With his decapitation strike against the Venezuelan government, President Donald Trump is betting against two ideas that have often guided U.S. foreign policy.
The first is that the external behavior of a regime follows from its internal character, and thus that the most obdurate foes of the United States will remain so unless they are forcibly transformed. The second is that presidents should get congressional approval for foreign interventions even if they do not believe the Constitution requires it.
It’s too early to say whether these bets will pay off, even if it is not too early to celebrate Maduro’s ousting.