Pompeo Claims US Aggression Against Venezuela Would Be Lawful
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
According to Pompeo, US presidents have constitutional authority under Article II to preemptively attack other nations.
The article states the following: “The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States…”
Nothing in the Constitution gives the executive power to declare war — authority afforded solely to Congress.
It was last exercised on December 8, 1941 following imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, never since then. All US wars post-WW II were and remain illegal.
Article I, Section 8 states: “The Congress shall have power…(t)o declare war” — not the president or US courts.
International law supersedes the above. Under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2), international laws, treaties, conventions, and other agreements “constitute the supreme law of the land.”
The UN Charter (binding international law for all member states) mandates that Security Council members alone have power to declare war — authorized only in self-defense if a nation is attacked or an attack is imminent.
In the post-WW II era, every time the US went to war, it acted extrajudicially, including against North Korea, Southeast Asia, the rape of Yugoslavia, and all post-9/11 wars.
In all of the above cases, US forces preemptively attacked nations threatening no one. That’s what naked aggression and imperialism are all about — a scourge threatening nuclear war, the ultimate doomsday scenario.
Given US rage for dominion over planet earth, its resources and populations, what’s unthinkable is clearly possible, maybe inevitable.
On ABC News Sunday, Pompeo lied saying: “The president has his full range of Article 2 authorities, and I’m very confident that any action we took in Venezuela would be lawful” — clearly not so!
Trump earlier said military force is an option against Venezuela “if that’s what’s required.” DJT, Pompeo, Bolton, and Abrams all said: “All options are on the table.”
Fact: Preemptive wars, color revolutions, and old-fashioned coups flagrantly violate international, US constitutional and statute laws pertaining to military action. There’s no ambiguity about it.
The Trump regime “ha(s) a full range of options (against Venezuela) that we’re preparing for,” according to Pompeo — to try replacing democratically elected and reelected President Maduro with US-controlled puppet rule, by his reasoning.
Ahead of meeting with Pompeo on Monday in Rovaniemi, Finland on the sidelines of an Arctic Council ministerial meeting, mainly to discuss events in Venezuela, Sergey Lavrov denounced “an unprecedented campaign led by the US…aimed at toppling Venezuela’s legitimate government,” adding:
“Attempts to stage a violent upheaval in Caracas have nothing to do with the democratic process, and only disrupt any prospects of political settlement.
International law is clear and unambiguous. Under no circumstances may nations interfere in the internal affairs of others — except in self-defense if attacked.
On Sunday in Moscow, Lavrov and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza discussed the Trump regime’s threat to Bolivarian Republic sovereignty — ahead of Lavrov’s Monday meeting with Pompeo.
There’s virtually no chance that Russia’s foreign minister will convince his US counterpart to keep Washington’s hands off Venezuela.
Calling on the Trump regime to cancel its “irresponsible” aim to topple Maduro fell on deaf ears at the White House.
The die is cast for continued hostile US actions, including possible aggression, though proxy war is most likely.
Millions of Venezuelans and the nation’s military are prepared to defend Bolivarian sovereignty.
What’s going on is likely to continue without letup. The next shoe could drop at any time, including Trump possibly ordering a blockade of Venezuela, an act of war if declared.
Good faith Russian efforts aren’t enough to convince Trump regime hardliners to abandon their imperial aims against the Bolivarian Republic.
Lavrov/Pompeo talks on Monday won’t change a thing. Separately, GOP Senator Todd Young called for Foreign Relations Committee involvement on Venezuela.
Expressing concern about “possible US military intervention,” he called on committee chairman James Risch and minority ranking member Bob Menendez “to hold immediate hearings with key (Trump officials) next week to discuss their plans for Venezuela and to explain any plans to deploy US forces to the country.”
The vast majority of House and Senate members are hostile to Maduro and Bolivarian social democracy.
It remains to be seen if they’ll support whatever actions Trump regime hardliners plan to pursue.
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