Watch how the MAGA morons celebrate this stupidity.

OK, as a student of history just let me say there are many episodes throughout the years of the Republic which might seem so.

Teddy Roosevelt famously “convinced” Nicaragua to allow the Panama Canal to be built by… sending US warships to Central America and creating the country of Panama, which did not actually exist. We carved an entire nation/society out of a continent which prior had been inhabited by an entirely different race of people, and we barely think about it now.

The South (and some of the North) was built on the backs of slaves, and indentured servitude was not uncommon at the start of the country. We encouraged pirates (we delicately called them “privateers”) to handle our naval needs when we couldn’t raise a proper navy of our own.

The list is long, and as I wrote on the other Fool board, it’s far too early to tell how this episode/escapade will turn out. (Not that I’m condoning it, mind you.) But here are some thoughts:

It’s too soon to tell. Venezuela sits on more oil than Saudi Arabia. The opportunity for plunder is vast, and for US companies to profit is huge. The entire oil industry, from drilling (and especially refining the heavy type oil there) as well as docks, shipping, etc. present terrific opportunities for some. (Rebuilding the electrical grid is another.)

Add to that that taking control (I’m sorry, “having influence”) over world oil prices provides an effective counterweight to those in the Middle East who would use it as a weapon, which might be important if we continue to throw our weight around against Iran or others there.

Then there is the “political sphere” dimension; the US historically has not been warm to countries allied with socialist regimes, particularly those with close ties to Cuba or elsewhere. (And Venezuela has opposed our use of force elsewhere: Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) So this is perhaps an extension of The Monroe Doctrine, writ small.

And, of course, there are those who support his actions no matter what, so there’s that.

Too soon to tell. Will the country dissolve into violent factions, a la Iraq? Or will it be pacified and become a productive member of the world community (as it once was) a la Vietnam?