• ReadFanon [any, any]@hexbear.net
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          10 days ago

          The only hope was Russia coming through for Venezuela but I wasn’t convinced that this was anything more than bluster or geopolitical jockeying.

          Who knows if there was actually any moves to advance this and, even if it did have enough time to get implemented, what use would it have been if the Venezuelan military had (apparently) been bought off or ordered to stand down by a seditious general or two? I mean, it’s not like it would have been the first time for the Venezuelan military to betray the government and the people.

          • TraschcanOfIdeology [they/them, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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            10 days ago

            It’s still early to tell. Today’s attack seems pretty restrained, but we’ll have to wait to see what it is the prelude to.

            As much as Russia would love to waste the US’s time and energy in Vzla so there are fewer resources and interest for Ukraine, I don’t think they can spare the materiel, troops, or political capital. Not to mention that, knowing the current US leadership, finding Russian support for the resistance in Venezuela could mean that the US lashed out unpredictably and stared bombing Russian positions in Ukraine or something similar in retaliation.

              • TraschcanOfIdeology [they/them, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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                10 days ago

                Compared to what the US did in Lybia, Iraq or Afghanistan, and what they have the troops and carriers parked in the Caribbean for? Looks restrained to me.

                It is a ludicrous violation of every international law and statute, I’m not saying it is not a disgraceful thing, an act of wanton violence. But I was considering they could’ve just taken a page out of Israel’s book and level Caracas.

                I’m also convinced this isn’t all there is. This is just the beginning.

                • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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                  10 days ago

                  Just watched the press conference apparently the US is going to “run” Venezuela until such time that there can be a peaceful transition

                  It’s iraq all over again

      • Saapas@piefed.zipbanned_from_community_badge
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        10 days ago

        He has tried to capture/assasinate him for a while lol

          • Saapas@piefed.zipbanned_from_community_badge
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            10 days ago

            I mean why wouldn’t you, would make the war easier to take out the other side’s leadership. Russia would’ve been stupid not to try

            • TheLepidopterists [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              10 days ago

              It’s a huge escalation, people don’t just assassinate heads of state like that, because the people giving the order would be heads of state who don’t want assassinating heads of state to be normalized.

              But I guess it is now.

              • Saapas@piefed.zipbanned_from_community_badge
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                10 days ago

                Ukraine would’ve lost a lot of fighting spirit of Russia had managed to take him out. Especially if they managed to capture him.

            • coolusername@lemmy.ml
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              10 days ago

              They actually told Zelensky they weren’t going to target him. Early in the SMO he was afraid to leave his bunker. There’s no point targeting him because he’s not a real leader. The US is pulling all the strings. It’s why Russia doesn’t negotiate with Zelensky and negotiates with the US.

              • Saapas@piefed.zipbanned_from_community_badge
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                10 days ago

                They also told they weren’t going to attack…

        • PosadistInevitablity [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          10 days ago

          That’s nonsense. Zelensky is a moderate in his own country. He’d likely be replaced by a fascist.

          The same goes for Putin. If he were killed, he’d be replaced by a nationalist who would probably drop a nuke in Ukraine.

          Both are moderates in their own nations, and neither side desires a more unhinged leader across the table.

          • Saapas@piefed.zipbanned_from_community_badge
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            10 days ago

            How would the war have gone worse for Russia after they took out Zelensky, what is the scenario the Russians are afraid of?

      • Carcharodonna [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        10 days ago

        One thing I’ve been thinking about is if the rest of the MIC is using Trump to do unpopular stuff on their behalf, and then when he keels over, Dems, European leaders, and others can turn around and declare “a time for healing” or whatever other bullshit they put out while holding onto the imperial gains. This would basically be the same as what happened with Bush Jr. I fucking hate it.

        • MaoTheLawn [any, any]@hexbear.net
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          10 days ago

          Absolutely, it almost feels like a now or never effort before a democrat inevitably gets in. More than just Bush Jr though, I feel like that’s been the cycle for decades upon decades in most western countries since the 1940’s. The right get in, make a shit load of changes unimpeded, and then democrat equivalents regain a few meaningless scraps. Then the right get in again.

        • CleverOleg [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          10 days ago

          There is a theory out there that Cuba is the ultimate target here (cutting off Cuba from Venezuela economically). I’m not sure I believe that if we’re talking overall strategy but I can see that as Rubio’s personal mission, though.

    • ChristchurchAsshole@lemmy.ml
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      10 days ago

      Not long until the Venezuelan taliban emerge from the caves and stab the occupiers in the throat. At least that’s what I hope for. An insurgency. I don’t care who funds it. I’m a full-blown sociopath at this point and Trump must pay. I hope his supporters protest. If I was in the US right now I’d be visiting all the Trump supporters in their 20s and 30s and I’d tell them to act now. Protest at the White House and call for Trump to be removed.

      • BelieveRevolt [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        10 days ago

        I hope his supporters protest. If I was in the US right now I’d be visiting all the Trump supporters in their 20s and 30s and I’d tell them to act now. Protest at the White House and call for Trump to be removed.

        Yeah, I’m sure this is the last straw for them, they’ll definitely turn on him, Drumpf is finished! football-lucy fell-for-it-again

        • ChristchurchAsshole@lemmy.ml
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          10 days ago

          In any case, this will make it much easier for china and russia to justify their plans. This isn’t a victory for trump and especially not for America.

              • BelieveRevolt [he/him]@hexbear.net
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                10 days ago

                It’s possible that I misinterpreted, but talking about Russia and China having ”plans” is something that has a certain feel to me. Especially if your last comment contained the absurd assertion that Trump supporters could start protesting at the White House over an attack on Venezuela.

            • ChristchurchAsshole@lemmy.ml
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              This is part of a big power competition and that’s the only way to see it. But there will be idiots who think that Trump is great. He’s going to stop the drugs and election fraud by invading venezuela. Wait a few days and see what ridiculous opinions emerge. Americans won’t benefit from this and will lose on the long run. Rules based order my ass.

        • newacctidk [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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          10 days ago

          The EU is so fucking satanic. I hope nothing but the worst for them. That their quality of life goes even further to shit, that the albatross around their neck of Hungary becomes heavier. They deserve nothing but contempt and suffering.

    • FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      10 days ago

      With Chavez he always remained in the country. I think in this case, if it’s true he’s been successfully captured and flown out by the US, it might be over for Maduro. The rest of the government remains.

      • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        10 days ago

        What happens now is the real question. These people think Machado will peacefully ascend to power and open the floodgates to looting, but the military is Maduro loyal and the people are organized into armed militias.

        If the shoe was on the other foot we would issue an ultimatum of 24 hours for the presidents safe return.

        I just don’t see how this ends well. Maybe the military sees the writing on the wall and rolls over?

          • FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            10 days ago

            Was treason necessary for his position to be known to the US ahead of time?

            Given that the US had intel on Maduro’s location, the necessary steps to capture and extract him were to deny the local air defences, neutralize his personal guard (did he even have one at the time of capture?), and extract. I don’t know how the extraction happened, but it’s not the first time US spec ops carry out an extraction from deep in enemy territory. No reason to think this was impossible without inside collaboration.

            • TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml
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              Fair point I’ll delete my comment since it’s pure speculation based on frustration

      • newacctidk [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        10 days ago

        And he has not really primed a successor. In all this time he needed to make a contingency, and now it is all up in smoke. The US gets to feel tough, and the whole world sees that resistance is nonexistent/futile.

    • ReadFanon [any, any]@hexbear.net
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      10 days ago

      Petition to refer to this and all upcoming US wars of imperialism as “special military operations” when talking to libs, just so it will get under their skin by highlighting their opportunistic, selective antiwar and anti-“dictatorship” political posturing.

      • BelieveRevolt [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        10 days ago

        I’ve seen American chuds argue in the past that the US has never lost a war (this was a long time ago, before Afghanistan and Iraq) because Vietnam wasn’t a war, it was a ”military operation”.

        • ReadFanon [any, any]@hexbear.net
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          Same here. They still do it, and the even claim that it was a “withdrawal” from Vietnam after achieving their goals (??) and not a defeat as well.

          They do something similar for Afghanistan too.

          When someone is that deep in the trashcan of ideology I don’t think there’s any reasoning with them tbh. Best to just close the lid and walk away. We can talk about what objectives were achieved in these wars, sure, but if you want me to agree with you that these wars were victories for the US then I’m afraid I’m just not capable of that level of suspension of disbelief.

    • QuietCupcake [any, they/them]@hexbear.net
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      Kinda hard to sanction the country that prints the currency the world economy uses. If dedollarization had somehow happened, it might be conceivable. Even then, the west is structured, by design, as a hierarchy of subservience to the US, economically, militarily, even ideologically.
      edit: I know you were drawing a comparison to the west’s reaction to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine to highlight the hypocrisy. I’m just sayin’.

  • MaoTheLawn [any, any]@hexbear.net
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    Can’t stand this line being parroted about how ‘8 million refugees fled the Maduro regime’, when the reality is that they fled a country whose economy was being strangled by the USA to the point of collapse. The USA openly admits they were essentially holding the Venezuelan people hostage by destroying the economy - presenting two options: live in poverty or overthrow Maduro.

    If this ends in a new right wing Venezuelan comprador government, there will be an ‘economic miracle’, and the west will report that Venezuela has been saved. The reality is that the sanctions would be taken off the economy, and a large extraction of wealth would take place within the oil sector, thus inflating GDP. In the short term, the people of Venezuela will see an increase in quality of life - a quality of life they never would have lost in the first place were it not for U.S encirclement. I’m sure a lot of Venezeulans won’t fight the change in government because it means a (perhaps temporary) reprieve from poverty, and peoples material circumstances are, as we all know, the bottom line.

    • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
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      9 days ago

      Even that seems too optimistic, it’s not 2000’s when the rotting carcasses of post-socialist countries got lifted up by EU directly pumping them full of infrastructure money and schengen social dumping. Venezuela would get straight up looted and the parts not worth looting will be left to flaunt, like in Argentina.

  • vegeta1 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    10 days ago

    Seeing libs and chuds sealioning and act like the pedo, genocide perpetrating racist regime is the “lesser evil” in this case has been annoying. Still saying authoritarian venezuela like trump didn’t float annexing canada greenland Panama not long ago thats-why-im-confused

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      How odd. Libs who were acting like Trump was the spawn of all evil and the sole fascist actor in all of American politics are now buddying up with reactionaries in supporting Trump and invading another sovereign country to steal their resources while pretending it’s all for the greater good? I’m shocked! Positively shocked!

      Fuck these libs istg

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      Americans have an obligation to clean up our own mess, China and Russia won’t come and do it for us, every person affected from a murdered Palestinian child to Maduro himself is on our hands

      • Yes. There is not going to be some cathartic cleansing of the US by outside forces. We have to do it ourselves.

        Posting this because I think it’s very relevant. I don’t read it entirely literally because the article is about Western socialists who criticize AES, the people we would call ultras or leftcoms. I think if you take the article’s principles to heart you can see a certain martyrdom and lack of rigor even among “tankies.” Hexbear has been fairly good today while left reddit seems to be having some struggles.

        Sentiments like:

        • World governments should destroy the US and me along with it
        • World governments should legally punish the US and remove my capitalist overlords from power for me
        • I would rather go die or be arrested doing adventurism this weekend than spend the rest of my life building socialism
        • I am going to go huff tear gas and fight cops this weekend as self-flagellation for the crimes of the US
        • I am going to hook by brain up all social media feeds and self-harm via a stream of war evangelism and horror images. This makes me brave for facing the truth and keeps me informed.
        • Doom doom doom because this just proves that empire is stronger than ever and only compromised socialism can exist as any real movement will be quickly snuffed out of existence.
      • CommCat [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        Treatlerites ain’t gonna do shit, as long as the US continues to be the world’s biggest consumer. Their government will continue to r ape and pillage the global South, as long as they can continue consuming their burgers and sportsball. The only hope really is a multipolar world with China and Russia to give some breathing room for countries in the crosshairs of Amerikkka. Looks like we’re still a long ways from the multipolar world, and I fear and dread what will happen to Iran and Cuba next…

        • glimmer_twin [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          10 days ago

          “Fuck you got mine”. You don’t think every revolutionary and working class hero in history had something to lose? Organise or lose everything.

            • SickSemper [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.net
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              Is this just to make yourself feel better about not changing anything? Because the best chance for survival will ALWAYS be on the side of empire. So it sounds like you’re just resigned to a life under the boot because you can’t disturb your comfort

  • certified sinonist@lemmygrad.ml
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    Tf man, wildest twist. Has me even angrier, all that damage and (presumably) loss of life to kidnap a world leader. Americans are going to use the fact they were so ‘precise’ and ‘just went after the president’ to justify forgetting about it all and leaving Venezuela to rot.