information about the gang’Tren -whatever’ And is Venezuela where our drugs come from? a few months ago it was Canada, no it was Mexico, or was it China? No data but a lot of huffin’ and puffin’ so we can drop a few bombs. I am sure this is making other Caribbean nations quite nervous.
Much more huffin than puffin.
An awful irony is that the truly conservative, individually responsible policy is for free individuals in the USA to JUST SAY NO. It doesn’t require a budget-busting war on anything, except by free people on their own poor self-regulation. And real, responsible, sane leadership would point this out, or at least try this as the first resort. This blaming others is so weak and cowardly.
But druggie retards don’t say no. Then the rest of us suffer because the druggies habit cause them to steal to fund their habit and the demand for drugs causes gangs of dealers to have turf wars, drive by shootings and corruption of public officials.
Frankly my attitude to druggies is to lace drugs and narcan with lethal doses of fentanyl to remove the dregs of society.
Sociopath. And I’m sure you are proud of it. You imagine yourself as superior. You’re special aren’t you?
Plenty of countries have the death penalty both for drug dealers and for those who commit crimes because of the drugs they take. Actions like being a druggie should have consequences for the druggie and not for the victims of the druggie be it those hurt or killed by robbery or wasted drivers. I have compassion for the victims and not the perpetrators.
And I imagine you have a drink or two now and again. Maybe even a few pills to make you feel better. Zoloft. Ambien. The occasional prescription that keeps your brain happy. Damn you conservatives ARE such hypocrites.
I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs. Strongest thing I take is aspirin. So don’t project your weaknesses into me.
All 2A supporters oppose lawsuits against gun manufacturers and oppose gun restrictions. Because: “Guns don’t kill. People kill.” I sure hope they apply the same logic here and oppose this.
It’s all just more American bullshit like the “revolution of dignity”. “Cartel de los Soles”. Nobody ever heard of it until the US wanted to get control of Venezuela’s oil. Just more American hegemonic maneuvering – like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Machado.
Trump’s vendetta against Venezuela isn’t about ideology — it’s personal (as with everything he does).
In 2019 he tried to topple Maduro (with some justification), however he failed, and got humiliated.
More pertinently being anti Maduro in Florida was a key way of winning in 2024. Rubio was a key proponent of this.
I wonder if Venezuela is actuallyTrump allowing Rubio to be a mini-Trump. In other words Trump doesn’t care one way or the other but he gives it to Rubio as a way of proving how extreme Rubio can be.
Whatever – another place in the world that the peacemaker has blood on his hands.
Lots of possible reasons or combination.
Trump wants a small war. Sees bibi not getting prosecuted/ canceled elections in Ukraine
Got to keep new news in the news. Keeps people from focusing on failures.
Distraction for the files.
Holsey retiring probably sees operation as illegal and wants no part of it.
That would not be a small war. Troops on the ground In the tropics again.
The thing is, we did learn. Biden pulled out of Afghanistan, whatever else his failings were. But the public does not want presidents that end wars. It wants presidents that start them. And voted for one that predictably would.
biden couldn’t pull his face out of his ice cream cone without help.
Trump cued up that deal. So you would want us still there, dribbling away blood and treasure to prop up a hopeless implanted regime? Until when? Will you take over my payments for that?
“Cued up” my ass. Trump had 4 years to get us out of Afghanistan and failed. It was obvious that the Taliban would immediately take over. Biden did it. I can’t think of anything else he deserves credit for, but he got us out of there.
He did. A leader has to know when to pull up the gangplank. You can’t save the world.
Bullshit.
Biden pulled us out of Afghanistan. Neil is correct.
Your trump man has been broken his whole fucking life. I expect you are too.
We gettin’ trillions of pesos!
Much cheaper in terms of American blood and gold to simply buy the damn oil
According to the experts in cloud-Biden-land, the very best is to reduce our use of fossil fuels so that we don’t need to import any, or drill (baby) drill for any, and can schedule closing existing drilling and extracting. (Yeah, right.)
Covert operation in Venezuela? It’s not like they haven’t been in Venezuela for decades on end.
Yes. “The Revolution Will Be Televised” is a documentary about the first coup attempt in 2003.
Around a decade ago, USA just started pirating the CITGO revenue. That’s not the half of it. People who blame VZ policies have been brainwashed. It’s entirely the fault of D.C..
Some people say VZ was once a rich country. No, it just had some rich grifters and shanties everywhere else. Back then, the rich people pulled the average up.
I am a 79 year old Vietnam veteran and all I can say is…..It never ends!
It was “before my time”. But I think Hunter S. Thompson was correct about seeing the “high water mark” of progress in the early 70’s. The oligarchs started winning again.
TPTB put people to sleep. Then they started skimming ever larger slices of the pie. We now have several oligarchs holding several hundred billion USD each. They have more power than the politicians we vote for. And they work together.
Have you run into MIC people who think they have some special knowledge because of their jobs? As though they’re not first in line to be lied to?
When it comes to hoaxes like the Gulf of Tonkin incident, TPTB spread the fake news around the MIC too. Indeed, it’s more crucial for TPTB to lie to the troops than to convince peace activists who would’ve opposed escalation anyway.
Taco and co. aren’t satisfied unless they are sticking their nose in some other country’s business. How about focusing on domestic concerns such as inflation, tariffs reopening the government?
Much easier to declare war on some foreign country as opposed to addressing our domestic issues.
Hmmmm, Trump is invading US cities as well…
Dictators do that…
What the hell happened to the “America first” notion, which to me implied we couldn’t fix the world so we would detach ourselves from its messes. And why is a credibly non-interventionist like Gabbard still attached to this administration?
Because Trump gonna Trump, obv
It’s about stomping on somebody weak to look strong.
Typical moron stuff.
Typical “mass murder” stuff. That’s what “killing people who weren’t a threat” is.
How does a nation filled with so many religious or spiritual enthusiasts abide by the policies that come out of D.C.?
What do “religious” leaders talk about every weekend in their houses of the holy? 52 weeks a year, they apparently talk about something else, because otherwise we probably would hear about it. What could be more important than stopping industrial murder, let alone all the resources that go into it?
They pretend they are god fearing folks. They are not. They know they are not. We have to deal with them. Not sure how we deal with these hypocrites.
Exactly!
It’s also a PITA for all the Venezuelans emigrating to other countries because of lack of food and work, especially the US, before the borders closed. I think this is what Trump would like to see stop.
Just like Gaza, via Trump and BIBI ~ ~ ~ Kill em all and let god sort them out…
Tusli disappointed me a few years ago. Couldn’t convince anyone they’re just using/grooming her and she’s along for the ride.
If a person truly objects to D.C. policy like she appeared to for a decade, then they don’t extend their tours and they don’t lend their credibility to a candidate who spent his first term breaking all his first campaign promises.
Sucks. But she’s a phony like Bernie and AOC.
Well, maybe not that bad…
Mad Margie has had a change of heart… perhaps she could be your spirit animal for a while.
Well, uhm, if she’s a “phony” but also “sucks,” she isn’t all bad.
tulsi is a grifter. she follows the power and money.
The oil is closer to USA and we import a lot.
“in a broadening campaign against alleged drug trafficking”
It’s not about the drugs, it’s about the oil.
That’s impossible. I think. Maybe. Could be. Might not be.
And even more specifically, trying to stop China’s ongoing efforts to help VZ develop their oil resources. Search up China Concord Resources Corp.
Remember, the Monroe Doctrine is still alive and well.
Yes, but I think it’s more than that. The European-USA empires were successfully expanding their domain since forever and especially since 1500. At times they had Russia and China on the ropes or even down for what looked like a knockout. Every piece of land matters to them, for resources like oil but also for “face” and to prevent VZ from thriving within BRICS (Russia and China ascendant) and serving as a good example that many other small nations might want to follow.
=Head of the U.S. Military’s Southern Command Resigns
wow. honest person in military..
very rare!! I GUESS WE KNOW WHY GOLD GONE PARABOLIC.
WAIT FOR NEXT LEG UP..
==== zh
The US has demonstrated the clearest examples of applying such statecraft, as highlighted by our global strategist Michael Every. Presumably, also, because the US does hold the strongest cards (or at least thinks it holds them). This week and last, it was China’s turn to show it has such statecraft cards up its sleeve.
It has introduced port fees for US ships (in response to the US port fees on Chinese built/operated ships coming into effect on 14 October)
and underscored its dominance in critical raw materials, particularly rare earths, with a further tightening of its export controls regime.
By Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank
======
can you imagine BEING SO STUPID SO SOMEHOW introducing =fees for US ships= , and flexing muscles in exporting raw metals is CALLED =statecraft cards up its sleeve= ???
=========
everybody and his uncle knew like couple years ago at least china controls raw materials, !!
no wonder those reports are free!
alx
Venezuela… rhymes with Czechoslovakia, if you want it to
Anyone who thinks we can choke off the supply of ILLEGAL drugs is smoking some strong “junk”
Drugs can’t be stopped any more than illegal booze (“moonshine”) could.
But it does provide nice opportunities to rattle sabers and blow things up!
Drugs are the “we’re stomping on you for your own good” war.
Meanwhile next door: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/us/politics/trump-argentina-bailout-bessent.html
You were a strong supporter of Milei Mish; I would be interested to hear your take on the current situation. Is US involvement also inappropriate in Argentina?
As to the Venezuela story: worth noting: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5560531-war-powers-resolution-venezuela/
Will the Senate grow a spine? Seems like some senators are trying.
Yes, the US involvement in Argentina is inappropriate. It might even backfire.
Milei squandered reserves trying to prop up the peso. Totally stupid.
I hate to be the guy that judges a book by its cover, but Milei is obviously crazy. I thought it when he was wearing the green leotard and when he was hefting the chainsaw. In every other picture of him I see, he looks like Benny Hill’s stunt double pulling some weird comic face. And those eyes…
I had a glimmer of mild hope when he came to power though, maybe crazy is just what Argentina needs. They’ve suffered decades of economic malaise, and I really don’t know what their actual problem is. Maybe this’ll work for them.
But no. Crazy wasn’t the solution, libertarianism is going to end up getting blamed for some of what crazy did, and things are getting a lot worse in Argentina.
All political movements attract crazies. Libertarianism has a type too. Thinking of this: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/18/brownstone-tucker-kennedy-rfk-maha-00614274
Most recent I have heard is that Argentinians can afford imports and that many Argentine businesses are closing and shutting down. Argentinians, like most everyone else, prefer jobs over affordable goods. The developing situation won’t end good for J. Milei. And it may never be possible for Argentinians to get into even the middle of “middle-class nations”.
Post WW2 a lot of German Nazi’s moved to Argentina. America, also accepted Nazis for an assortment of reasons. Nazi scientists were gladly welcomed. Now trump is sending 40 billion dollars to Argentina. Trump is a German nazi. You trump supporters just can’t see it. Or you love it.
milei was an obvious grifter. i’m libertarian, but i know a grifter when i see and hear one. i find it hysterical he plans on joining the hasidic cult in brooklyn in future. obvious nut job.