When is it "right" to interfere with with another country?

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chris1989
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04 Jan 2026, 9:34 am

When I heard news about US air strikes on Venezuela, I thought "Oh great, another war, this time in south America, somewhere where there are barely any wars going on". I don't agree with what's happened. Why wasn't the matter resolved through the UN, that's what it's there for. It felt like trump just did it just for the sake of doing it even though deep down there is more to it than that.

I personally don't think any country should get involved in another country's affairs. I understand if countries were under attack or invasion from another country and that invaded country needs some assistance but just outright interference is just not right. Haven't lessons from Vietnam, Iraq and so on been learned?

Brian0787
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04 Jan 2026, 12:24 pm

You ask some good questions and I agree that the United States has not learned it's lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan. Forced regime change throughout history has rarely ever worked well. As an American I can't begin to say how disturbed I am by all this. I feel like my country is becoming something unrecognizable from my childhood and what I believe the United States was meant to be. We are in the "Might makes right" era now sadly.

Fishyfisherton
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04 Jan 2026, 3:24 pm

I'm very hands-off myself, no meddling or sanctioning or anything like that. Protect your own land from invasion. My exception is trade or help recovering from natural disasters, things that foster good relations. But overall I'd rather we all mind our own business and live somewhat separate, if two nations are at war then let them be as far as I'm aware. I'm an anprim though and wish for smaller communities anyway.

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techstepgenr8tion
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04 Jan 2026, 9:12 pm

Google AI search just spat this at me from the prompt "what were the primary justifications for capturing maduro?":

Quote:

The primary justifications for capturing Nicolás Maduro, according to the U.S. government, were his indictment on charges of narcoterrorism, leading a corrupt regime involved in drug trafficking, and violating American foreign policy principles like the Monroe Doctrine, aiming to restore democracy and secure U.S. interests (oil, stability) in the region. U.S. officials framed it as a law enforcement action to bring an "outlaw dictator" to justice, though critics questioned the legality and motives. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Justifications:

• Narcoterrorism Charges: A New York grand jury indicted Maduro and associates for conspiring to traffic drugs, support terrorism, and weapons possession, accusing him of leveraging power for illegal activities.
• Ending Drug Trafficking: The U.S. claimed Maduro's government actively supported international drug trade, necessitating military action to halt narcotics flowing into the U.S..
• Restoring Democracy & Stability: President Trump stated the goal was to run the country temporarily to achieve a "safe, proper, and judicious transition" to democracy and ensure regional stability, citing oil interests as a factor.
• Monroe Doctrine: Trump invoked the Monroe Doctrine, asserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere and opposing foreign interference, justifying intervention against what he called an "outlaw" leader. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Context & Controversy:

• Escalation: The capture followed months of pressure, including naval buildups and strikes against alleged drug smuggling vessels.
• Legal Questions: International law experts questioned the justification, noting the U.S. muddled law enforcement with regime change and intervention, potentially setting a dangerous precedent.
• Venezuelan Reaction: Venezuela called the raid an "imperialist attack" and accused the U.S. of seeking to overthrow the government for oil. [2, 3, 7, 8, 9]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/us-just-captured-maduro-whats-next-for-venezuela-and-the-region/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/was-us-capture-venezuelas-president-legal-2026-01-03/
[3] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/a-timeline-of-u-s-military-escalation-against-venezuela-leading-to-maduros-capture
[4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/03/analysis-trump-venezuela-attack-maduro-capture/88004870007/
[5] https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/how-the-monroe-doctrine-factors-into-us-arrest-of-21275872.php
[6] https://abc7.com/post/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-news-timeline-us-military-buildup-strikes-leading-capture-donald-trump/18347527/
[7] https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-attacks-venezuela-donald-trump-nicolas-maduro-caracas-why-us-attacked-venezuela-captured-president-nicolas-maduro-10247240
[8] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/03/is-there-any-legal-justification-for-the-us-attack-on-venezuela-trump-maduro
[9] https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/01/us-capture-president-nicolas-maduro-and-attacks-venezuela-have-no-justification

The gist then - he was wearing two hats, despot with close relationships with Iran and Cuba on one hand, head of Cartel de los Soles on the other, and yeah - he's sitting on a lot of oil with crap infrastructure. I'm assuming Trump wants to open Venezuela for business in a USA-friendly way, and he has to nail it with the most liberalism-friendly rituals to show that he's trying to help them safeguard their own democracy (which probably means amping up the closest thing they can find to a law and order party).

As for whether that's right - it's a question of political and moral philosophy. IMHO if he was the end of a chain of wrongs against the Venezuelan people it's excusable so long as we don't leave them as bad or worse than we found them (it's a big if) and ideally better. My concern is this could be taken as further stirring the pot with BRICS, I'd hope they're navigating that prudently. If he's serious about the Monroe Doctrine we're going to need some kind of summit or permanent working group for western hemisphere countries.

Out on the bleeding edge as well there's claims about vote tempering by way of voting machines and issues with parties in our country that could go to prosecution involved with Venezuela and Maduro. I'll believe it when I see it but that's the tea.

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timf
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05 Jan 2026, 2:47 pm

On the TV show "Happy Days" the Fonz related how one time he actually had to beat someone up and establish his reputation as a tough guy. Many liberals like to think everyone is enlightened and will agree to behave themselves. They fail to understand in the world deterrence can be a valuable tool to insure that it is less likely we will be attacked.

Drug smugglers are killing a number of our weaker citizens every year. A case can be made that this is a type of warfare and we are justified to defend ourselves. This also contributes to deterrence and may give Iran and China pause to consider any aggressive actions they have planned.

TheLivingDead13
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06 Jan 2026, 4:04 am

I have a serious question: Why is everyone on the left showing support for a murderous Latin American dictator while dismissing the people from Venezuela who were actually celebrating his being removed from power? So much for being the side that pretends to care about "human rights". You people seem to show support for cruel tyrants just as long as it means sticking it to us yanks don'tcha?

Oh and as for the "No country should ever invade another country's affairs!! !" argument, tell that to the survivors of the holocaust.

exec
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06 Jan 2026, 10:25 am

Brian0787 wrote:

...I feel like my country is becoming something unrecognizable from my childhood and what I believe the United States was meant to be...

I feel much that same as you.

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BillyTree
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06 Jan 2026, 10:35 am

TheLivingDead13 wrote:

I have a serious question: Why is everyone on the left showing support for a murderous Latin American dictator

What I have heard is support for international law and order. You have to separate that from support of Maduro and keep two thoughts in your head at the same time.

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cyberdora
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06 Jan 2026, 3:44 pm

when you have nukes and unlimited military resources
Surprise! USA, Russia and China, usual suspects

TheLivingDead13
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06 Jan 2026, 4:02 pm

cyberdora wrote:

when you have nukes and unlimited military resources
Surprise! USA, Russia and China, usual suspects

Except that the left loves to blame the US a lot more than it does Russia or China. I'm pretty sure that if either of those countries invaded us tomorrow and took out Trump the media wouldn't be having a field day making it sound like the worst thing that ever happened, and many people online would be celebrating it.

Not that I'm defending my country's dicktraitor, but come on! Let's be real about this. :roll:

Mona Pereth
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06 Jan 2026, 6:18 pm

TheLivingDead13 wrote:

Except that the left loves to blame the US a lot more than it does Russia or China.

We believe in cleaning up our own house first.

TheLivingDead13 wrote:

I'm pretty sure that if either of those countries invaded us tomorrow and took out Trump the media wouldn't be having a field day making it sound like the worst thing that ever happened, and many people online would be celebrating it.

Not that I'm defending my country's dicktraitor, but come on! Let's be real about this. :roll:

No, I think the vast majority of Americans, including most left-leaning Americans, would be outraged if Russia and/or China were to invade the U.S.A. A few people would cheer, but they would be a very small minority.

The vast majority of Americans, including most American leftists, are not at all fond of either Russia or China, although most American leftists don't think it's productive to spend a lot of time railing against Russia and China.

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Mona Pereth
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06 Jan 2026, 6:53 pm

TheLivingDead13 wrote:

Nazi Germany wasn't just minding its own business. It was fighting an aggressive war. World War II happened because of attacks by Germany (and Japan) on other countries. The Holocaust happened alongside the war, and was regarded by the Nazi leaders as part of their war effort.

Had Nazi Germany been just minding its own business, doing nothing wrong except for slaughtering a whole bunch of its own people, then other countries should have, at least, opened their doors to refugees and imposed sanctions of some kind. Whether Germany should have been invaded, in that hypothetical case, is debatable.

Mona Pereth
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06 Jan 2026, 7:13 pm

The U.S.A. hasn't just invaded Venezuela. We've kidnapped their head of state!

That is a total violation of international norms. As far as I am aware, that sort of thing has not been done by any country since the Middle Ages.

Mona Pereth
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06 Jan 2026, 10:47 pm

timf wrote:

On the TV show "Happy Days" the Fonz related how one time he actually had to beat someone up and establish his reputation as a tough guy.

The U.S.A. does not need to do this. Everyone already knows that the U.S.A. has the world's biggest military arsenal and is not to be messed with.

timf wrote:

Many liberals like to think everyone is enlightened and will agree to behave themselves. They fail to understand in the world deterrence can be a valuable tool to insure that it is less likely we will be attacked.

If someone attacks us militarily or is obviously preparing to do so, then we are justified in attacking back (or in preemptively stopping a provably pending attack). Very few people would deny that we were justified in going after Al Qaeda after 9/11/2001, for example (although many would criticize some of the specific things our government used Al Qaeda as an excuse to do).

But we are not justified in being a bully.

timf wrote:

Drug smugglers are killing a number of our weaker citizens every year. A case can be made that this is a type of warfare and we are justified to defend ourselves.

Catching international drug smugglers is the sort of thing ICE should be focusing on (instead of the other kinds of raids they've notoriously been doing lately), together with the Coast Guard. It is not a valid reason to invade the smugglers' countries of origin, much less kidnap their heads-of-state.

cyberdora
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06 Jan 2026, 10:50 pm

TheLivingDead13 wrote:

Russia or China invading US airspace, bombing Washington and taking trump prisoner is less believable than "Bibble" the little green alien landing in Mar e Largo with golf clubs.

cyberdora
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06 Jan 2026, 10:51 pm

Mona Pereth wrote:

I was wondering the same thing.

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