US Rep. Waltz: 'We Are Not Occupying' Nations, Except All the Ones We Are
CBS News dutifully reported Rep. Mike Waltz's (R-FL) declaration at the UN that the U.S. is 'absolutely not occupying a country.' This bold claim was made while discussing, ironically, Venezuela—a nation whose government the U.S. has openly sought to destabilize for years via sanctions and other measures. Waltz, a former Green Beret, conveniently omits the US military's current presence in at
least 750 bases across 80 different countries, including active, controversial deployments in Iraq, Syria, and even Somalia. For context, the 2003 invasion of Iraq was initially framed as 'liberation,' not occupation, a semantic dance the Pentagon has perfected over decades. Perhaps 'occupation' is only when you put up a proper 'Welcome to America' sign? Or maybe it's just 'military assistance'
until someone really pushes back. The same playbook was deployed to redefine 'boots on the ground' during campaigns from Vietnam to Afghanistan. The sheer audacity of such a claim, swallowed whole by mainstream media, suggests a deep comfort with historical amnesia. How many nations must host US troops against their will before it counts as 'occupying' in Washington's eyes?