As promised, here are the key points from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has spoken to US media outlets this morning.
- This is “not a war against Venezuela”, he says - this follows strikes on the country on Saturday and the extraction of its president, Nicolás Maduro
- The US will judge Venezuela by “what they do” next, Rubio says, adding that Washington will keep “multiple levers of leverage” to protect its interests
- Speaking to ABC, Rubio says congressional authorisation wasn’t needed before the operation “because this wasn’t an invasion”
- He says that he hopes Maduro’s removal will lead to “a better Venezuela”, but adds that the “number one objective is America”
- Asked whether he thinks Interim President Delcy Rodríguez is now the legitimate president of Venezuela, he says the US does not believe the regime is legitimate
Riiight, and if Venezuela doesn’t heel to the deranged orange buffoon they he will send more warplanes on “not be at war” bombing missions.
“Special Military Operation”, eh comrade?
Kidnapping a president is an act of war, wtf!
Ngl though if someone wants to start a war with us, they can fucking have our shitstain “president”.
There is no war in Ba Sing Se
US not at war with Venezuela
Sure. And Russia is not at war with Ukraine…
Israel is not at war with Palestinians…
And most importantly: Lying propagandists are totally not at war with reality and truth.
But Trump is still a pedophile. No matter what. At the end of the day. Trump will always be a pedophile.
Iran is not at war with Israel.
China is not at war with Taiwan.
Gotta conform to what the lying propagandists you trust are saying, amirite?
Did Iran invade Israel and I missed it?
Didn’t the israelis launch an illegal unprovoked war on Iran in June?
Iran supplies weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, chant “death to Israel” while enriching uranium for building nuclear weapons.
“Unprovoked” LOL.
israel supplies weapons to terrorists in Iran and Syria, posseses nuclear weapons, and refuses IAEA inspections, and is committing genocide in Palestine. What’s your point?
Totally agree on China and Taiwan. China is just waiting until they are sure they can invade without a lot of international attention (which trump is not helping)
Whats the Iran Isreal bit? Something new I missed? Or just the general tensions and on and again off again spots?
He is spouting hasbara.
Yes, China is indeed not at war with Taiwan… yet. They are however happily watching and realising that it’s a) okay now to attack a sovereign country and just pretend it isn’t a war and b) everyone seems to give a fuck about international law and prefers to stay silent. That’s yet another thing off of their list of reasons why they should not attack Taiwan.
Regarding Iran… if you want to argue that low scale bullshit, threats and financing of opponents is already war, you are free to do so. But if your bar is that low, be at least fair and acknowledge that Russia (and to a slightly lesser degree the US and China) are in fact at war with most countries right now.
The ICJ called for the arrest of Putin and Netanyahu. The US saw this and realised that it’s now ok to arrest the leader of a sovereign country.
China is currently conducting military operations in Taiwan which is technically not a sovereign country. Taiwan exists as a defacto independent country based on the strategic ambiguity that that US might defend it if were attacked by China. According to international law that would be the US going to war with China over internal Chinese dispute. So technically speaking, defending democratic Taiwan from aggression from an authoritarian regime may be against international law.
Iran gives material support to terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. These terrorist groups use weapons supplied by Iran to attack Israel (and in the case of the Houthis basically any country they feel like). Many people have been killed by Iranian weapons. Iran is most certainly engaged in a proxy war against Israel. This includes the genocidal massacre that occurred on October 7, 2023. Iran is complicit in genocide, but I guess that’s ok according to international law.
You see, international law is more of a vibe than anything real. The UN is made up of people, many of whom are appointed by very corrupt countries and what is against international law is probably just decided cliques in the cafeteria in the UN HQ.
Like really, what is the basis that’s used to determine which world leaders you think it’s acceptable to arrest? Just your feelings on who you like and who you don’t like? That’s not how legal systems are supposed to work you know.
The only difference between the actions of the UN and the actions of the US is the US actually has the power to actually arrest world leaders and the UN does not.
The ICJ called for the arrest of Putin and Netanyahu. The US saw this and realised that it’s now ok to arrest the leader of a sovereign country.
Why am I not surprised that you don’t understand the difference between a court and a government, much less between the International Court of Justice legitimised by the countries agreeing about its jurisdiction and a “Fuck the law, international and domestic, and any jurisdiction because I just do whatever I want”-wannabe dictator?
Maduro was indicted in a federal court.
Why am I not surprised you think only courts that indict the people you don’t like are legitimate? Why is it fundamentally different for a US court to do something different from a UN court? Other than the fact the UN court isn’t capable of actually arresting foreign leaders and the leaders they indict are people you don’t like. For the law to be legitimate, it should just prosecute the people it’s popular to go after. There’s plenty of dictators in the world that have done far worse than Netanyahu, where are the arrest warrants?
The ICJ is making political moves and that’s not what justice is supposed to be about and damages it’s legitimacy. The fact that actions by the US that are basically identical to the ICJ’s actions are labeled authoritarian, colonialist, actions of a rogue state, just goes to prove the illegtimacy of the the ICJ. You can’t have it both ways, either courts can indict foreign leaders and countries can execute arrests on them or they can’t. And it shouldn’t be down to a court conforming to political opinions, justice is subservient to politics is not justice at all. The ICJ seems intent on using it’s power to effect political change, same as Trump.
Look up “jurisdiction”…
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Rubio’s replies remind me of how a classic movie bully would respond when being asked by a teacher, or someone with authority.
“We’re totally not fighting, right?” stare
pat on the shoulderRubio is a fucking war criminal. What the fuck happened to that guy? He was never a bastion of morality or anything, but over the past year, he’s completely transformed into a monster.
He’s always been a bloodthirsty neocon with a fetish for regime change in Latin America. The Trump administration is just freeing him of the pretense of civility. Wait until they get to Cuba; he’ll be demanding we make them a U.S. territory to, “free,” them from communism.
He was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the genocide in Gaza.
And given how many American politicians support that genocide, that’s saying something.
I guess the term “act of war” becomes meaningless when the act is done by someone nobody will hold accountable.
It’s been meaningless since Vietnam
Far earlier than that. Look up the career, and post career, of Smedly Buttler. He was a marine commander who publicly spoke out about how he had been used as a thug for capitalism.
Particularly in the creation of Banana Republics.
Prescott Bush tried to use Buttler to overthrow FDR, but Buttler went to Congress and reported the plot. Nothing was ever done and then we got two Bush presidents.
Who’d thunk it someone from the damn Bush family pushing for conflict. Something Prescott’s son, George, did and George’s son, Dubya did. If Jeb actually got into office, surely he’d go to war too.
Jeb was already at war with his own charisma
Oh. I see. We are not at war. We are only bombing them, stealing their oil, and kidnapping their leader. Those are totally just friendly things normal countries do to each other.
I heard about bombs and Maduro, but oil is new. How are they even accomplishing that? Is US taking over their fields?
They’re stealing oil tankers that leave the country and emptying the oil in the US
Just dumping it in a field so they can pump it back out and pretend it was there the whole time.
Trump and Rubio have said they’ll coerce the remaining government to open up the oil fields to US companies.
Trump also said that the vice president can remain in charge as long as she does what the US wants. Understand the implication here - the Venezuela government are bad people who stole an election and commit human rights abuses, but that’s all okay to the US. They can keep doing that - they just have to open up their oil fields. If the US had said “we’re making Venezuela a democracy again”, that would at least provide some moral cover. They’re not though. It’s just oil. The US doesn’t even pretend to value rights and freedoms anymore.
When I was a teenager during the 2000s, I bought the BS that the US’s motivations around the world were actually benevolent. The Iraq war might have been started on faulty information but at least they were spreading democracy. I thought the people saying the motivation was oil were overly cynical. Guess I was wrong.
So if another country comes and abducts trump we won’t be at war with them, got it
Can you imagine a world where abducting Trump wasn’t seen as an actor of war by just about everyone in the US? I wouldn’t be upset to see Trump hung as a traitor, but if Canada came in and abducted him, I’m fairly sure I’d see it as a breech of our sovereignty. I’d actually be pretty conflicted at that point…
It’s regime change. Again. We’ve engaged in regime change many, many times in South and Central America (as well as other parts of the world) over the years, through various methods. This is, once again, the US asserting what it believes to be its “right” to rule over all of the Americas.
They take him to New York of all places. Not just completely out of the southern hemisphere, but almost to the most northern point of the United States. Just to be in Mamdani’s location, as a bullying snipe. Fuck these fascists.
Just to be in Mamdani’s location, as a bullying snipe.
Can you explain what you mean by this? I’m not sure I understand how this is anything to do with Mamdani.
Why not hold him at a military base or anywhere else. Is there a legitimate reason for NY etc. Or is this anything more than a bullying show of power. That trump can do this and dump him of in Mamdani’s back yard with no repercussion. He’s a petulant man child. Maybe there’s a minimally legitimate reason for this. But you know he’s definitely childishly enjoying it for other reasons too.
The SDNY office is needed for this bullshit
How so?
It is subservient to trump. Former Giuliani office. Scandal-plagued.
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) has faced significant scrutiny due to various scandals, including high-profile resignations of top officials and ongoing investigations into corruption and misconduct. Recent events have drawn comparisons to historical moments in the DOJ, highlighting the challenges and controversies within the district.
Overview of the SDNY Scandal
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) has recently faced significant turmoil, leading to a series of high-profile resignations and investigations. This situation has been referred to as the “Thursday Afternoon Massacre,” drawing parallels to the historical “Saturday Night Massacre” during the Watergate scandal.
Key Events
Resignations
- Several top officials within the Public Integrity Section of the SDNY have resigned.
- This mass resignation has raised concerns about the future of ongoing investigations, including a notable case involving New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Investigations
- The SDNY is currently dealing with multiple cases, including allegations of bribery and campaign finance violations involving public officials.
- A recent case involves Joshua Wander, co-founder of 777 Partners, charged with a $500 million fraud scheme, highlighting issues of financial misconduct within the district.
Implications
The fallout from these events has created uncertainty regarding the SDNY’s ability to effectively pursue its investigations. The directive from Washington, D.C., to drop the Adams case has particularly drawn attention, as it limits the district’s options moving forward. The situation continues to evolve, with potential impacts on public trust and the integrity of the judicial process in the region.
Oh, LOL. Well, yeah, I thought you were implying there was some legitimate reason for them to be there though. But yes, ACAB and all of course.
Russia is still not at war with Ukraine if you ask them
This is the Turd Reich’s Austria
United States or America executes various acts of war, killing literally boat loads of innocent sailors
United States or America directly attracts the same nation, murdering innocent soldiers and citizens
Just to be clear, we are not at war!
Well I could easily have been mistaken about that!
