I think you have it exactly right, I was a witness to Panama and spent several years working in and on Iraq. It's clear the Trump Team learned valuable lessons from the Iraq tragedy, but that may difficult for conventional thinkers to understand.
The peer reader is served by a comparator to this op-ed + its thesis array.
Read Miguel A. Faria, Jr. in the january 26, 2026 op-ed, The Case for the Acquisition of Greenland. With the "Europe is not re-arming" by Constantini op-ed, these two op-ed require comparison. The analogy would be the two Professors in a versus on Ukraine: Alexander J. Motyl versus Thomas Graham. Who has the most truth covered?
The real impediment in 2026 is that many op-ed authors hide their agit-prop, like Xi, in sites that refuse to allow peer comment in toto, or, demand a recurring cash subscription ( not a one-time token). Are peer readers able to deduct fees as a tax deduction?
So, Faria can be compared to Constantini. However some level away from the original op-ed site.
So, Europe is not re-arming! Fraud, Fake, Lie. Perhaps like Justin Trudeau of Canada when he moved about current expenditures to claim the magic 2% GNP defence level. But, where was this foreign Policy Plank debated at the federal level by Harris-Trump?
The peer reader needs, I speculate, and will be well served, by this type of stringent comparison op-ed. Who, then, will serve it out?
Do the above need to go back to 2003? In 2014 the most significant US based geopolitical act of the last 80 years transpired with near zero attribution.
The POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal covertly, unilaterally, "GREEN LIT" the immense geopolitical "Benedict Obama" betrayal of NATO-EU-UK with the sell-out of Ukraine's Crimean soil, Families + vast Black, Azov Sea military zones to the prime vile COLD WAR ( think 1946 Keenan-Dulles) enemy of the USA, Kremlin ruuSSkie Putin.
The disgusting rush to avoid this US fact of a non-caucausian "Benedict Obama" as a fact from 2014, has caused millions of death, maiming and eviction over in some place called Ukraine. Wow, its like bringing up the blatant betrayal by the US of Tibet post 1945. Tibet, Ukraine - some places located on Mars most likely.
Millions of humans die "over" there, + yet a few human lives in Greenland make for a magical evocation of US based MSM morality. The POTEMKIN Village montage Panels of 2026 are so effective.
Faria - Constantini: which op-ed author has even hit the target, let alone the bullseye?
Snatching Maduro was brilliant. Sends strong reassuring signals to the other countries we are strong and there for them. Not weak and helpless like before.
Plus sends the right signals to Russia, Mexico (which is the cartels) and China! Stay away!
Good job, excellent. And as Bush "the first" did correctly we didn't stay around but we are close and will watch. If more Big Stick is needed it will be there for proper discipline. Definitely will start setting up Venezuela to be successful again.
You failed to describe what Trump left behind by just kidnapping Maduro. This wasn’t regime change since his regime is still in place. What Trump created was a power vacuum and power abhors a vacuum far more than nature ever did.
Sharp analysis on the distinction between territorial security and ideological projection. The framing around preventing adversarial encroachment rather than exporting governance models is actualy more defensible strategically. What gets overlooked is how the Monroe Doctrine's evolution mirrors shifts in threat vectors, from European colonialism to Soviet proxies to now Chinese economic penetration. The speed of the Venezuela operation does validate your point about operational intent mattering more than surface-level intervention rhetoric.
Wow. What an absurdist apology for a tactical kidnapping with a half-assed strategic plan of "economic coercion". Further proof that conservatives only care about what's in it for them, rather than anybody else.
Maduro’s snatching is illegal. Would the US put up with another country indicting our president then using military force to snatch them out of the country for trial? By dint using military force against another country is an act of war, something only Congress can authorize. Without that authority, illegal, contrary to the Constitution of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
This is kind of an own goal. You aren't negating that the Biden admin put a bounty on his head. Just the amount. So, my point still stands even if this is correct. The idea that Trump behaved in some unlawful way is in error. Bringing Maduro to justice was a goal of both administrations, only one actually did something about it.
Patience my padawan, patience. As is common on Commonplace, your defense of Don seems to rest mostly on whataboutism. We're told that even though Don has not offered a consistent, credible rationale for his actions, we can rest assured it's not as bad as what his predecessor's did a few decades ago. More compelling would be a discussion of Don's actual actions that are unfolding today.
We have much yet to learn about Don's strategery in Venezuela, assuming there is one. He's flouted domestic and international law blowing up fishing boats, lied about Venezuela's role in the fentanyl trade and drug trade more generally, claimed it was about stolen oil, and claimed it was merely a law enforcement exercise, all while repositioning massive amounts of our military away from other critical regions. He's annointed Maduro's hand picked Chavista VP as successor, instead of the opposition leader who recently led an overwhelming election victory, simply because of his pique over being snubbed on the Nobel-followed by his pathetic "acceptance" of Machado's award. He has claimed to be running the country, refused to rule out boots on the ground, said we would likely remain for years, threatened more attacks, misled us on the willingness of oil companies to engage, and lied about the value of the oil more generally. He's failed to brief Congress or engage in public hearings to explain his actions, an odd choice if the goal is to build public support for the extended operation he foresees. And of course, we have yet to see how the various factions in Venezuela will respond over time. Oh, and he's threatened more actions in Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, Iran, Greenland, etc.
If you haven't, make sure to watch Don's entire Davos speech followed by the Q & A. Perhaps you trust this aging, angry, incoherent, imbecile to wield our military wisely. You know, the American heroes he's called suckers and losers.
History is contingent. I'd be careful, lest you find yourself guilty of a sin of the dreaded neocon-W. Mission accomplished...
I think you have it exactly right, I was a witness to Panama and spent several years working in and on Iraq. It's clear the Trump Team learned valuable lessons from the Iraq tragedy, but that may difficult for conventional thinkers to understand.
Well it would be surprising if Trump wanted to increase democracy in Venezuela since he clearly considers it an inconvenience in the USA.
Trump isn't doing anything undemocratic. It's still a democracy when you lose an election.
The peer reader is served by a comparator to this op-ed + its thesis array.
Read Miguel A. Faria, Jr. in the january 26, 2026 op-ed, The Case for the Acquisition of Greenland. With the "Europe is not re-arming" by Constantini op-ed, these two op-ed require comparison. The analogy would be the two Professors in a versus on Ukraine: Alexander J. Motyl versus Thomas Graham. Who has the most truth covered?
The real impediment in 2026 is that many op-ed authors hide their agit-prop, like Xi, in sites that refuse to allow peer comment in toto, or, demand a recurring cash subscription ( not a one-time token). Are peer readers able to deduct fees as a tax deduction?
So, Faria can be compared to Constantini. However some level away from the original op-ed site.
So, Europe is not re-arming! Fraud, Fake, Lie. Perhaps like Justin Trudeau of Canada when he moved about current expenditures to claim the magic 2% GNP defence level. But, where was this foreign Policy Plank debated at the federal level by Harris-Trump?
The peer reader needs, I speculate, and will be well served, by this type of stringent comparison op-ed. Who, then, will serve it out?
Do the above need to go back to 2003? In 2014 the most significant US based geopolitical act of the last 80 years transpired with near zero attribution.
The POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal covertly, unilaterally, "GREEN LIT" the immense geopolitical "Benedict Obama" betrayal of NATO-EU-UK with the sell-out of Ukraine's Crimean soil, Families + vast Black, Azov Sea military zones to the prime vile COLD WAR ( think 1946 Keenan-Dulles) enemy of the USA, Kremlin ruuSSkie Putin.
The disgusting rush to avoid this US fact of a non-caucausian "Benedict Obama" as a fact from 2014, has caused millions of death, maiming and eviction over in some place called Ukraine. Wow, its like bringing up the blatant betrayal by the US of Tibet post 1945. Tibet, Ukraine - some places located on Mars most likely.
Millions of humans die "over" there, + yet a few human lives in Greenland make for a magical evocation of US based MSM morality. The POTEMKIN Village montage Panels of 2026 are so effective.
Faria - Constantini: which op-ed author has even hit the target, let alone the bullseye?
Snatching Maduro was brilliant. Sends strong reassuring signals to the other countries we are strong and there for them. Not weak and helpless like before.
Plus sends the right signals to Russia, Mexico (which is the cartels) and China! Stay away!
Good job, excellent. And as Bush "the first" did correctly we didn't stay around but we are close and will watch. If more Big Stick is needed it will be there for proper discipline. Definitely will start setting up Venezuela to be successful again.
You failed to describe what Trump left behind by just kidnapping Maduro. This wasn’t regime change since his regime is still in place. What Trump created was a power vacuum and power abhors a vacuum far more than nature ever did.
Sharp analysis on the distinction between territorial security and ideological projection. The framing around preventing adversarial encroachment rather than exporting governance models is actualy more defensible strategically. What gets overlooked is how the Monroe Doctrine's evolution mirrors shifts in threat vectors, from European colonialism to Soviet proxies to now Chinese economic penetration. The speed of the Venezuela operation does validate your point about operational intent mattering more than surface-level intervention rhetoric.
This article makes a lot of sense and clears up some points for me. Thanks
Wow. What an absurdist apology for a tactical kidnapping with a half-assed strategic plan of "economic coercion". Further proof that conservatives only care about what's in it for them, rather than anybody else.
Maduro’s snatching is illegal. Would the US put up with another country indicting our president then using military force to snatch them out of the country for trial? By dint using military force against another country is an act of war, something only Congress can authorize. Without that authority, illegal, contrary to the Constitution of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Biden had a fifty million dollar bounty on Maduro's head for anyone who could remove him from power. The more you know.
Check your own facts.
$15 M — first U.S. reward under Trump’s first term (2020 indictment).
$25 M — raised by the Biden administration in early 2025.
$50 M — later increased under the Trump administration in August 2025.
This is kind of an own goal. You aren't negating that the Biden admin put a bounty on his head. Just the amount. So, my point still stands even if this is correct. The idea that Trump behaved in some unlawful way is in error. Bringing Maduro to justice was a goal of both administrations, only one actually did something about it.
Patience my padawan, patience. As is common on Commonplace, your defense of Don seems to rest mostly on whataboutism. We're told that even though Don has not offered a consistent, credible rationale for his actions, we can rest assured it's not as bad as what his predecessor's did a few decades ago. More compelling would be a discussion of Don's actual actions that are unfolding today.
We have much yet to learn about Don's strategery in Venezuela, assuming there is one. He's flouted domestic and international law blowing up fishing boats, lied about Venezuela's role in the fentanyl trade and drug trade more generally, claimed it was about stolen oil, and claimed it was merely a law enforcement exercise, all while repositioning massive amounts of our military away from other critical regions. He's annointed Maduro's hand picked Chavista VP as successor, instead of the opposition leader who recently led an overwhelming election victory, simply because of his pique over being snubbed on the Nobel-followed by his pathetic "acceptance" of Machado's award. He has claimed to be running the country, refused to rule out boots on the ground, said we would likely remain for years, threatened more attacks, misled us on the willingness of oil companies to engage, and lied about the value of the oil more generally. He's failed to brief Congress or engage in public hearings to explain his actions, an odd choice if the goal is to build public support for the extended operation he foresees. And of course, we have yet to see how the various factions in Venezuela will respond over time. Oh, and he's threatened more actions in Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, Iran, Greenland, etc.
If you haven't, make sure to watch Don's entire Davos speech followed by the Q & A. Perhaps you trust this aging, angry, incoherent, imbecile to wield our military wisely. You know, the American heroes he's called suckers and losers.
History is contingent. I'd be careful, lest you find yourself guilty of a sin of the dreaded neocon-W. Mission accomplished...