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The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Author: albaby1 SILVER
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Number: of 84361 
Subject: Re: Kuwait Air Defenses Down US Jets
Date: 03/03/26 2:27 PM
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How many of them plan to do that?

I'm not sure it matters, because (again) they don't get to choose. What would precipitate a Round 2 is....well, it's uncertain what would actually precipitate Round 2 in Venezuela, because there doesn't appear to be much we're asking them to do, right? They're obviously not making any material changes to the government's domestic policies or moving away from socialism, and certainly not honoring their losses in prior elections or making plans to hold any new ones. The only significant change is that we've de facto eliminated the economic sanctions against them, in exchange for them letting us serve as their broker for selling all their oil - which is a real "please don't throw me in that Briar Patch!" kind of thing they have no reason to push back on. We lifted the sanctions, and they didn't have to do any of the things that we imposed sanctions on them in the first place - still no democratic elections, all the corrupt folks who were the basis of the sanctions bills are still in place (no one's been purged, much less tried), very little movement in dismantling the repressive rights-suppressing apparatus, etc. Which seems like a real win for the oppressive authoritarian regime, to get out from under sanctions without having to give anything material up - just release a few political prisoners but make it clear that no formal opposition will be tolerated and anyone can still be picked up at any time.

But I digress. The point is that it's not the cannon fodder who choose whether Venezuela will do something that pisses the U.S. off in a way that instigates Round 2. If they're in the way of Round 2, then that will happen. They don't have to be ordered to march off to it.

Anyhoo, I think you're right that we'll see what unfolds. Trump's already recognizing the possibility that we may end up with someone in charge of Iran who ends up just as bad. That was always a likely outcome regardless of whether the Administration publicly admitted to it, but the fact that he's floating that makes me wonder if the Administration actually did lose their plausible preferred choices in the initial strikes.

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This community has written 84,309 posts about US Policy. The article-length ones it recommended most:
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