US Raids Venezuela, Wonders Why China Wouldn't Do the Same to Taiwan
Donald Trump expressed a fervent 'hope' that China's Xi Jinping wouldn't perceive the recent US raid on Venezuela as a green light for an attack on Taiwan. This, according to The Independent, after Trump himself dismissed the notion that his actions in South America could 'set a precedent.' One might generously call this 'selective memory' (or less generously, 'utter delusion'), considering a long
history of US interventions under various pretexts. From the 1983 invasion of Grenada, the 1989 invasion of Panama (to depose a former CIA asset, no less), or the more recent illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has consistently demonstrated that international law is a suggestion, not a strict guideline, when 'national interests' are invoked. Venezuela has long been in the crosshairs,
with the US imposing sanctions and supporting opposition figures, all while decrying any similar unilateralism when practiced by others. So, when US politicians feign surprise that other powerful nations might observe this behavior and simply say, 'copy that,' it's less a diplomatic insight and more a tragicomic act of self-unawareness. The rules-based international order, it appears, only applies
to those who haven't yet mastered the art of unilateral, overwhelming force. Perhaps a more accurate headline would be: 'US Accidentally Discovers Its Own Foreign Policy Has Unintended Consequences.'