Tag: perpetual war

Danish Defense Ministry: We’ll “Shoot First and Ask Questions Later” If US Invades Greenland

Denmark’s political and military establishment has dusted off a Cold War–era rule, with the Defense Ministry on Wednesday announcing that if foreign troops land on Danish territory, soldiers are to open fire immediately, without waiting for orders.

The revelation comes as tensions between Copenhagen and Washington have reached a fever pitch over renewed signals from the Trump administration that Greenland’s status is no longer a closed question.

Denmark’s defense ministry confirmed to Berlingske, a center-Right Danish newspaper, that a 1952 order remains active, requiring Danish forces to counterattack any invading power at once, even if no formal declaration of war has been issued. In simple terms, it is a shoot-first, ask questions later doctrine.

The timing of the disclosure isn’t an accident. President Donald Trump and senior figures in his administration have once again raised the possibility of bringing Greenland under American control, arguing that the Arctic island is pivotal to American security in an era of growing Chinese and Russian activity.

Trump’s position has predictably sent shockwaves throughout Europe’s establishment political class, which has long assumed American protection would remain unconditional and unquestioned. Denmark, which administers Greenland as part of its kingdom, insists the territory is “not for sale,” yet has little to no independent capacity to defend it without US military might.

The contradiction has not gone unnoticed. For decades, Copenhagen has relied on the threat of American forces to secure Greenland while simultaneously asserting full sovereignty over it. Now, faced with an increasingly assertive America that is openly reassessing its interests, Danish leaders appear rattled.

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White House Says It Will ‘Dictate’ the Decisions of the Venezuelan Government

The White House on Wednesday claimed that the US would be “dictating” the decisions of the Venezuelan government moving forward, as the Trump administration is attempting to control Venezuela’s oil supply following the US abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“We’re continuing to be in close coordination with the interim authorities,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, referring to Maduro’s government, which is now led by Acting President Delcy Rodriguez.

Leavitt added that “their decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States of America.” In Caracas, Rodriguez and other Venezuelan officials are putting a very different message.

“The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no one else. There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela,” said Rodriguez, who has called for the US to free Maduro so he can return to his position.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said that the US can control Venezuela by deciding where it’s allowed to sell its oil.

“We control the energy resources, and we tell the regime, you’re allowed to sell the oil so long as you serve America’s national interest, you’re not allowed to sell it if you can’t serve America’s national interest,” Vance said.

President Trump is also threatening to bomb Venezuela again and potentially send troops if the government doesn’t do the bidding of the US, and appeared to threaten Rodriguez’s life by saying she would have a fate worse than Maduro if she didn’t fall in line.

On Tuesday night, Trump said that Venezuela will be “turning over” between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the US. He said the oil will be “sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.”

Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, said in a statement that it was advancing an oil sale to the US and that it would be similar to deals with Chevron, the US oil firm that has continued to operate in the country. “The process … is based on strictly commercial transactions under terms that are legal, transparent and beneficial for both parties,” PDVSA said.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the US will control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely” and will deposit revenues from the deals into US-controlled bank accounts.

In a follow-up post on Wednesday, Trump claimed that under the deal, Venezuela will be purchasing US goods with the money made from the sale. “I have just been informed that Venezuela is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive from our new Oil Deal,” he said.

The president continued, “These purchases will include, among other things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to improve Venezuela’s Electric Grid and Energy Facilities. In other words, Venezuela is committing to doing business with the United States of America as their principal partner – A wise choice, and a very good thing for the people of Venezuela, and the United States.”

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Trump threatens to use US military to seize Greenland as White House issues extraordinary statement revealing plans to take Danish territory

The Trump administration has threatened to use the US military to seize Greenland in an extraordinary new statement escalating tensions with NATO ally Denmark.

Donald Trump and his top advisers are exploring plans including purchasing the Danish territory or taking charge of its defense, a senior administration official said.

The White House added menacingly that ‘utilizing the US military is always an option’ and warned that the issue is ‘not going away’ despite the protests of NATO leaders.

The statement will dismay America’s NATO allies who have rallied around Denmark in recent days as Trump has renewed his threats to invade Greenland following the successful capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. 

Trump has argued the US needs to control the island, which is more than three times the size of Texas, to ensure NATO security against rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: ‘President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland ‌is a national security priority ‌of the United States, and it’s vital ​to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.

‘The ‍president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important ‌foreign policy goal, ⁠and of course, utilizing the ‌US military is ‍always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.’ 

Trump hinted on Sunday that a decision on Greenland may come ‘in about two months,’ once the situation in Venezuela has stabilized. 

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World War III Unfolding Before Our Eyes

The Neocons have won. Taking Venezuela followed the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis agenda to prevent Russia from installing nukes as a countermeasure for Ukraine. There are now even discussions about using military force to seize Greenland, but the most audacious direct slap in the face to Russia is the seizing of a tanker with a Russian flag, and Putin assumed would be enough to warn the US to keep its hands off it.

Russia had staked its reputation and geopolitical credibility on conferring official protection on the shadow-fleet oil tanker the Neocons pushing for WWIII have pursued with total disregard for the consequences. As the more than two-week pursuit of Bella 1 unfolded, Russia re-flagged the vessel with its own colors, renamed it the Marinera, and added it to an official Russian ship database. The Neocons do not give a shit. What they hell, they send other people’s children to die – never themselves. The re-flagging to a Russian ship was assumed it would say hands off or war. The Neocons want war. This is about the total destruction of Russia which they have been dreaming about since childhood. People like John Bolton joined the National Guard so he did not have to go to Vietnam.

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Venezuela issues 90-day order to ARREST anyone backing US attack as armed motorcycle gangs hunt down Trump supporters in Caracas

Gangs of armed men on motorcycles are patrolling the streets of Caracas, looking for supporters of Donald Trump and his military operation in Venezuela with the support of at least one key government official. 

The Colectivos are a group of paramilitary militias that still support deposed leader Nicolas Maduro and have been searching vehicles at checkpoints. 

The bikers, many of them masked and armed with Kalashnikovs, have searched phones and cars looking for evidence of people backing Trump’s action in Caracas as an unofficial tool of the state. 

In the wake of Maduro’s arrest, a 90-day state of emergency put in place by the Venezuelan government orders police to ‘immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States.’

They have already arrested 14 journalists, 11 of whom come from out of the country, while others remain missing, The Telegraph reported. 

Many of the members of Colectivos have been seen posing with Maduro’s Interior, Justice and Peace Minister Diosdado Cabello, who still clings tight to the notion that Maduro is the nation’s lawful president. 

‘Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemy’s provocations,’ Cabello said in a statement through the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

A video of Cabello – who has a bounty of $50million on his head in the US for drug trafficking – with the militia members that has circulated on social media sees them chanting a slogan that translates to: ‘Always loyal, never traitors.’

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Trump Says He Wants a $1.5 Trillion Military Budget

President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that he wants a $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027, a 50% increase from his $1 trillion budget for 2026.

“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” the president said.

He added that $1.5 trillion would enable the US to build a “dream military” and claimed it would be possible thanks to his tariff policy.

“If it weren’t for the tremendous numbers being produced by Tariffs from other Countries, many of which, in the past, have ‘ripped off’ the United States at levels never seen before, I would stay at the $1 Trillion Dollar number but, because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring, amounts being generated, that would have been unthinkable in the past … we are able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar,” Trump wrote.

He also claimed that tariff revenue would also allow him to “pay down Debt, and likewise, pay a substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country!”

When he first came into office in 2025, Trump suggested he could substantially cut military spending, but then went on to request the first-ever $1 trillion US military budget. He got it by combining the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress finalized at $901 billion, with a supplemental military spending bill worth about $150 billion that was included in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” passed earlier in 2025.

While 2026 marks the first time the US had an official military budget over $1 trillion, the true cost of annual US military and national security spending has exceeded $1 trillion for many years, when taking into account factors such as the budgets for the Departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, and the national security share of the interest accrued on the US debt.

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Editorial Boards Cheer Trump Doctrine in Venezuela

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” Mark Twain allegedly quipped. On January 3, 1990, Panamanian Commander Manuel Noriega surrendered to US forces, who carried him off to face drug charges. Thirty-six years to the day later, US forces swooped into Venezuela, abducting President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, following decades of hostility between the oil-rich socialist country and the United States. The pretext offered: Maduro had to be taken to the US to face drug charges.

The coincidence is a reminder that the US has a long history of both covert and military intervention in Latin America: President Donald Trump, as extreme as he might be, isn’t an outlier among American presidents in this regard. And despite the right’s attempt to paint Trump as some sort of peacenik (Compact, 4/7/23; X, 10/14/25), he is no less an imperialist than his predecessors.

And that’s precisely why many of the nation’s leading editorial pages are hailing Maduro’s capture.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board (1/3/26) called the abductions “an act of hemispheric hygiene,” a dehumanizing comparison of Venezuela’s leaders to germs needing to be cleansed.

For the Journal, the abductions were justified because they weren’t just a blow to Venezuela, but to the rest of America’s official enemies. “The dictator was also part of the axis of US adversaries that includes Russia, China, Cuba and Iran,” it said. It called Maduro’s “capture…a demonstration of Mr. Trump’s declaration to keep America’s enemies from spreading chaos in the Western Hemisphere.” It amplified Trump’s own rhetoric of adding on to the Roosevelt Corollary, saying “It’s the ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine”—a nod to the long-standing imperial notion that the US more or less owns the Western Hemisphere.

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Trump: Venezuela to Turn over 30-50 Million Barrels of Oil to U.S.

President Donald Trump announced that the “interim authorities” in charge of Venezuela would be giving between 30 and 50 million “Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil” to the United States.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump explained that the oil would “be sold at its Market Price,” and that Trump would ensure the money from the sales would be “used to benefit the people of Venezuela” and the U.S.

“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump said. “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!”

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George W. Bush Missed the Chance for Peace With Russia

Vladimir Putin:… Of course certain differences exist between us. We know about them, but it’s important to cement the positive achievements. This is the way to go…

It is clear that withdrawing from any kind of controls on nuclear warheads is a dangerous thing to do.

George W. Bush: We need to work on that. I’m concerned about transparency on what looks like a nuclear launch and everyone panics. We need to work this out. Let me just say I understand your concerns.

Putin:… A missile launch from a submarine in Northern Europe will only take six minutes to reach Moscow

Bush: I understand.

Putin: And we have established a set of response measures – there’s nothing good about it. Within a few minutes our entire nuclear response capability will be in the sky.

Bush: I know.

Thus began the final meeting between Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia on April 6, 2008.

Last week, the National Security Archive at George Washington University published newly declassified verbatim transcripts of three conversations between Presidents George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin and their top national security advisers in 2001, 2005, and 2008. The transcripts contain a number of surprises and have significant historical implications, particularly for the rather tarnished reputation of George W. Bush, who emerges as both surprisingly well-informed and well-intentioned (Bush also seemed keenly aware of the danger a John McCain or Hillary Clinton administration would have posed to US-Russia relations, remarking in April 2008, that, “What I’m concerned about is US-Russia relations won’t get any better than what you and I have. History will show it’s very good. I’m not sure about the next group – not Medvedev, but who follows me.”)

For his part, Putin repeatedly expressed his willingness to cooperate with Bush on issues ranging from nuclear weapons, China, North Korea and Iran. It is clear that the current shape of world politics, in which Russia is now strongly aligned with both China and Iran, was in no way inevitable. One example: In order to pressure the hardline Iranian government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from pursuing a nuclear weapons program, Putin put on hold a sale of S-300 missiles to Tehran. Bush expressed his appreciation, and Putin went on to note that with regard to the sale, “We have a contract with them signed four years ago but not being implemented.”

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U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan Risk Accelerating China’s Timeline for Unification

President Donald Trump’s administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $11 billion that cover eight items, including 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and 82 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). If completed, it would be one of Washington’s biggest-ever military sales to Taiwan.

The long-standing policy of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, intended to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, is having a dangerously counterproductive effect. 11 days after the US announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, China holds the “Justice Mission 2025” exercise, demonstrating its dual focus on deterring Taiwan independence and countering external interference. The drills showcased A2/AD capabilities with a reach potentially extending to Okinawa and Guam.

Analysts increasingly suggest that these arms transfers are not deterring conflict but may instead be compelling China to consider more aggressive options for unification. This dynamic creates a perilous cycle: each new weapons package prompts greater Chinese military pressure, which in turn is used to justify further arms sales. The situation risks spiraling toward a direct military confrontation that neither Washington nor Beijing may be able to control.

1. Arms Sales as a Catalyst for Provocation and Miscalculation

The steady flow of advanced U.S. weaponry to Taiwan risks emboldening Taipei’s leadership, fostering a false sense of security that could lead to reckless provocations against China. Latest arms sale shows Washington has continued to assist Taipei in “rapidly building robust deterrence capabilities”, Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement. Weapons transfers are perceived in Taipei as tangible proof of Washington’s security commitment, a perception that may encourage riskier behavior.

This concern is echoed by regional security experts. Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at Defense Priorities, has warned the U.S. to be wary of a “reckless leader” in Taipei who might miscalculate. William Lai has lurched toward formal independence with a succession of speeches making the case for Taiwanese nationhood.

2. The Erosion of U.S. Credibility and China’s Countermeasures

Washington has long relied on a policy called “strategic ambiguity” to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. However, this policy is now facing an increasingly severe “credibility” crisis. The paradox lies in the fact that actions aimed at deterring both sides of the Strait are, in turn, eroding the foundation of its own “One China” policy.

This perceived “duplicity” has triggered a determined and multifaceted response from Beijing. China has introduced economic, diplomatic, and military countermeasures. If the U.S. continues to escalate ties with Taiwan through expanded arms sales or official exchanges – for instance, by supporting the renewal of formal Honduras-Taiwan relations – China may take additional steps, potentially including a full ban on rare earth exports. Recent Chinese sanctions against U.S. defense contractors highlight the resolve behind this stance.

3. From Military Deterrence to the Specter of Actual Combat

In response to what it views as escalating collusion between the U.S. and Taiwan, China is not merely stepping up military deterrence – it is actively preparing for the possibility of turning it into actual combat. The scale and complexity of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises around Taiwan have been systematically upgraded from simple shows of force to integrated rehearsals for invasion scenarios.

The Pentagon’s 2025 report to Congress provides a sobering assessment of Beijing’s evolving calculus. It shows that China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027. It outlines a spectrum of military options China is refining, from coercive blockades and precision strikes to the most decisive and risky option: a full-scale joint island landing campaign (JILC), or amphibious invasion. This preparation makes the risk of accidental escalation or miscalculated fire during routine exercises or standoffs a constant danger.

“A conflict would be disastrous for all sides. The US would have to project power several thousand miles away, no mean feat, especially since allied support is not guaranteed, ” Former Reagan White House Official and Expert Doug Bandow writes in his new analysis.

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