The United States has officially become a rogue state, exemplified by its recent extrajudicial killings off the coast of Venezuela. The UK's decision to restrict intelligence-sharing with the Pentagon over suspected drug-traffickers' boats in the Caribbean is a modest yet significant act of defiance against Donald Trump's aggressive and imperialist foreign policy.
Trump's administration has shown no qualms about launching lethal airstrikes on alleged smugglers, widely condemned as illegal extrajudicial killings that amount to murder. These strikes seem to foreshadow direct US attacks on Venezuela itself, with Trump openly seeking to topple Nicolás Maduro's authoritarian regime. The problem is that regime change by force contravenes international law and has never ended well.
The US lacks a compelling justification for war, despite Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about "narco-terrorists" in Latin America. However, Trump seems unfazed by the lack of evidence or plausible excuse, believing instead that might makes right. This brash, monarchic imperialism is a disturbing trend that echoes the New World colonists' rebellion against similar forms of state lawlessness.
The second Trump administration's self-aggrandising and regionally expansionist outlook has taken the concept of state lawlessness to new extremes worldwide. The notion of a common rulebook and joint action to tackle shared global problems has been scorned, as Ukraine's Vladimir Putin has also demonstrated a disregard for international norms. Two conflicts are on the horizon: a potential US assault on Venezuela and the reigniting of the Israel-Iran war.
Trump seems to be following in the footsteps of George W Bush in Iraq, with no plan for post-coup Venezuela or consideration for representative governance. His true interest lies in securing easy victories, particularly over Venezuela's oil and gas reserves. This approach recalls the 1989 US invasion of Panama, which was also driven by a desire to topple a regime accused of drug trafficking.
Operation Just Cause was far from straightforward, with hundreds of civilians and some US troops dying as a result. Trump should be wary of repeating this mistake in Venezuela, where the country is much larger and less easily subjugated. The decision to intervene is often driven by politics, particularly when it comes to demonising Maduro and scoring points over the "war on drugs".
Meanwhile, problems with state lawlessness are intensifying in the Middle East. Israel's violence-addicted regime continues to pursue its targets, while Iran remains a vulnerable yet increasingly belligerent force. The threat of resumed US-backed Israeli aggression would be another instance of extreme state lawlessness, with no clear deterrents to prevent such actions.
The world is facing an accelerating global nuclear weapons race, with none of the traditional norms or constraints holding back nations like Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping. A new era of state lawlessness has emerged, where rogue states pose a significant threat to international security and stability. The consequences could be catastrophic if these tensions escalate further.
Trump's administration has shown no qualms about launching lethal airstrikes on alleged smugglers, widely condemned as illegal extrajudicial killings that amount to murder. These strikes seem to foreshadow direct US attacks on Venezuela itself, with Trump openly seeking to topple Nicolás Maduro's authoritarian regime. The problem is that regime change by force contravenes international law and has never ended well.
The US lacks a compelling justification for war, despite Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about "narco-terrorists" in Latin America. However, Trump seems unfazed by the lack of evidence or plausible excuse, believing instead that might makes right. This brash, monarchic imperialism is a disturbing trend that echoes the New World colonists' rebellion against similar forms of state lawlessness.
The second Trump administration's self-aggrandising and regionally expansionist outlook has taken the concept of state lawlessness to new extremes worldwide. The notion of a common rulebook and joint action to tackle shared global problems has been scorned, as Ukraine's Vladimir Putin has also demonstrated a disregard for international norms. Two conflicts are on the horizon: a potential US assault on Venezuela and the reigniting of the Israel-Iran war.
Trump seems to be following in the footsteps of George W Bush in Iraq, with no plan for post-coup Venezuela or consideration for representative governance. His true interest lies in securing easy victories, particularly over Venezuela's oil and gas reserves. This approach recalls the 1989 US invasion of Panama, which was also driven by a desire to topple a regime accused of drug trafficking.
Operation Just Cause was far from straightforward, with hundreds of civilians and some US troops dying as a result. Trump should be wary of repeating this mistake in Venezuela, where the country is much larger and less easily subjugated. The decision to intervene is often driven by politics, particularly when it comes to demonising Maduro and scoring points over the "war on drugs".
Meanwhile, problems with state lawlessness are intensifying in the Middle East. Israel's violence-addicted regime continues to pursue its targets, while Iran remains a vulnerable yet increasingly belligerent force. The threat of resumed US-backed Israeli aggression would be another instance of extreme state lawlessness, with no clear deterrents to prevent such actions.
The world is facing an accelerating global nuclear weapons race, with none of the traditional norms or constraints holding back nations like Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping. A new era of state lawlessness has emerged, where rogue states pose a significant threat to international security and stability. The consequences could be catastrophic if these tensions escalate further.
I'm literally so done with how this is all going down in the world right now... Trump's handling of Venezuela is straight up insane 
. No plan, no evidence, just "might makes right" 
? Give me a break! And what about Ukraine? Putin doing his own thing? Not cool, mate 
. It feels like we're losing international law left and right, and it's all because some folks are too scared to follow the rules 
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. It sounds like a load of BS to me. And what really gets my goat is that nobody seems to care about the consequences – like, if Trump takes Venezuela down, who's gonna fill the power vacuum? 
Not exactly planning for a stable future there...
this is some crazy stuff 
and now Trump wants to invade Venezuela too? That's like something out of a bad movie 
. And don't even get me started on Putin - Russia is already causing enough trouble in Ukraine without starting another war 
. We need world leaders to work together instead of trying to one-up each other, you know? It's all about politics and scoring points over each other, like they're some kind of game 
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. They're basically just making up excuses for invading another country... it's not even about stopping narco-trafficking, it's about getting control over their oil and gas resources 
. And let's be real, history has shown us that this kind of intervention never ends well 
. A global nuclear arms race is not what we need right now 
.
this kind of imperialist nonsense has been done before and look how it turned out - endless bloodshed and chaos. trump's got this whole "war on drugs" thing down pat, but what he's really after is venezuela's oil and gas reserves, that's all it comes down to 
we need to wake up and get this straight before its too late, but i'm not holding my breath 
It's all about oil and gas for Trump, not actually trying to stop narco-trafficking. And now they're talking about invading Venezuela? That's just gonna lead to more chaos and bloodshed. 
We need diplomacy over military might, stat! 
news outlets gotta keep calling him out on this, like, how can you justify killing someone without a trial? 
. The US is just trying to maintain its grip on power and influence in the region. It's all about the economy, mate – Venezuela's oil and gas reserves are a huge prize 
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. Trump might not be perfect, but he's a product of his time, and we need to understand where he's coming from.
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. State lawlessness is a major issue, and if it keeps escalating, the consequences could be disastrous 
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. He's got his guns blazing left and right, and yet he can't explain what's really going on, just keeps calling it "narco-terrorism". Like, dude, how many times do you need to get fact-checked before you accept that maybe your narrative isn't exactly true? 
. But let's be real, it's still gonna take more than one country saying "no" to get him out of this mess... or we'll all just end up watching another catastrophe unfold 