Preparation for war or a Trumpian bluff?
The Wall Street Journal reports U.S. Moves Troops and Additional Special Operations Aircraft Into Caribbean
The U.S. moved large numbers of special-operations aircraft, troops and equipment into the Caribbean area this week, giving Washington additional options for possible military action in Venezuela, according to U.S. officials and open source flight-tracking data.
“We have a massive armada formed, the biggest we’ve ever had, and by far the biggest we’ve ever had in South America,” he said Monday. Referring to the possibility of land strikes in Venezuela, he said: “Soon we will be starting the same program on land.”
The White House and the Department of Defense didn’t return requests for comment.
At least 10 CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which are used by special-operations forces, flew into the region Monday night from Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, according to an official. C-17 cargo aircraft from Fort Stewart and Fort Campbell Army bases arrived Monday in Puerto Rico, according to flight-tracking data. A different U.S. official confirmed that military personnel and equipment were transported on planes.
It isn’t clear what types of troops and equipment the aircraft were transporting. Cannon is home to the 27th Special Operations Wing, while the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, an elite U.S. special operations unit, and the 101st Airborne Division are based at Fort Campbell. The first battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment is based at Hunter Army Airfield, at Fort Stewart.
The 27th Special Operations Wing and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are trained to support high-risk infiltration and extraction missions and provide close air and combat support. Army Rangers are trained to seize airfields and provide security for specialized forces, such as SEAL Team Six or Delta Force, during a precise kill or capture mission.
“They are prepositioning forces to take action,” said David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, an aerospace think tank. The movement of such assets indicates that the administration already has decided on a course of action. “The question that remains is to accomplish what?” he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has been pouring additional firepower into the region, including a squadron of F-35A jet fighters, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare planes and HH-60W rescue helicopters. They have joined an armada of warships, including five destroyers, an aircraft carrier strike group and a Marine amphibious ready group.
Ready for War? For What?
“The question that remains is to accomplish what?” said said David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
It’s a standard ploy to rally around the president when there is a war, at least initially.
“It is crucial for the wider world to note, this great transformation has not come from Western interventionists flying in with lectures on how to live or how to govern your own affairs,” Trump said, declaring that “the so-called ‘nation-builders’ wrecked far more nations than they built.”
Did you vote for more warmonger meddling? I suspect if you voted for Trump you did not.
But now that Trump is doing that, what’s your current position?
At least one person sees the light.
War Already Started
Senator Rand Paul says Seizure of Oil Tankers in Caribbean Is a ‘Prelude to War’
“I’m not for confiscating these liners. I’m not for blowing up these boats of unarmed people that are suspected of being drug dealers. I’m not for any of this,” Paul told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Paul also described the administration’s policy of handling suspected drug traffickers as “bizarre and contradictory.”
“And then why is the former president [Juan Orlando] Hernandez of Honduras, who was in jail for 45 years, why is he released?” Paul asked. “So, some narco-terrorists are really OK and other narco-terrorists we’re going to blow up. And then some of them, if they’re not designated as a terrorist, we might arrest them.”
I disagree with Paul.
An Act of War, Not a Prelude
The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that a naval blockade is legally considered an act of war under international law.
Blockade, an act of war whereby one party blocks entry to or departure from a defined part of an enemy’s territory, most often its coasts. Blockades are regulated by international law and custom and require advance warning to neutral states and impartial application.
Yesterday, I noted US Oil Blockade of Venezuela Pushes Cuba Into Economic Collapse
Cuba was already in dire straits. Oil is the finishing touch.
Republican Congresswoman Calls Trump’s Immigration Policies Un-American
In case you missed it, please note Republican Congresswoman Calls Trump’s Immigration Policies Un-American
Miami Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar rips Trump.
In the statement, Salazar — one of only a few Cuban Americans in Congress — said the new policy amounted to “collective punishment” of “the innocent for the sins of the guilty.”
Punishment of the innocent. That’s what blockades do.
And “the so-called ‘nation-builders’ wrecked far more nations than they built,” said Trump. Indeed.
