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But if Americans start dying—and they undoubtedly will if there is a ground war in Venezuela—the appetite for war will be tested even in the South.

Because there tends to be a "rally around the flag" effect when the country goes to war and because the South is politically dominated by Republican voters, it tracks that support for a conflict in Venezuela will be highest there.

The military has such a strong foothold in the South for a lot of reasons.

During the 20th century, Southern politicians saw the significant financial implications for their home states of building bases there. The region has plenty of rural, open spaces too.

Here's a good breakdown of military personnel broken down by state and by military branch.

matthewjlouis.com/hiring-veter...

Regardless, the US Army and the Marine Corps tend to be put most in harm's way during the kind of "boots on the ground" fighting that the president isn't ruling out.

We don't know what it will look like in Venezuela, but if it looks like anything, the South will put in more than its share.

No two conflicts are the same.

And we don't know if Venezuela would involve the intense on-the-ground fighting we saw at times in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, or whether we're talking about peacekeeping missions.

Depending on where you live, you're probably down the road from a base with thousands of active duty personnel and their families.

In my home state of North Carolina, there are 90,000+ spread out between Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and others.

But the US has already deployed more than 15,000 troops and a dozen warships to the region, according to The New York Times, making it the largest naval presence in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

This is an ominous moment. Again. Now what's that mean for the South?

Venezuela's new leader has rejected the American incursion. Trump's already threatened her over it.

In other words, what happens next is as clear as mud.

But Trump's secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also seemed to lay out a prolonged plan for military involvement in Venezuela during a classified briefing with senators, including the possibility of a greater American military presence there.

Americans, troubled by rising prices, aren't much interested in prolonged military engagements. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are fresh in many people's minds.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson described the military assault as a one-off maneuver. Johnson said he doesn't anticipate "boots on the ground."

But President Trump has insisted that the US will "run" Venezuela and that he might send more troops to the country.

President Trump's administration and his Republican allies have already contradicted themselves several times in the hours since they announced the attacks Saturday.

There's an arc to the flow of information whenever the American military acts. Initially, the media is dependent on the word of US leaders. That's where we are right now.

Right now, the region should be watching closely after a series of American military strikes in Venezuela.

The attacks killed about 75 people in the South American country, the US says, and included the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.