We Failed to Reform Afghanistan and Iraq. Now Venezuela?



President Trump's notion he will "run Venezuela" until it is straightened out sounds identical to President W. Bush when he sent troops into Afghanistan and Iraq. We'll go in there for a short time and when we leave the country will be our friend Bush said or implied.  The U.S. was unsuccessful in both cases.

A wonderful essay appeared in the New York Times today written by a professor in Venezuela. He described the current country as one without a functioning government. Instead, it is a country run by corruption that fails to provide revenue to run the essentials of law, safety and education. People are on their own. 

He is pessimistic that simply changing the person at the top will change its government when there not much of any government in place. Instead of a government, people live by hustling a little money here and a little there. My understanding is Afghanistan was a place where religion, bribes and local strong men ran that country. Iraq had a central government and employees run by its dictator, Sadam, but Bush's people canned all of them so there was no government left. Today, my friend from Iraq says it is run by wealthy families. 

It looks like the majority of people in Venezuela would be happier if Trump could replace the current corrupt government with a better one. Experience tells us this will not happen, especially without a long-term occupation by the U.S. military. 

General Colin Powell told President W. Bush that if he went into Afghanistan and Iraq he would own whatever happened there. Bush did not understand until later what this meant. Today, Trump does not understand either.   

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