Perhaps Trump can take Albanese off our hands.

I raised the issue of the Monroe doctrine years ago in how it applies to Ukraine and Taiwan.
You think Russia or China want the U.S. on their doorstep?

If the U.S. wishes to argue it's own regional security needs, then Russia and China's arguments against the U.S. become completely valid.

In truth, the U.S. failed with war against Russia, will fail with their war against China - and they know it, and are instead now focused on robbing and looting from all the other countries in the Western hemisphere to try and save themselves from economic ruin.

Unfortunately, Binoy is right. The kidnapping was illegal, unwarranted and will make the world a riskier and more dangerous place. If the USA doesn’t even pretend to respect international law and conventions it will make it even less likely that other countries will. And for a middling power like Australia, those laws and conventions are important.

Maduro is a vile and violent dictator who has fraudulently stolen elections and a kleptocrat who has destroyed what could have been one of South America’s most prosperous economies. I hope at least that the long-suffering Venezuelans get a better government out of this whole mess, although the history of US-induced regime changes doesn’t give much grounds for optimism.

Donald Trump's action in instigating the attack on Venezuela elevates the United states to join with Russia and China in proclaiming a disdain for a rules-based order to international relations.

Planned on a "premise" that the narcotics trade into the US was a perceived as a national security threat to the US, the counter response was a Presidential order to capture Maduro by force. This authority "legitimised" an over-ridding priority to achieve a mission objective through any means at any cost.

Any form of rebuke or condemnation of the events on the 3rd January 2026 from nations voicing their opposition to US action have been a mix of restraint and rhetoric.

Paradoxically, Russia and China offer their criticisms of US action while making no secret of their territorial ambitions to the world community. Is Donald Trump simply attempting to assert his presence in the league of the BIG Three?

I'd have to say that this event raises more questions that it is possible to get answers for, at least in the immediate short term.

#…Trump has, without knowing it, joined a most dubious club…#

Trump has, with full knowledge, spearheaded a course for support of US interests which build on his open and very clear endeavour to MAGA.

Wresting control of the greatest oil reserves in the world, will surely do that. His justification is simple, the oil wells once belonged to US interests, Nationalised by the succession of communist Dictators in the interests of China. As a bonus, the drug supply networks of Latin America are severely disrupted.

His move kisses the back side goodbye, of the multilaterists congregating in the defunct United Nations and sets the US firmly on its more traditional unilateral path of self interest.

A win-win for all Americans top to bottom, and what could be wrong with that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine

ttbn said "Perhaps Trump can take Albanese off our hands." Answer- Good point

Armchair Critic said "If the U.S. wishes to argue it's own regional security needs, then Russia and China's arguments against the U.S. become completely valid."
"- Answer- This could be a false equivalency. The Monroe Doctrine was ostensively about the stability and non-interference in Latin American independent nations. Given that both China and Russia could be said to be based on unstable nihilistic authoritarian principles of Marxism suggests that regional dominance by China and Russia is invalid. It's not just about "spheres of influence" but about stability in their sphere of influence, note this doesn't mean that Spain for example can't participate in the stability of Southern America in the 1800's but they should probably go through the US (ie consult and be directed by the stakeholders in the region).

But the US could fail against China if their allies don't understand the nature of the threat I suppose, good doesn't always win against bad, at least in the short term. In a sense the US principles have become corrupted in successive waves (maybe that is what AC is seeing when he says that the US is bad- ttbn says something similar but still supports the west- I find it hard to believe that AC actually believes that authoritarian Marxism represents a superior political system to the European model in spite of it's faults). You could say that the current 100 year period represents a decline of traditional political wisdom capital by opportunists, Yuri Bezmenov warned of the corruptibility of open societies in his decried Harvard address.

I think President Trump a good force in the sanity battle, and he stopped 8 wars. Maybe Binoy Kampmark supports Chinese drug pre-cursors, Canadian imports, and El Salvador drug lords too.

Reagan captured General Noriega, Nicaragua 1989.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_strikes_on_alleged_drug_traffickers_during_Operation_Southern_Spear

Even if part of the reason is oil, it's still a good reason, sane powers need to maintain world dominance, oil is a critical resource for world stability, and Marxism isn't sane. This isn't only about law it's about sanity.

Hi Canem Malum,

The Monroe doctrine wasn't about giving the U.S. permission to knock over Latin American countries, it was to prevent the British and Europeans from doing so.

"Given that both China and Russia could be said to be based on unstable nihilistic authoritarian principles of Marxism suggests that regional dominance by China and Russia is invalid."

And Russia and China aren't trying to overthrow the government or colonise, BRICS is a trading block not military.

And truthfully, I'd prefer to go with BRICS lead multipolar world order than the Zionist Unipolar world order.

"I find it hard to believe that AC actually believes that authoritarian Marxism represents a superior political system to the European model in spite of it's faults"

They must be doing something right, if not we must be doing something wrong.

You might oppose marxism, but it was capitalism (or Aussies paying themselves too much) that sent all the jobs there.

Armchair Critic said "You might oppose marxism, but it was capitalism (or Aussies paying themselves too much) that sent all the jobs there."

Answer- Or maybe it was Marxist cells (Pan-Marxism) operating in Australia in a similar way to Islamic State (ISIS/ Pan-Islamism). But Pan-Marxism seemingly works under the criminal radar most of the time, in spite of other forms of corruption, unlike high profile Pan-Islamic violent actions.

Extreme left groups have a range of tactics to undermine enemy capitalist groups. Frank Kitson talks about managing low level insurgents, and the problem of isolating insurgent groups without alienating the population, and the fact that the police and enforcement are often badly equipped to deal with these tactics. Kitson makes specific mention of Marxist's and dedicates multiple chapters.

It seems that capitalist groups response to Marxist tactics has been to move business offshore, which hurts the locals, and plays into Marxist advantage. Traditionalist's wouldn't be fooled in the same way, because Traditionalist's understand, like the American Indian's, you can't eat money! Capitalist purist's sadly believe that all problems can be solved with money. As many have said Marxist's don't love the poor, they hate the rich. Nietzsche understood this too when he talked about the culture of envy. It's ok to want what others have, but you have to be willing to take responsibility for getting to that position, not deny reality, in a society wide hissy fit of hysterical envy. Ayn Rand said you can't put effect before cause, and this is what socialist's try to do (at least this is what the 'useful idiot Marxist's' do- the 'smart Marxist's' understand it's all about 'power'). The core Marxist's see power the way Capitalist's see money.

In a sense AC is right that it is the fault of the Aussies paying themselves too much, out of proportion to the benefit they provide. But some are more to blame than others- there is the unions (that don't help workers long term situation), the Marxist groups in Australia mainly Trotskyites (mainly useful idiots foolishly believing the feel good elements of Marxism),

he bureaucrats who increase red tape for their own benefit, etc.

We used to hear about the social benefits of capitalist endeavour, but this seems to have been drowned out by envyist leftist propaganda. Essentially China is a military dictatorship, posing as a house pet.

I can't help that treason must be occurring between home grown Marxist's and foreign powers, but I suppose that their is so much Marxist propaganda in our society the foreign nations can rely on this to subvert us. Bezmenov talked about these things in his Harvard address- would Bezmenov advise to ban Marxist propaganda when it advocates destroying European society in our 'open society'.

I see the battle between Marxism and Capitalism as essentially a recent evolution of the battle between East and West for all of the thousands of years of recorded history. It is a battle of ideas and political systems and cultural dominance. The battle between Traditionalist and Woke society seems to parallel the battle between The 300 Spartans and the Persian Empire- discipline vs mass nihilism.

"Perhaps Trump can take Albanese off our hands."

Well that's where you and I differ ttbn.
You had the same attitude about Assange.

I'm not too fond of Albo, especially with his immigration.
But if a foreign nation kidnapped him ad held him on made up domestic charges in a foreign country I'd be leveling untold expletive abuse at that nation.

He might be an incompetent traitorous piece of crap.
BUT HES OUR INCOMPETENT TRAITOROUS PIECE OF CRAP.

Hi AC,

The old bloke is a typical far right extremist, with that kind of comment; "Perhaps Trump can take Albanese off our hands." These old fart extremists needs to be packed up and shipped off to Trumps own private "Berghof" where he could haply lick A, of the Powerful Pedo brigade that hang out there.