US War on Terror Rebranded as 'War on Tankers'
The Independent breathlessly reports the US military intercepted a fifth tanker suspected of carrying Venezuelan oil, ostensibly dodging sanctions. This robust defense of 'freedom of navigation' (for US corporations, anyway) conveniently ignores decades of US-led destabilization in Venezuela, from backing coup attempts against Hugo Chávez to economically strangling Nicolás Maduro. Washington's
'concern' for democracy there seems directly proportional to its desire for cheap crude. One might wonder if the US Navy is just practicing for the next 'humanitarian crisis' in a resource-rich nation. After all, protecting global oil flows for American consumers appears to be a more pressing national security interest than, say, domestic infrastructure or healthcare. The constant search for 'bad
actors' to justify military interventions is just good business, isn't it? (At least for the defense contractors whose lobbyists roam the halls of Congress.)