Trump Considering War on Venezuela?

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

When a war secretary nicknamed "mad dog" is considered a Trump regime moderate, the world community should tremor.

James Mattis may be the only restraint against greater aggression than already. Perhaps all hell could break loose if he's replaced.

With so many regime officials passing through Trump's revolving door, how did Mattis avoid his wrath so far?

Reportedly last summer at the Pentagon, he briefed Trump on America's empire of bases and imperial agenda, falsely claiming it's to enforce the post-WW II "rules-based international order" - despite Washington playing by its own rules extrajudicially.

Trump disagreed with Mattis and former Secretary of State Tillerson on various issues, prompting his former chief diplomat to call him a "f..king moron." 

The remark and other policy disagreements between the two led to his sacking. Will Mattis end up replaced for supporting the JCPOA, opposing Trump's pullout of the deal, abandoning the Paris climate change accord, and moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, plus other issues, while ignoring White House requests for plans to strike North Korea?

Despite all of the above disagreements between the two, he avoided Trump's wrath, or at least enough of it to keep his job so far.

The president is more mad dog than his war secretary, escalating conflicts he inherited, maybe chomping for new ones - perhaps against Iran to please Israel, reportedly against Venezuela, according to AP News, saying:

During an oval office discussion last August about imposing sanctions on Venezuela, Trump reportedly asked why can't the Pentagon invade the country to topple its government?

AP News: "The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, including" Tillerson and HR McMaster, replaced by raging hawks Pompeo and Bolton respectively.

Trump was told that military action against a Latin American nation could backfire, risking lost support from other regional governments on board with the White House's hostility toward Nicolas Maduro.

Trump reportedly cited examples of successful US regional gunboat diplomacy, stopping short of ordering military action on Venezuela.

Yet he spoke of a "military option" to forcefully topple Maduro, raised the issue with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, again last September on the sidelines of the General Assembly session with other Latin American leaders.

Each one opposed the idea, AP News citing regime critics, saying his reckless America first foreign policy "provide(s) ammunition to (US) adversaries."

Maduro rallied supporters, calling on them to condemn "Emperor" Trump's belligerence, blasting the US president, saying "(m)ind your own business and solve your own problems."

Trump reportedly got no regional support for toppling Maduro forcefully, nor internally by his key officials. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino called his remarks "craziness (and) supreme extremism."

Venezuela's economic crisis was made in the USA, a diabolical plot to replace social democracy with fascist tyranny, along with Washington gaining control over the nation's oil reserves, the world's largest.

AP News discussed none of this in its report. Nor have other Western media scoundrels explained it, blaming Venezuela for US high crimes committed against the country - a regime change scheme by making its economy scream, mindless of the human cost.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html