US Designates Venezuelan Boat as 'Terrorist' to Justify its Demise
The Trump administration, according to The Intercept, simply designated a Venezuelan vessel a 'terrorist organization' to 'justify' its destruction. Because nothing says 'democracy' like unilaterally declaring who gets a terror label and who gets bombed. This isn't groundbreaking; it's a well-worn path. Recall how the Houthis, initially praised for resisting western intervention, swiftly became
'terrorists' once they disrupted Red Sea shipping? Or consider the history of 'insurgents' in Afghanistan becoming 'terrorists' when US interests changed. This convenient re-labeling is a standard operating procedure for US foreign policy, echoed loudly by hawkish think tanks. For instance, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which received $1.5 million from the US government between
2005-2015 for 'counter-terrorism' research, regularly advocates for expanded terror designations. (Source: FDD 990 filings, opensecrets.org). How many times have we seen a state-sponsored media machine amplify these labels, turning inconvenient resistance into 'pre-emptive' action, while ignoring the root causes or US-backed destabilization attempts? It begs the question: How many 'terrorist'
groups are merely inconvenient obstacles to US hegemony, rather than actual threats to global peace?