The president boasted last week about a covert attack on Venezuelan territory that took place earlier this month. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Trump’s willingness to disclose the activities of the CIA without naming the agency is far different from the practices of most other presidents, who have for decades rarely mentioned drone strikes and other secret operations it has conducted. Use of the CIA is often intended to sidestep debate about using legally questionable methods abroad.
Presidents typically turn to the CIA when they want deniability, but that is exactly what Trump doesn’t want. He wants it to be known that the U.S. is attacking targets in Venezuela. He wants to be able to brag about his acts of aggression. The president orders attacks like this one because he wants to be seen as a “tough” guy, and he can’t get what he wants if he doesn’t tell everyone about it. Trump illegally orders attacks on other countries mostly for his own gratification and self-aggrandizement. Keeping the aggression secret spoils it for him.
Trump probably sees no reason to keep the attack under wraps because he doesn’t care that it is illegal. He has been ordering the summary executions of civilians for months, and as far as we can tell the military has been carrying out these illegal orders without question. The death toll from the boat strikes has risen to 107 in the last few weeks. The most recent murders occurred earlier this week.
The president obviously has no qualms about ordering military action against other countries without Congressional authorization. He ordered an illegal bombing campaign in Yemen that lasted for weeks and killed hundreds of civilians. He ordered illegal attacks on Iran in the summer. If he is using the CIA to launch attacks inside Venezuela, it is not because he is unwilling to start an illegal war in the open. Using the CIA in Venezuela is presumably just a prelude to further escalation in the weeks and months to come.
The CIA attack reportedly targeted a dock that was being used for drug trafficking. That could be true, but it wouldn’t justify an attack on the territory of another country. The U.S. is once again engaged in unprovoked, naked aggression against a country that has done nothing to us. Most Americans reject all of this, but the lawless tyrant is doing it anyway.
