Venezuela and Policing the World

By Rich Kozlovich

On May 11, 2019 Raoul Lowery Contreras published an article entitled,  Should the U.S. be the Policeman of the World? saying:

Ever since the first shots were fired in Massachusetts Colony in 1775 by American patriots demanding independence from England, there have been two American sides to the universal quest for freedom with undecideds in between. This time the focus is on oil-rich Venezuela. One side of America is passive, its view limited to the border, the other active and global. Passive view: defend the United States at the Rio Grande not Baghdad. Active view: fight in Europe, Guadalcanal, Korea, Baghdad or Kabul; not in New York or Los Angeles. Venezuela, with the world’s largest oil reserves, by the way, first experienced American military intervention on October 7, 1892, when United States Marines landed to protect the U.S. Consulate. Venezuelan requests for American help during that era kept the U.S. directly involved in Venezuelan affairs for a decade, albeit, diplomatically helping Venezuela ward off English expansion on Venezuela’s border with British Guyana

This piece is a mess of logical fallacies, red herrings and inappropriate comparisons. The author goes on to say the United States benefits "immensely" from being the world's cop. I think that's misleading.  Has the U.S. benefited with some involvement? Yes, but the idea the U.S. should involve itself unendingly in the affairs of these countries is good for America is flatly wrong. 

First off, the world's economy in the 18th, 19th and beginning of the 20th centruies was radically different than it is today. In the real world of economics we now control the board.  If you want to play on our board you will play by our rules.  And the number one rule now is - Bretton Woods is over!  We are the only nation in the world that can feed itself, fuel itself, arm itself, defend itself and create our own market. 

Secondly, we don't need Venezuela's oil.  It's thick with contaminants and expensive to process.  Furthermore, due their corruption and lack of competent help, they're literally destroying their ability to extract that oil or process it.  The cost of bringing them up to snuff will cost untold millions and possibly billions.  Money neither the Russians or the Chinese have.  American fraking oil is not only light and sweet, it's ultra light and sweet, making processing amazingly easy and inexpensive.

Third, if Russia and China involve themselves there it will be a bottomless financial black hole, they can't fill and neither of them can afford it.  In fact, if they combined their economic efforts it would merely bankrupt them faster. 

The competent people who actually know how to do things have fled the country and those who are left are suffering the effects of a destroyed health care system and malnutrition, which severely effects the growth and development of children. Even if they can reverse that trend today that lack of development mentally and physically will take decades to overcome. Are they going to fund that? 

We need to stop wasting our money and our young men on military endeavors that prove wasted. Just because nation building worked with Japan and Germany doesn't mean it will work anywhere else, especially in Muslim nations and countries with a socialist history and foundational social paradigm. 

The fact is they chose these socialist lunatics and now let them live it them.  There's no benefit to the United States for interfering in their elections and most importanly, we owe them nothing!