An Undeclared War
To the editor:
For weeks, we’ve been told the actions against Venezuela are about drugs flowing into the U.S. Did anyone believe this? Now we’re in an undeclared war with Venezuela. It’s not about drugs. It’s about oil. It was always about oil. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world.
In Venezuela, infrastructure was destroyed, at least 75 people were reportedly killed, including civilians, and over 150 U.S. aircraft were involved in the bombing and raids. It certainly was not a police action. Another casualty from this illegal act is the reputation of the U.S. We unilaterally invaded another country, kidnapped its president, and now Mr. Trump says we will, “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.” How are we going to run this country? How will we control the 28 million people living in Venezuela?
This act also sets a precedent that will be used by China, Russia, perhaps others, who will point to what the U.S. has just done and say, “This is the new world order, this is how things work now.” What will happen to Taiwan? Will there be a hostile takeover? What will the U.S. do, anything? Peace in Ukraine seems even more unlikely. Mr. Trump has warned Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro that he has to “watch his ass,” said “Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about,” and warned that “something will have to be done about Mexico.” And now, the U.S. is threatening to take over Greenland. It looks like we’re starting forever wars.
There’s already a quiet shift underway around the world, a world we have withdrawn from. We’ve ceded much of the world to China. Countries are going to make their own choices; it’s already started with BRICS, an organization of major emerging economies: China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and others. Countries are seeking stable partners, and we’re not one.
I thought we’d learned lessons about nation-building; we haven’t, not in Vietnam, not in Iraq, not in Libya, and not in Afghanistan. How does anyone think this is going to be any different? I ask you, are you ready to send your sons and daughters, your grandchildren, to fight wars in Venezuela, in Cuba, in Columbia?
Instead of spending billions of dollars to secure oil in Venezuela, maybe we could fund health care in the U.S., provide food for those in need, provide real support for the working and middle-class; that would really make America great again.
It becomes more and more obvious that “We the people” are going to have to raise our voices. We need to let Mr. Trump and his enablers know we want the crazy to stop.
Those who think what’s going on is not normal need to work together. Let’s put aside whatever differences we might have, come together, and attempt to get back to somewhere near normal, somewhere toward the middle.
Stand up, get involved, make your voice heard.
Richard Chamberlain Colchester, Illinois
