President Trump’s approach is a revival of the mission of empire — acquiring the territories and resources of sovereign peoples.
Even as the president considers an attack, his State of the Union address offered little more than a brief repetition of vague talking points from recent days.
Rarely in modern times has the United States prepared to conduct a major act of war with so little explanation or public debate.
The secretary of state said that a military “quarantine” on some oil exports would stay in place to put pressure on the country’s acting leadership.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration would work with Venezuela’s acting leader, Delcy Rodríguez, a Maduro ally, to get foreign investment into the oil industry.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates burst into the open this week with an unusually direct confrontation that has global implications.
A union representing career diplomats said such a mass recall had never happened in the history of the U.S. Foreign Service.
In public, the White House says it is confronting Venezuela to curb drug trafficking. Behind the scenes, gaining access to the country’s vast oil reserves is a priority.
American diplomats were told to raise U.S. concerns about “violent crimes associated with people of a migration background.”
The surveillance missions are part of a U.S.-led international effort to ensure the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas holds.