Trump Wagging the Dog? The Hill Forgets Its Own History
"Is Trump ‘wagging the dog’?” The Hill frets, questioning whether Trump’s military maneuvers against Venezuela were a distraction, based on a 2020 op-ed they once ran. This critique is delightful in its amnesia, implying an executive branch suddenly discovered the art of diversion under one specific commander-in-chief. One might wonder where this critical introspection was during other
administrations. George W. Bush’s post-9/11 'War on Terror' leveraged Afghanistan, then Iraq (a war based on WMD claims that dissolved faster than a diplomat's credibility), transforming a global tragedy into a generational geopolitical saga. Or consider the media's framing of US foreign policy in general. They’ll highlight Trump's maneuvers, yet rarely scrutinize the continuous, bipartisan
military aid to Israel, totaling over $158 billion since 1948 , often tied to votes far more impactful than a rhetorical dust-up with Venezuela. When The Hill publishes an op-ed asking about 'Wag the Dog' in 2024, referencing 2020, it’s not really about Trump. It's about maintaining decorum while the empire's main features—endless wars, endless funding—remain unexamined. Perhaps the real 'wagging
the dog' is the media's cyclical outrage, distracting from the systemic issues.