Two U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers and two Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self-Defense Force) F-15 fighters execute a routine bilateral training mission in the vicinity of Japan, July 26, 2018. (Courtesy Photo)
Writing in The American Conservative, Cato Institute senior fellow Doug Bandow takes aim at the dangerous idea that an American military intervention in Venezuela would somehow help the country prosper. He writes (abridged):
War is the ultimate human calamity. Despite the fevered hopes and utopian promises of its advocates, loosing the dogs of war almost always results in abundant death and destruction, and sometimes unimaginable slaughter, devastation, and horror. America’s last four wars, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen, should serve as sufficient proof of this fact.
At least would-be humanitarian warriors make serious moral claims, even if they usually end up killing many of those whom they promise to help. Worse are the war advocates seeking geopolitical advantage, upset that this or that government churlishly refuses to follow Washington’s dictates.
The very worst, however, are the arguments based on cash. In the bad old days, warmongers spoke of plunder. Over time they grew more genteel, instead citing trade and commercial opportunities. Now they point to increases in GDP. Bomb, invade, occupy a country, and watch it flourish!
Venezuelan expatriate Daniel Di Martino has made just such a case.
Last year, President Donald Trump famously asked his aides whether the U.S. should intervene militarily in Venezuela. They argued against the idea. He then asked top Latin American leaders for their opinion. They were strongly opposed.
There is no question that socialism has been a catastrophe for Venezuelans.
Because of hyper-inflation, reported The Washington Post’s Matt O’Brien, some $333,000 worth of bolivars six-and-a-half years ago would be worth just $1 today. Three weeks ago a cup of coffee cost two million bolivars. The regime can barely afford the hard currency necessary to pay foreigners to print more banknotes.
Sending in the military for frivolous reasons creates yet another precedent for promiscuous warmongering. Washington can say little today when Russia intervenes using previous American justifications.
Read more here.
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