You can add the Iran war to the list of Trump’s betrayals that were enabled and then tolerated by his subjugated Republicans in Congress. They need to be replaced by Republicans he doesn’t control. So, vote for them in the upcoming Republican primaries. 

Many Republicans have strengthened the world’s respect, trust for and cooperation with America with thoughtful and effective foreign policy:

• President Theodore Roosevelt, aided by his Republican Congress, established the United States’s right to intervene in Latin America in order to maintain stability. Unlike Trump’s war, Roosevelt’s administration  was quickly successful in reducing European interference in Latin America and the Caribbean. Roosevelt’s foreign policy was clear — to “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick,” meaning,negotiate peacefully while maintaining a powerful military. Trump launched his attack while he was pretending to negotiate.

• Arthur Vandenbergas chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee worked with Democratic President Truman to forge bipartisan support for NATO and the Marshall Plan – a plan that rebuilt Europe after World WAR II and spread American influence throughout the globe. 

• Unlike Trump, President Reagan won the cold war without military action. And while standing at the gate of the Berlin Wall, Reagan successfully admonished Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev “to open the gate and tear down this wall.”

• John McCain warned the U.S. of Tehran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons early on, and that they would be used to sponsor and provoke terrorism. He also advocated a tougher stance with North Korea, prevented Trump’s repealof Obamacare, saving21 Americans their health insurance, and was a dominant voice in building America’s global influence and strong military.

• Richard Nixon was the first President to visit China, meet with its leaders and open diplomatic relations. The improved relationship was key to counterbalancing Russia’s global influence. It also  developed in to a broader policy of détente between the major powers.

Historically, European countries have played central roles in maritime security operations of the type they denied Trump. They possess  advanced naval capabilities and have a long record of participating in securing international waterways. Indeed, Europe joined the United States in NATO-led and ad hoc missions to maintain global stability.

But Trump trashed those relations with his constant disparagement of NATO, his withdrawal from international agreements, including the Iran nuclear deal, his insults of European countries and their leaders, the surprise (and illegal) tariffs and not alerting our allies in advance of the bombings. It all exhausted Europe’s diplomatic trust in America. History shows that when the United States consults allies to align strategies before acting, they are much more willing to help.

It’s a pity because securing the Strait requires coordination with other countries, intelligence sharing, and a legitimate political purpose that Trump never had. First he told us he’s bombing Iran to achieve regime change, then switched his reason to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, all while claiming he had productive talks with Iran on the “complete and total resolution of hostilities” in the Middle East. Iran denied it.

All were lies. Preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb was already accomplished by his last attack on Iran. His real reasons for bombing and killing thousands were to distract voters from the Epstein scandal and his punishing economy, for leverage to declare an emergency as an excuse to deploy American troops on U.S. soil, to delay the midterm elections, and prove he can do anything he wants. Had he not trashed those relationships, the United States might have assembled a powerful multinational force and cleared the Strait. 

Sitting Republicans could have prevented this war by joining Democrats in impeaching and convicting Trump. Waiting for them to rein him in is foolish. 

Perhaps the most difficult challenge to a new Congress will be to recapture the honor, trust and respect that sitting Republicans allowed Trump to diminish a respected global leader to a nation widely mocked, distrusted, and shunned.

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The post OUR EUROPEAN ALLIES WOULD HAVE HELPED TRUMP CLEAR THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IF HE HADEN’T ALIENATED THEM  first appeared on Inside The Political Chaos.

Trump is using our war against drugs as an excuse to invade Venezuela in order to gain control of the largest oil reserves in the world. It’s the exact type of treachery and violation of international law that we’re condemning and battling against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trump’s claim that Venezuelan boats are carrying drugs is either uninformed or fabricated. More than 90% of all seized fentanyl, 97% of all seized cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine came in through legal entry points. Less common methods include tunnels, drones, and the international mail system. None of the sourced reports include boats. The U.S. doesn’t list the Caribbean as a significant source of drugs.

Moreover, fentanyl is overwhelmingly produced in Mexico. 84% of cocaine seized in the US came from Columbia, the world’s largest producer.

Nevertheless, consistent with Trump’s pattern of mendacity, he resorted to fictions. And consistent with the immutable devotion of Trumps disciples, they embrace his fictions. 

Trump’s bombings are anachronistic. They might have been useful in the era of Pablo Escobar when drug cartels made use of the Caribbean. Today almost none of the drugs smuggled into the United States enter via the Caribbean. 

There’s something else percolating. Trump has weighed options to strike inside Venezuela and warned US land action will start very soon.

Trump has deployed, off Venezuela’s coast, more than a dozen US warships, 15,000 troops, a fleet of aircraft carriers, destroyers equipped with guided-missiles, and amphibious assault ships. It’s the largest military buildup since the  Cuban missile crisis of 1962 . Certainly, Venezuela’s pittance of drug smuggling  doesn’t come close to justifying Trump’s military aggression.  It looks a lot more like preparation for a land invasion than drug interdiction. 

The fallout of Trump’s threats, or if he seizes control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, will be beyond troublesome. For example:

• The United States will become the Russian bully of the Western Hemisphere. Trump’s aggression will increase and spread the distrust and disrespect of the United States across the globe. 

• Venezuela and other Latin American countries (like  Venezuelan allies, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia) will seek military support from Russia and China. Russia already provides Venezuela with military cooperation and is Venezuela’s strongest geopolitical backer. China, Venezuela’s largest importer of oil, already provides it with economic support.

• Both Russia and China will use the relationships with Venezuela and other concerned countries against U.S. interests. 

• U.S. travelers will not be warmly received in most countries.

• our trading partners will switch to other partners, our access to international trade will suffer.
  

And what if Trump’s bluffing with the biggest military force since 1962 that’s costing $18 million per day and totaling $600 million since August. That sum that will grow to around $19 billion, given that the deployment is planned to last almost to the end of Trump’s term.

All this while Trump cuts Medicare, Medicaid and nutrition assistance for low-income families, and while the wealthy siphon billions from those safety nets to replace the estimated $4 trillion lost  from Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy.

Sadly, it won’t rally Trump’s enslaved Republicans to stop him, and his base won’t notice or care.

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The post TRUMP NEEDED TO SHORE UP HIS BASE, SO HE BOMBED VENEZUELAN BOATS HE SAYS WERE CARRYING DRUGS first appeared on Inside The Political Chaos.