[nextstep]

None of what the US is doing in Venezuela is new ground for the empire. Failed CIA coup plots, bribing Maduro’s pilots and allies in hopes of betrayal, even military action like bombing boats on shaky “national security” grounds— the US has been doing this sort of thing in Latin America (and much of the world) since the 50’s.

But this story has stayed in media because Trump is so brazen, declassifying CIA documents and speaking openly about these war crimes. That’s new for America. Usually these things are denied for a few decades, claims to the contrary are called “conspiracy theory”, before being admitted quietly, maybe mentioned in a back page of the NY Times.

So I’m skeptical that anyone from the US government could ever be held accountable for war crimes or violations of international law, but who knows. This does feel different.

[ourmandave]

The Iraq war set the standard. Darth Cheney made torture great again and nobody even saw trial.

After 20+ years of forever war it only came up as a campaign issue, in how did someone vote for the Iraq war when they were in congress.

[IAmBroom]

Wasn't one private courtmartialed? Lynndie England. And googling says 7 faced courts-martial this year, while independently another court awarded $42M in damages to the prisoners (who survived).

I'm outraged about Cheney's enshittification of our nation too, but truth is important.

[ourmandave]

Yeah, some justice but no one of consequence, which set the stage.

(Like what happened to the psychiatrists they hired to come up with waterboarding and other torture methods?)

Fast forward to today and you have a wannabe King pardoning his own coupists, massive fraudsters, and conspirators with foreign states.