Vituperation and Venezuela: Is Regime Change At Hand?

Judging by the lack of coverage on my Facebook feed (which is basically, for better or worse, the metric by which I ascertain whether something is in the public eye or not), most Americans aren't aware of the fact that President Obama issued an executive order this past week declaring a "national emergency" due to the "unusual and extraordinary threat" posed by Venezuela to us flag-waving, God-furring 'Murikans. On the face of it, the fact that the members of my sample group are apparently unaware of this development implies that this threat isn't as extraordinary as the administration claims it is. Nor is it as unusual as Washington would have us believe, given our duly-elected representatives record of constantly labeling states like Grenada Libya Panama Iraq Yugoslavia Iraq (again) Libya (again) Syria a menace to the United States. With these discrepancies in mind, one can expect the administration and it's lapdogs in the media to groom the crumbling worker's paradise to our south and Nicolas Maduro, the tepid try-hard who took over for the late Hugo Chavez, into Enemy Numero Uno and the latest New Hitler.

The New Hitler? He ain't even the New Mussolini!

In case it isn't abundantly clear by now, let me repeat myself. Is Venezuela a nice place? Certainly not. A place where you have to make a concerted effort to get your hands on toilet paper or condoms can't seriously be the pinnacle of human development. But that doesn't mean lobbing cruise missiles at Caracas will make it a nice place or create a dearth of toilet paper and condoms anymore than Russia or China bombing New York or LA every time law enforcement harasses black people will stop police brutality (which, for those of us who have been paying attention to what's happening in Ferguson, seems a slightly-more likely possibility than you would think).

"But Cardinal," you say, "they're not proposing attacking Venezuela, they're just placing sanctions on high-ranking officials involved in human rights abuses! What's the harm in that?"

The harm in that is that sanctions almost always lead to war with whomever they are levied against. In one of the links I posted above, the U.S. slapped sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family shortly before it started bombing his Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in conjunction with "the international community" (which in practice, it should be noted, is a euphemism for the United States and a couple of it's European and, if it's lucky as it was in that instance, Middle Eastern butt-monkeys). Right before Desert Storm, George H.W. Bush pressured the United Nations into placing some on Iraq, and and both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush continued these same sanctions before launching their own attacks on that nation. Sanctions, in short, are not alternatives to war but preludes to or even "acts of war," as Ron Paul memorably put it when speaking out (futilely, as it would turn out) against  placing more on Iran. Considering that at the moment there is serious chatter about a violent confrontation with that nation (thanks in small part, by remarkable coincidence, to Paul The Lesser), we can reasonably assume that Venezuela is also on the short list for eventual military intervention.

Still, you might wonder, what does the U.S. have to gain from overthrowing Maduro? More specifically, why is Obama suddenly so concerned about the political and economic situation in Venezuela? It seems to have come out of nowhere, just as it randomly came to light that he was not only keeping tabs on the political situation in Libya in 2011, but also determined to rid the world of the New Hitler 2011, Muammar Gaddafi. It was shocking not simply because Obama promoted himself as The Anti-War Candidate in 2008, but also because up until that point he had never publicly expressed wariness, much less opprobrium, of Gaddafi.

Quite the opposite, actually.

With Gaddafi now buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the North African desert, perhaps Barry's now flexing his claws in preparation for a swipe at New Hitler 2015 Maduro (to be fair, it remains to be seen if he will beat the current incumbent, Vladimir Putin). This might be because since Chavez's rise to power in 1999, Venezuela has, at least rhetorically, been a thorn in the side of the U.S. This is evidenced by the rate at which other Latin American nations rallied to Venezuela's side upon the imposition of the sanctions, something that will surely rustle Washington's jimmies, given the free reign it has traditionally granted itself over the region. Although Venezuela, as mentioned before, doesn't pose a significant military threat to America, it's tendency to vocally challenge U.S. dictates, as Chavez did in regards to Bush's invasion of Iraq, the secession of Kosovo, and NATO's bombing of Libya, and Maduro did in regards to Obama's attempted 2013 strike on Syria, gives it the clout necessary for the weaker nations of the Western Hemisphere to rally behind it. Oil might also be a factor considering Venezuela's plentiful reserves, but I would heavily stress the "might" part of that statement, as it's main trading partner is, surprisingly, the United States. Thus, I believe it's more about influence than about resources.

Regardless of the question mark hanging over the "why", we must not underestimate the magnitude of the "what" - that is, war with Venezuela. It may take the form of a "shock and awe" style invasion with U.S. Marines storming one of the Chavista resistance's bases hideouts a-blazing only to find out they're in an innocent civilian's home and the bodies on the floor are not insurgents, or it may take the form of a high-tech, low-risk "humanitarian intervention" where stealth bombers hail ordinance upon the regime's barracks' and anti-air defenses in Caracas only to hit hospitals and churches instead. It may look like something entirely different, and it may not happen until many years from now. But whatever form it takes and whenever it happens, the groundwork for it is being laid as we speak.