They have oil, we want it; what more justification do we need? From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
Though Donald Trump campaigned on pledges to end America’s endless wars and regime change campaigns, the White House has now assembled a list of potential military attacks on Venezuela, with the president and senior officials evaluating the associated risks of each option, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Those options include the seizure of oil fields or a targeted ousting of President Nicolás Maduro.
In a parallel undertaking, the Department of Justice is evaluating legal rationales for the various options, with an eye on justifying unilateral action by the president without congressional authorization for the use of military force. According to the Times‘ sources, those rationales would likely center on the allegation that Maduro and top officials are working for Cartel de los Soles, which the administration has imaginatively designated a “narcoterrorist” group. Under that pretext, the DOJ would say Maduro is a fair military target, negating various US prohibitions on assassinations of foreign heads of state.
Unsurprisingly, one of the leading champions of aggressive action is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a long-time hawk whose selection by Trump caused widespread unease among the president’s non-interventionist supporters. Along with Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, Marco is pushing for nothing less than Maduro’s ouster, the Times reported.
