The problem with American foreign policy is that it appears to be run by dangerous fools, knaves, and deeply insecure little men of no substance. This is because our country’s foreign policy is run by fools, knaves, and deeply insecure little men.
That falls into the true-but-inadequate category. Our domestic policy is run by the same collection of dangerous fools, knaves, and deeply insecure little men.
There is a direct line between January 6, 2021, and the American action in Venezuela. An American president who does not recognize the laws of his own country can hardly be expected to recognize any international law.
Venezuela has weirdly been an obsession within the Trump Universe. Sydney Powell, one of the many quack lawyers who tried to construct an argument that the 2020 election was stolen, made Venezuela the center of her elaborate stolen election conspiracy.
“The Dominion Voting Systems, the Smartmatic technology software,” Powell announced, “were created in Venezuela at the direction of Hugo Chavez to make sure he never lost an election …” This was November 19, 2020, at a press conference held at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington. Rudy Guilliani stood next to her for the 90-minute event, now most remembered for the spectacle of Rudy mopping dripping hair dye from his sweaty face. Rudy joined Powell in asserting that the election was rigged by shadowy actors “close to Hugo Chavez.”
Powell later pleaded guilty in Georgia to six counts of conspiracy to interfere with an election. Rudy is now disbarred and bankrupt. But Venezuela still has a special place in the MAGA heart.
At this point, we don’t really know what happened on the night of January 3 in Venezuela. It’s been reported that the Delta team spent two hours on site at the “fortified” compound. If so, this was not a “snatch and grab” raid of the sort that special ops train to execute in minutes. If a foreign force can hang around for a couple of hours with no reported casualties or exchange of fire, this falls more in the category of an arranged rendition than abduction.