The issue is that no one source, including ourselves, knows everything and is able to tell others what to do about a political issue. Within reasonable parameters..... We can, however, say “in my opinion”
Pat Buchanan's take on Venezuela: If the Army Stands With Maduro, What Is Plan B? January 29, 2019 by Patrick J. Buchanan Votes: 4.71 Stars! This post was viewed 6,726 times. Help Wake Up America - Share Pat's Columns! PrintFriendlyEmailTwitterFacebook501Google+Reddit1TumblrFlipboardShare502 “Pay the soldiers. The rest do not matter.” This was the deathbed counsel given to his sons by Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in A.D. 211. Nicolas Maduro must today appreciate the emperor’s insight. For the political survival of this former bus driver and union boss hangs now upon whether Venezuela’s armed forces choose to stand by him or to desert him and support National Assembly leader Juan Guaido. Wednesday, Guaido declared Maduro’s election last May to a second six-year term to be a sham, and had himself inaugurated as acting president. Thursday, the defense minister and army chief General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, with his top brass, dismissed the 35-year-old Guaido as a U.S. puppet, and pledged allegiance to Maduro. Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council: “Now it is time for every other nation to pick a side. … Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem.” By Friday, however, the world had already taken sides. Have something to say about this column? Visit Pat’s FaceBook page and post your comments…. Russia and China stood by Maduro, as did NATO ally Turkey, with President Erdogan phoning his support. Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba and Bolivia were also with Maduro. Backing Guaido are Venezuela’s neighbors Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, the U.S. and Canada, and the Organization of American States. Britain, France, Germany and Spain have sent Maduro a diplomatic ultimatum: Agree in eight days to new elections or we back the 35-year-old Guaido, who, until this year, was an unknown. All options are on the table, says President Donald Trump. But Russia called Guaido’s action a “quasi-coup” and warned that intervention could result in “catastrophic consequences.” Vladimir Putin also phoned Maduro with his support. The stakes for all sides here are huge. Russia has contractors in Venezuela and has lent the regime billions. In a show of solidarity, Putin recently flew two strategic bombers to Venezuela. China has loaned Venezuela tens of billions, with Caracas paying Beijing back in oil. Cuba has sent military and intelligence officers to maintain internal security. Hugo Chavez had seen in Fidel Castro a father figure and modeled his new Venezuela on Castro’s Cuba — with similar results. Where hundreds of thousands fled Castro’s revolution in the 1960s, three million Venezuelans have fled to Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and other South American countries and the USA. The economy is in a shambles. Though Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on earth, production is a fraction of what it once was. Cronyism and corruption are endemic. Inflation has destroyed the currency. There is poverty, malnutrition and shortages of every necessity of modern life. Yet, still, the crucial question: What will the soldiers do? And if the military stands with Maduro, and Maduro refuses to go, what do the Americans do to force him out? Invade? That would invite disaster. Venezuela is not Panama, Haiti or Grenada. Larger than Texas, its population is more than 30 million. And U.S. forces are already committed around the world. A blockade and sanctions would magnify and deepen the suffering of the people of Venezuela long before they would bring down the regime. Would our allies support a blockade? And if years of suffering by the Venezuelan people have not shaken Maduro’s hold on power, what makes us believe more of the same would persuade him? Maduro and his army are being offered amnesty if they peacefully depart. But what would Maduro’s fate be if he flees? If he gives up power under U.S. threat, he is finished and disgraced as a coward. Would he not prefer to go down fighting? And if the leadership of the army should abandon Maduro, there are younger ambitious officers who would surely see a rewarding future in fighting to save the regime. Are we inviting a civil war in Venezuela? Should the shooting start in Caracas, what do we do then? Did anyone think this through? Maduro is an incompetent brutal dictator whose ideology has helped to destroy a nation. But if he can change the narrative from a confrontation between a tyrant and his persecuted people to that of an embattled defender of Venezuela being attacked by Yankee imperialists and their domestic lackeys, that could resonate among the masses in Latin America. And from all indications, Maduro intends to defy the U.S. and rally the radicals and anti-Americans in the hemisphere and the Third World. Guiado’s constitutional claim to the presidency of Venezuela was a scheme cooked up in collusion with Washington, made in the USA, with Secretary of State Pompeo, John Bolton and Sen. Marco Rubio signing on, and President Trump signing off. This was Plan A. But if Plan A does not succeed, and Maduro, with America’s prestige on the line, defies our demand that he yield, what do we do then? What is Plan B? “Assad must go!” said Barack Obama. Well, Assad is still there — and Obama is gone. Will the same be said of Maduro?
SV, Pat Buchanan is asking a lot of questions like most of us but he is not offering any solutions to this horrible situation in Venezuela or is he? Is he suggesting that the USA does/did absolutely nothing and that the Trump administration should have just stuck their heads in the sand, essentially offering no help to the people of Venezuela? IMO that would not be a Christian thing to do. Instead, we support Guaido and we are accused of imperialism, etc. Guaido has stuck his head out quite literally and made himself and his family targets. In all honesty, I don't think that he is going to make it long. It is easy to throw stones and offer no solution.
Media Bias Fact Check is not a credible or independent organization. Same could be said for Snopes and the other "Gatekeepers." Unz is probably one of the few truly genuine, independent media outlets left in the Western world these days. For every 100 Neocon warmongers out there, there are good Jewish men like Ron Unz to keep them in check.
What we get to hear about depends on what news sources we read or watch before and after any regime change. If it's a right wing takeover of government it's all capitalism's fault and if it's a Communist takeover, it's all Communism's fault, depending on the bias of the news source. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, some Communist type politicians prefer to call themselves "Social Democtratic" or "Democratic Socialist" because it's an easier sell. I'm sick and tired of hearing about the big bad West. Governments are supposed to work in the best interests of their country. No country exists in a vacuum. Given its location in the same hemisphere as the world's greatest superpower, how was it in Venezuela's best interests for its government to thumb its nose at that superpower by forming an alliance with the superpower's enemies? Turning their country into a potential battle ground for a proxy war between superpowers must be the most stupid, irresponsible thing any government can do. That's what Chavez did. With all that oil, he could have brought in expertise from countries that wouldn't be seen by the US as a red rag to a bull. Good governments work in the long term interests of their country. Chavez was short-sighted. Maduro is out of his depth and may well be nothing more than a puppet. There has to be a better option for Venezuela than Maduro or the guy backed by the US (who, incidentally, doesn't look like he suffered a whole lot under the Communists).
Had Trump and his Neocon pals did "absolutely nothing" the recent explosion of violence and suffering in Venezuela would not have occured. You seem to be living in an alternate timeline of events. In the real timeline of events it was Team Neocon under Bush and Obama who placed the unjust sanctions on Venezuela leading to suffering and violence. Then came Trump doing a 180 degree turn from the "America First" foreign policy he campaigned on, hiring some of the worst Neocon swamp creatures imaginable to head his foreign policy team, including the convicted war criminal Elliot Abrams - the architect of the recent violence and suffering in Venezuela. It is his hand (and sadly most likely the hand of American special forces/mercenaries and other regional collaboraters) who are behind the recent protests (and now blackouts) in Venezuela which have only increased the suffering of the ordinary folks. America is eventually going to be chastised for the nonstop warmongering and interventions of these Neocons - a small minority who seem to have a demonic grip on the course of our foreign policy.
R67, And I suppose that you believe that Chavez and Maduro were "angels" and they put the interest of their citizens first and foremost. No, I don't think so. Do you even know anyone who is from Venezuela? I do and they don't agree with your timeline of events.
R67, You can have your opinion about Media Bias Fact Check and you can have your opinion of UNZ Review but I don't agree with either of them. The particular article that you posted from UNZ review is simply propaganda. The article leaves out many details that are pertinent to the recent events in Venezuela, this is called propaganda. In addition, you can repeat your thoughts over and over again as you have be doing for over a year now but no matter how many times you state the same thing over and over again it doesn't make you right.
I doubt it. I think that they expected him to replace Maduro. I also think that the US needs to tread carefully because every leader in South America will be thinking that if Maduro can be replaced so can they. It seems unwise for the US to risk getting involved militarily because they could find themselves up against both Russia and China as well as alienating friendly governments in the region. Sanctions are probably their most effective option although sanctions hurt the most vulnerable. Bad leaders and their cronies never go hungry.
Dolours, I agree with most of what you have stated here also and if the US should be weary of China and Russia in regard to getting militarily involved in Venezuela then obviously anyone who was named as President (Guaido, in this case) is a huge target, that was my point. Guaido has definitely stuck his neck out and I'm not certain how many men would have done what he did. I think it is more likely that Guaido will end up dead then become some sort of hero.
The article I posted is not propaganda. The establishment Western media narrative on Venezuela is what is propaganda. I don't understand how any Catholic can continue defending Team Neocon's violent, unjust, un-American attempt at regime change in Venezuela.
Since you are someone who spouts propaganda himself, it's clear why you cannot recognize it. In reference to another post of yours, the chastisement has already begun and if the USA is stifled the world will no longer be recognizable, this is what we are on the verge of. The USA is known as the leader of the free world for a reason. In contrast, I would say that China is the leader of the un-free world, soon to be the dominate power of the whole world if things keep going like they are currently. At least, the Trump Administration is not letting the USA and the free world go down without a fight and I am not referring to military intervention here. I don't understand how any Catholic cannot see that Trump is our only hope on Earth, sure he is not a perfect man but I believe this to be true. Of course, our first hope is Jesus Christ and prayer. Thankfully with aid of prayer we appear to have been given a second chance with President Trump.
I don't know, Carol, because I rarely read or watch the news these days. Only the people living in Venezuela know what's going on there, and I suspect that they are being manipulated by propaganda from various sources. If the locals are being fed propaganda and foreign news agencies are using locals as their sources, what news will we get other than filtered propaganda? Everyone wants to benefit from Venezuela's oil. None of the power players really cares about the Venezuelan people. That the Venezuelans are presented with a choice between a Communist and a Freemason doesn't fill me with hope for them. I saw pictures of Guaido campaigning inside a Church, presumably after Mass. I suppose that some Catholics would regard that as a point in his favour, but when I see a Freemason using the house of God as a backdrop to his political persona, all I feel is revulsion. God help the Venezuelan people.
Your blind support of Trump borders on Idolatry. No wonder you are having such a hard time correctly interpreting the situation in Venezuela. I voted for Trump. But my first loyalty is to the Truth, even if that means I must oppose my own Government. Americanism is a heresy.
I wonder if Guaido is Catholic? If so, he is an imposter as no practicing Catholic can be a Freemason. In Humanum Genus, Freemasonry was condemned on a number of points, notably that Freemasonry seeks to dismantle and divide and overthrow nations it targets.
