I realise that I have been very remiss in not posting anything for several months . This is not because I have not been able to find things on which to comment but rather because there have been so many things which warrant  discussion.

I have been galvanised into action by the events of the last day or so - and it’s not the Ashes - sorry all cricket fans. Rather it’s the US invasion of Venezuela.

I’m sure that Maduro is a tyrant or a despot or at very least in power via very dodgy means. But … does this give Trump the right to send in troops to kidnap him and his wife while bombing the capital. 

The question is not rhetorical because if the international community allowed this every time a more powerful country had a falling out/disagreement with a weaker country or indeed if the latter had something that the former country wanted the end result would be chaos. Is this the way the world is headed?

There are also some other questions that need consideration:

1) How is Trump’s action any different from Putin’s behaviour in Ukraine?

2) Why are we so concerned about China & Taiwan? Aren’t there similarities here as well?

I’m sure that many people will argue that it’s all about protecting democracy but given the way democracy is being manipulated across the world perhaps this is not valid.

I was pleased, particularly after the bad press he has received lately that Anthony Albanese’s response was thoughtful and considered.

The other thing that always concerns me when the US gets involved in armed conflict is that the outcome is almost always unsatisfactory. Think Korea, Vietnam, Iraq & Afghanistan. Consider too Grenada in the 1980s.

Given that Trump has said that the US ‘needs’ Greenland, if I were a Greenlander or indeed a Dane, I would exhort my country folk to be very concerned and eternally vigilant.

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