www.ifrc.org/national-soc...

It can be both!

You can make two L's out of a W, and still basically lose the overall political game because everyone sees you abruptly attacking your neighbors after accusing them of smoking your crack (the crack you just smoked).

That's not a good look, there's hardly any fentanyl I bet.

Basically, if this was an oldschool 2000's era World Police action like what we pulled over in Iran, it undermines the credibility of the global rules-based order.

If it is the start of a bigger conflict where the US muscles in on uncooperative shoreline-havers, it's a hideously expensive blowout.

My guess is Venezuela lacks military capabilities and economic options, and will have to play a rhetorical game to 'save face' as part of the performative global political game.

Since UN Charters are being torn up left and right, this is superfluous rhetoric mostly good for condemning the action.

The end point to this ramble is that we don't know what we don't know; but what we do know is that Venezuela's government is very :/ about the whole situation.

It turns out, Maduro is just y'know, the top dog in a very layered rat-race, runners-up have to keep their lackies in order for privileges.

Peak lmao is Russia going "oh no stop you're not allowed to do that" while Russian milbloggers pass the mug that says 'liberal tears' around the pitch black, ice cold apartments in Moscow because there isn't any running water and they can't afford to cry wastefully.

Pour some hotdog water out ya'll

Like, if Venezuela's opposition party was ready for this right? Would it have played out like this? I can't imagine they'd have gone "yeah why don't you blow up half of town" behind a Denny's in DC over 7/11 coffee cups.

That kinda thing requires coordination we don't know of at this time anyway.

I see a probably fake photo running around:
fixupx.com/Gerashchenko...

Suffice it to say, I don't buy for even a second that the DEA is coordinating with special forces to pose for a photo-op. So make of that what you will.

As one pal put it "it isn't 1100 anymore, its not over if you get a king"

Is this the end of strikes? Probably not? Unless there's nothing else for the US to violate on their way out.

Is this the end of Maduro? Maybe? I haven't seen actual confirmation he's been captured, but people are running with it I guess, so that's something you can salt once its outta the fryer.

You could almost say that was "textbook", insofar as military force textbooks are concerned.

In political terms well, I guess we find out if a whole nation just shrugs after its president is abducted and goes on with its merry business.

Or a bloody powerstruggle washes over the capitol, y'know.

Heya Jake, do you think this is the 'one and done' precision strike that kicks off more tension just for lols like our strikes in Iran, or is this the start of something bigger and more prolonged?

A post is going around where maybe Trump claims to have Maduro in chains, proclaiming victory is why.

It's always something with this fucking company lmao

(Okay imagine if the Dubai thing wasn't because of lapses on car payments and the criminal charges that comes with in Dubai)

Point being, until that old coot is out of office, the most he can do is point the gun at things that he shouldn't. Congress isn't even clearing the range to set targets up.

The worst part of this is the US military is far too effective to really like, dunk on? We fuck up now and then and dump a F35 into the ocean.

Imagine all of the guys who leave luxury cars on the side of the road in Dubai because it ran out of gas. They can just do that, they have that kinda money

We seem to mostly be in the business of supplying, conducting, or enabling mass misery via formerly preventable armed conflicts.

"Peace through deterrence" kids when the Funne happens and it's your own goddamn fault this time. Again. Again Again. In your neighbor's backyard of course.

...South Hemisphere. HAH. Well aside from a scenic military misadventure to go spread democracy to The Thing, I don't think much of the news that will be worth spreading is gonna be anything else but aid requests, humanitarian and charity organization chatter, and of course exported human suffering.

In the South Pole it's of course, the middle of Summertime. For fellow North Americans, right now kids should be resting in their beds after a long day of playing outside.

It's important to note that none of the true wreckage and human cost will make it onto US Mainstream Media, it's on us morons.