Kurt Cobb
We have the ancient Roman writer Vegetius to thank for the phrase: "If you want peace, prepare for war." The phrase itself was adapted from one found in Vegetius' book on Roman military strategy, De Re Militari (circa 450 AD), the only complete work on the topic to survive to the modern era. The phrase translated literally reads, "Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war."
Whether that is good advice seems less relevant than whether those who prepare for war actually desire peace. I am thinking of something Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, said to Colin Powell, the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to wit: "What's the point of having this superb military that you're always talking about if we can't use it?"
Which brings us to today: a world decidedly more under the sway of Albright than Vegetius, a world in which everyone seems to be preparing for war, but with little intention of preserving the peace.
I'll start with the recent attack on the alleged drug-smuggling boat blown to smithereens by the U.S. Navy in the Caribbean Sea. The United States is now conflating two failed wars into one: the war on drugs and the war on terror. The word "narco-terrorist" is ready-made for the occasion.
The Trump administration claims the boat was from Venezuela and operated by a notorious Venezuelan gang. But it offers no proof. The navy could have stopped the boat, searched it, and, if warranted, arrested the passengers. But that would involve actually mounting a legal case for which the U.S. might not have the necessary evidence.
The destruction of the boat, even though American sailors and ships were not at risk, is now being called "an act of war." But that was almost certainly the point. The Trump administration is trying to goad Venezuela into an attack on U.S. forces (or arrange a false flag incident) that will justify a full-on war with Venezuela. Importantly, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not rule out regime change in Venezuela as a goal of American military operations in the Caribbean.
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