Make Case for Regime-Change War in Venezuela

In a February 1854 debate in the House of Lords six weeks before Britain and France entered the Crimean War, British Foreign Minister Lord Clarendon explained his government’s policy in a way that was in equal parts candid and evasive: “The question has been asked whether we are at peace or war. It is one that is very difficult to answer distinctly. We are not at war, because war is not declared; we are not strictly at peace with Russia. Consider that we are in the intermediate state; that our desire for peace is just as sincere as ever; but then I must say that our hopes of maintaining it are gradually dwindling away, and that we are drifting towards war.” The lords laughed, and the leader of the Conservative opposition, Lord Derby, shot back: “My noble friend has given us a new phrase in Parliamentary or diplomatic language; we are not at war, nor at peace, and we are not neutral, but we are drifting towards war.”

Today, it seems that this is the state of American policy toward Venezuela. We are not at war, but we most certainly are not at peace. We are blowing drug-smuggling boats out of the water under the aegis of a presidential directive branding cartels as terrorist agents of the Venezuelan state. President Trump has gone on social media to declare that airspace over Venezuela will be closed — something we can ensure only by force. He has reportedly told Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to pack up his family and leave the country, with a not very subtly implied “or else.”

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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In a February 1854 debate in the House of Lords six weeks before Britain and France entered the Crimean War, British Foreign Minister Lord Clarendon explained his government’s policy in a way that was in equal parts candid and evasive: “The question has been asked whether we are at peace or war. It is one that is very difficult to answer distinctly. We are not at war, because war is not declared; we are not strictly at peace with Russia. Consider that we are in the intermediate state; that our desire for peace is just as sincere as ever; but then I must say that our hopes of maintaining it are gradually dwindling away, and that we are drifting towards war.” The lords laughed, and the leader of the Conservative opposition, Lord Derby, shot back: “My noble friend has given us a new phrase in Parliamentary or diplomatic language; we are not at war, nor at peace, and we are not neutral, but we are drifting towards war.”

Today, it seems that this is the state of American policy toward Venezuela. We are not at war, but we most certainly are not at peace. We are blowing drug-smuggling boats out of the water under the aegis of a presidential directive branding cartels as terrorist agents of the Venezuelan state. President Trump has gone on social media to declare that airspace over Venezuela will be closed — something we can ensure only by force. He has reportedly told Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to pack up his family and leave the country, with a not very subtly implied “or else.”