Venezuela and US Imperialism

The problem with being president of the US is that everyone you deal with has some sort of agenda, that's everyone in all caps. That includes the spooks that prepare your daily intelligence briefing. Your cabinet secretaries and their assistants, the joint chiefs and all the congress critters. And a hell of a lot of them will be working at cross purposes. Takes about a year to just begin to get a feel for how that stuff works if at all. And bear in mind every damn one of the insufferable bastards has an ego the size of Russia, and thinks he's the smartest man in the room. This among other things is why the s.r.o.t. is that a President is going to get no more than a handful of major things accomplished.

With Trump everything is magnified because the swamp cess pool or whatever doesn't want to be drained. You want to understand where the US is currently headed read about David Webber's Solarian League in the Honor Harrington novels. Yes it's good old fashion and quite well crafted space opera. But there isn't a day goes by that the administrative state that runs the Solarian League doesn't seem increasingly like the one that runs the United State where the rubber meets the road.

 

Of course there is a real world and I certainly don't live in a pink "everyone loves each other" world, nor do I indulge in any illusions. The big problem here is the notion of hypocrisy ... in several ways. For one thing, the US is the world champion of hypocrisy in its foreign policy! Nobody else plays the great savior and moral apostle like "liberator" on this planet when it comes to opponents ... and is then completely ignorant of the fact that one does not do better or different evil in another place does or ignores it when "friends" do it. Second, there's a hypocrisy in American politics itself about Democrats and Republicans ... on both sides. You are expressing your fear that Biden is a Warmonger in order to reduce it to the core ... but why not a word about the fact that Trump is also demonstrably a Warmonger?

Yes ... Trump is a gambler and a tough businessman who is known to walk over dead bodies in the business world (and often in the gray area where it is already criminal as i.e. with his last bankruptcy). But a US president who plays with his nation being like a stake in the game, is as the leader of a nation not a good leader. And politics, like diplomacy, has nothing to do with business. Yes, Trump is a deal maker in business ... but diplomacy between states is different from deals between business people ... and Trump and his supporters, who always cheer for everything, have not understood that. And that is exactly the reason why e.g. The US's transatlantic relationship with its decades-old allies and partners has been severely damaged after 4 years. No matter what Biden or whoever US president does in the future, the trust of Europeans in the USA as an ally and partner is badly damaged! I also know that many Americans, and especially the supporters of Trump, just shrug their shoulders about this and / or come with and ridiculous allegations towards Europeans ... but the fact is that the will of the USA has lost a lot of importance and weight in Europe ... in short: "I don't care what the United States' view and will is "has increased significantly and is already having a bad impact for the USA

 

I don't excuse much of US international policy- while it falls short of "imperialism" as I see it, we have stuck our nose in other countries business with the intent of creating allies. That has been done in many cases ignorantly, where we have tried to buy it, or support those in that nation who might favor our position. Trump has from the beginning advocated us getting our of these situations, and acted on it. Some scream that's wrong, others say not enough. No matter what a president does, he's going to catch heavy flak for it. One thing important in our international relationship is that we have rarely been allies on equal terms- we have usually been carrying the load for other countries, defending and funding them. They take the help, and then criticize us for it. That says we are doing something wrong- and while no previous administration seemed to grasp that, Trump has. Thus- he did change things like the Nato alliance; demanding the nations benefiting the most step up and pay a fair share. Same thing at the UN.

We have never successfully bought loyalty, but every previous administration has embraced the idea. We've tried to be the world's policeman, we've tried to protect various political conditions we wanted to see- and yet the nations who like us the most are the ones we didn't interfere with. Trump recognized this as well. Much of what he advocated was right, but in conflict with the political norms and the people influencing it.

IF there is a difference between negotiating a business deal and an international traded deal- WHY has our international trade consistently been better for other nations than us?
Because the motivations are different. Our politicians have been gifting other nations in every way for decades, expecting to buy loyalty, gratitude and some kind of reciprocal compensation- AND THEY HAVE FAILED EVERY TIME.

They have made it possible for entire industries to be lost to America- and made us totally dependent on importing goods we used to manufacture here. This effect has been to transfer power over our economic stability to the hands of other nations. THEY see it as business advantage, they see us as fools for allowing it. THEY are right.

Look in your closet and see if any of your clothes or shoes are actually made in America. Look at your electronics and see if anything you own is actually made in America. Not "assembled" in America- but manufactured here, with American labor. Look at the components that are used to build you car- and see how many are actually made in China or other off-shores. Look in your garage at the tools, especially power tools- see where they are made. Even the classic American brand name tools like DeWalt, Black & Decker etc- have "Made in China" on them. Most all of the antibiotics sold in America are- Made in China.

If you were able to see what we have been allowed to export to China under past trade agreements, you would see that prior administrations were indeed fools, and that this has been true for decades- creating a huge trade imbalance, and making China rich at our expense both financially and in terms of our capacity to self- sustain, or meet our own needs. Those people pretend to like you, pretend to be your friend, when they are sucking the life out of you. Trump was wise enough to see this and set out to change it. People used to having the life sucked out of American industry, and conditioned to accept nearly everything they need and use is now made elsewhere.... Object to having the status quo disturbed, because those sucking the life out of us might not like us anymore.

They don't like us now. They have seen America as the girl that's cheap and easy, not one you actually care about- and isn't smart enough to know it. Looks like they are right there, too.

 

Unfortunately I have to contradict you here for the most part, or explain things differently than how you describe them.

First of all, you were actually rarely the ally on equal terms ... but differently as you mean and write it. The USA was and is mostly the leading part here, where the allies have to submit to the will of the USA, or where the USA has corresponding expectations towards the allies. There can be no question of equal terms here if the allies of Washington are viewed and treated like recipients of orders. For a while it worked, especially until the end of the cold war, because the USA was the great protective power in NATO ... only that has changed in the meantime and especially since Trump. Trump's attacks on Europeans have opened many eyes in Europe about how much you can trust the USA ...

Take as example Trump's completely idiotic accusation that Germany is failing to meet its NATO commitment because it fails to commit to investing 2% of GDP in the military now! Um ... NATO agreement of Wales / UK in 2014: "Every NATO member must invest 2% of GDP in defense from 2024 on!" ... is it 2020 or is it already 2024?
THAT and the other disgusting lies associated with it on the subject were damn badly received in Germany! And his announcement and measure to move troops from Germany to Poland "as a punishment" has behind the diplomatic phrases only defiance and the reaction "why don't you just move everything to Poland, then we'll finally get rid of you!" causes ... something that would have been completely unthinkable before Trump!

But the joke is that on the one hand the US demands more personal responsibility from Europeans, but still wants to have the saying and so the USA doesn't want Europeans to be too independent on the other hand ... Trump doesn't want that either!
And that's exactly why Trump (and other Americans) hates e.g. also the EU ... because in economic matters the USA has to negotiate with the EU as an entity and here the USA is in the weaker position! Therefore, Trump of course welcomes Brexit ... because without the EU, the US is of course in a much stronger negotiating position as the British alone ... Trump also loves and cuddles with the "EU rebels" Poland and Hungary, because that way he can or could weaken the EU from within.
Or, as a last example, a look back at the military: In October 1989, around a month before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Franco-German brigade was founded. Who was against this initiative of 2 Europeans from the start? The USA!
Why? France was not a NATO member from 1966 to 2009, only a partner and ally of NATO. Thus the USA had no influence on this brigade ... and in general the deep Franco-German friendship and cooperation has disturbed the USA since 1966 at the latest ... because it forms or can form a powerful counterweight to the USA.


As for China, I'm not one of those who denies the US's allegations about trade with China ... but the sound makes the music as we say. It is quite hypocritical to complain that many products are made by US companies in China ... because why has this not put on a stop by Washington?
And Trump is getting off badly too at this topic ... because he doesn't mess with Apple (and a few others) in this regard, or do I have to remind you that every single Apple product is "Made in China"?
And if Donald Trump, in his "crusade" against the unfair practices of China, also kicks his real allies in the butt with sanctions (based on malicious accusations) instead of working with them, then that's lousy politics!
Or does Trump really think that Europeans will help here with his crusade when being also a target of Trump?

 

Loyalty is like respect--it cannot be bought. It must be earned.

All the US has earned is hatred and disrespect, and it has done so by its actions over decades. Military aggression and overthrowing legitimate governments.

 

Our national military isn't allowed to operate on U.S. soil. We call it a department of defense but I think that is a misnomer.

 

Department of War is much more accurate.

 

International relations are not a mutual admiration and benefit society. Like it or not, it's more like a poker game, and most players are looking to win. Like most politicians, they want to seem reasonable, but they also intend to come out on top. Americans- particularly liberals, are extremely naive in this respect, they don't really understand that the game is not softball, and even in mutually beneficial things- the other side is keeping score, differently. In order for one side to win, the other must lose, meaning benefit disproportionate to contribution is scoring. Americans usually play their own life game that way, but have difficulty seeing it as fair on the larger scale. They want to live in a kind, magnanimous nation that gives money away (they think of it as OPM, Other Peoples Money). Those on the other side are working to keep an edge- meaning the kindness should flow in their favor. That is exactly what Americans do in their own life game, but usually assume no one notices it, and they are part of this generous care for the rest of the world. The general conditions of these situations didn't come about with Trump's election, we have been seen as fools for decades by a good part of the world because we didn't understand the real rules. A client in Austria once told me that "Many Americans think the rest of the world is made up of third-world countries". We have treated them like they couldn't take care of themselves, so we would act to become sort of nannies- and expect them to appreciate it. At the same time, our respect hasn't really been respect at all- just facade, which was transparent to those we dealt with.

True partnerships are most always beneficial and valuable. However, most of these associations have never been true partnerships, because the motivations of the people making them were also competitive and have adversary overtones- free things have a price and obligation attached. Very unequal rewards.

The worst deal-makers are the people who don't understand the game- or don't even know it is a game to the rest of the world. That's not Trump. He's been in the same position as the cook who is supposed to make omelets without breaking eggs, because the customers think that's like killing those cute little chicks. Naive, on a massive scale. Americans who often think their life is hard- have no idea what hard is. Most of the nations we are involved with have citizens where every adult and often many children have lived in the midst of war or at least the great difficulty of recovery and the depression that follows.

That gives them a substantially different view of the game than we have, and a different set of rules than we use. Trump didn't write those rules we play by- his predecessors did.

Unfortunately, people conditioned to anything are upset by change, and fear it. Everything from people afraid to quit a bad job, to a battered woman going back to the abuser over and over.
In international relations- that is what we have done for decades; made bad deals and allowed ourselves to be used and used again. Because.... we are fair. Except to ourselves.
Now you can blame Trump for exposing that and trying to fix it. But you can blame the people for that effort having to be restrained and gradual so they all didn't panic over it at once.
They want the results, but they don't want to offend anybody or change things to get them.

Our society is in dire need of self-respect, and that means accepting some basic rules that have governed nature since time began- and the first is that all of us are responsible for ourselves, first- and responsible for the consequences of all our decisions.

That also means we do not have the right to interfere with the rights of others to make their own decisions, or their consequences, good or bad

The enemy here is not Trump- it's our own inability, our unwillingness to follow and respect that first principle of life.
I have no doubt that Biden will restore the time-honored tradition of being us being screwed in international relations.

 

Well ...
Diplomacy and relations between countries is different from business relations in economy issues. There are important differences and, above all, other things. Trump has not understood this difference to this day.
I can still remember a documentary about the American economic giants like Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegy etc. in US history, where Trump ... at that time still purely CEO of his company ... said:

"If I go into negotiations and the other side doesn't come out crying after signing, I'm dissatisfied ... because then I know I could have achieved an even better result!"

In business he can try that ... at least as far as the supplier side is concerned (on the customer side it's not a good idea) ... but applying this principle in diplomacy and relations between states is fatal and ALWAYS leads to an own goal earlier or later. And if you then spread a drum fire of baseless accusations, lies and fake news, then that can make international relations very icy.

That the USA play the world policeman and that many Americans don't feel like doing it anymore is correct ... but and just ... the USA was rarely asked to be a policeman in this world, mostly the USA appointed itself to be one! Then to blame others for it is very lame ... And of course the strategic interests always played a role ... the interests of the US, if and when the US is the cop and when and where not ... including how long and the like.
And the madness is that the USA is not where it should be as a world power, or is very one-sidedly ignorant and hypocrisy. How often have I read and heard American allegations against Iran because the mullahs in Iran use the bestial Sharia. The fact that Saudi Arabia applies the Sharia in the same way as Iran, that was completely ignored in US politics and in almost all US media as information and fact!

As I wrote earlier, the transatlantic relationship has been serious damaged over the past 4 years. Thanks to Trump, the Europeans have learned that they can no longer really rely on the USA and have to rely more on themselves. There was also this lie by Trump that it costs the US a lot of tax money to be in Europe because of NATO, an important point, because de facto the US does very little in and for NATO and the troops andbases in Europe are more for own US interests as for NATO.
Washington sees NATO more as a tool for its own interests ... and when the Europeans began to rely more on themselves, without the US ... well ... Trump and the rest of Washington wanted that too not because then you have lost your influence. Suddenly NATO was no longer obsolete ... we remember? And another thing about the trade war with China and Trump's accusations, which are also directed against others such as the German auto industry. Question: Who was the largest exporter of cars "made in the USA by US people" in 2018 and 2019? General Motors? Ford? Chrysler? No ... the German manufacturer BMW with its factory in Spartenburg. For example, each of the BMW X-Series SUVs are manufactured entirely in the US and exported from the US to the world ... including Germany. And as for the nasty tariffs, which are also an issue: The same tariff rate has to be paid on every BMW X-Series that goes from the USA to the EU as for every Dodge & Co.! And finally ... the biggest BS that I had here in the forum concerns VAT (Value Added Tax). Americans seriously demanded that this would be a competitive disadvantage for US imports and that there should be no VAT on US products. OK, the VAT is a bit different for you than in Europe ... but the fact is: The same VAT applies to US goods as to German goods, and also in all other EU countries. 19% VAT is due on a new Dodge, like on a new Mercedes, BMW or whatever, no matter where the car comes from. That was denied by these Americans and I'm sure they still believe the BS!

 

The Europeans have learned- that the gravy train is not running anymore. They have indeed trusted us, to be foolish and gullible. In terms of how these things work, to say it's not like business is to say business selling furniture is not like business selling potatoes or cars. Doing business anywhere, with anyone- is using business principles. Now giving away your money, your market advantage, getting taken advantage of - THAT is not like doing business. You can do business cooperatively and as partners, and that's great- but very few real partners exist in international trade relationships. Partnerships are a win/win arrangement that benefits both sides- but they depend on the mindset of the people calling the shots, agreeing on things. In politics, nobody is permanent. You can make a good deal with an official- and 6 months later when you have your ducks in line and ready to move, that official has been replaced, and the new one wants to know how big a cut he gets for allowing the deal to go forward. Had exactly that happen to me on an international deal about 35 years ago. I scrapped the entire venture, which I had already sold to investors because I would not put us in the position of having to pay bribe money.

International dealings are invariably adversary, despite the front of cooperation they may be represented as being. The question is how you control the deal so you don't lose your ass.
It's unfortunate that Trump didn't call and ask for your advice, so you could tell him it was impossible to do what he had already done, and he could have avoided your criticism.
I mean, you having so much more experience and expertise and all.

 

The first question that arises is ... which "gravy train" please?
Yes, the USA had and still has the leading role in NATO and without question has the largest contingent with its armed forces ... followed by France and then Germany ... But this leadership role also gives the USA various privileges ... for example, the NATO CnC is always a US 4 star general and most of the NATO troops are ultimately in the chain of command under US command. If the US wants to become less involved ... can we then also talk about the fact that the next NATO CnC is a French or a German, also as regards the chain of command? Washington is generally very allergic to this reaction, because that is definitely not what Washington and the Pentagon want and will accept!

The other big point, however, is how much of the powerful US military is actually NATO and, and even rudimentarily, part of the NATO alliance in Europe? Since the end of the Cold War, the number of US troops in Europe has decreased massively. In 1990 there were about 230,000 soldiers alone in Germany ... but now, when the partial withdrawal decided by Trump is completed, the troop strength will be reduced from around 39,000 to a rest 24,000. And most of them are staff, Air base personal in Ramstein, and logistics ... rarely combat troops.

Question: And they defend us, cost so much US tax money becase we do not enough for our own defence as Trump tells? Seriously?

No, they are here to operate major important bases like Ramstein or the huge and biggest US military hospital outside the US in Landstuhl and these bases are the Forwared Operation Bases (FOB) for pure US interests such as in ME or Afghanistan ... and only then on rank 2 they have any NATO significance! And the counter-argument of the "Trumponians" that they would only form the vanguard in case of emergency ... is unfortunately nonsense. What is meant is the old "REFORGER" principle from the Cold War, where in addition to strong forces like the V Corps of that time, the entire equipment is stored in depots for a further cmplete Corps and only the soldiers from the USA have to be flown in. The problem is ... these therefore necessary depots and the device stored there don't exist since about 25+ years anymore!

Enough about the military now ... let's get to the treaties, agreements, and diplomacy.
Yes, in democracies there is always change due to the elections, but that is precisely why contracts are always concluded on a long-term basis and are also binding after elections for new governments. Only a certain Donald Trump does not accept this and did his best to get rid of this rationale. Therefore, especially in intergovernmental relations, fair giving and taking = win / win is the norm, as is the point of compromise.
The former and, in my opinion, the best Chancellor in Germany and one of best politicians worldwide was Helmuth Schmidt. He once said this: "Democracy and diplomacy thrive on compromise. Those who cannot compromise are of no use for democracy and as a government"! That sums it up!
BTW ... Another quote from him was e.g. "Anyone who (in politics) has visions should go to the doctor!"... and at press conferences he also liked to mess with the media. Once he had argued with a journalist and then finally said to him and his comments "Yes, that was a snappy answer from me to a total stupid question from you! Next questions please?".

And about Trump an me and playing his advisor ... well ... I would have been fired within 24 hours for sure ...

 

As far as the last question goes we did just that, and it is a seminal factor in our history. From its inception to the time of the ACW the USA was the major "subversive" power in the world taking much the same place as the Soviet Union took in World Affairs from 1922 to 1989. The "Great Powers" of Olde Europe had it "in" for us for most of that time and it was only our skillful (?) balancing of most of them against each other (mainly the British against everyone else) that enabled us to survive. The ACW scared the living piss out of Europe since it saw us mounting armies and pressing military campaigns INTERNALLY that would have engaged and possibly exceeded the total military resources of the entire European continent with our only serious rival being Great Britain. Many historians I have read say that the major factor in world affairs after the ACW was the knowledge that the Union Armed Forces in 1865 could have probably defeated the entirety of the world's armies outside of Great Britain and the idea that America was and would remain a major factor in the world's history from that point on.

 

Unfortunately, that's not really true.

Until the ACW, the US played next to no role on the world stage. Except for the short war of 1812 and the short war with Mexico over Texas there had been nothing ... simply because the US was completely self-absorbed and internally expanding westward.
As for the armies of the ACE, the common opinion of historians ... including that of West Point Military Academy ... is that until about 1862/1863 a single army corps of one of the European powers (Great Britain, France, Prussia, Russia, Austria-Hungary in special) would have been enough to stomp one of the two sides into the ground.
But from around 1864, however, not anymore, since both sides, especially the much larger armed forces of the Union, were so experienced and powerful that it would no longer have worked.

Really noticed on the world stage and then taken more and more seriously, the US was only with its new policy to deal with its "front yard" Central America and the Caribbean outside the own borders ... so from the Spanish - American war for Cuba on, respectively ... also with your construction of a massive US Navy cruising not only in Home Waters etc.