At the beginning of November, Donald Trump said he’d instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possibility action” in Nigeria and said that he was prepared to deploy the troops “guns-a-blazing.” The American president added that a U.S. military offensive would be “fast, vicious, and sweet.”
Roughly two weeks later, Trump reminded the public that he’s prepared to saber-rattle toward countries in Western Hemisphere, too. Take the United States’ neighbors to the south, for example. NBC News reported:
President Donald Trump opened the door Monday to launching U.S. strikes in Mexico, a move that would be a dramatic escalation of his administration’s fight against drug cartels. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump answered a question about potentially striking Mexico or sending American troops or other personnel into the country by saying it would be ‘OK with me.’
Asked whether he would conduct strikes with Mexico’s permission, Trump said he “wouldn’t answer that question.”
I won’t pretend to know what, if anything, will come of rhetoric like this, but this seems like a good time to revisit Trump’s growing list of international targets:
Venezuela: The White House’s line toward Caracas has been very aggressive for several weeks, and on Monday, Trump refused to rule out deploying U.S. ground troops in Venezuela as part of his administration’s opposition toward Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Colombia: Tensions between the U.S. and Colombia have risen of late, including an instance when Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an “illegal drug leader.” On Monday, the American president said he’d “be proud” to launch an offensive against what he described as “cocaine factories” in the country.
Mexico: “Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs?” Trump told reporters on Monday. “OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs.”
International waters: As of a couple of days ago, the Trump administration has carried out 21 military strikes against civilian boats in international waters, killing at least 83 since early September. U.S. officials have claimed that the boats were smuggling drugs, but the administration has refused to produce evidence to substantiate the assertions.
Afghanistan: Trump has spoken recently about possibly returning U.S. troops to Afghanistan, apparently because the White House wants to reclaim control over Bagram Air Base. For context, Trump has also launched preemptive military strikes on targets in Iran, initiated a bombing campaign in Yemen and announced his desire to annex Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip all in the last year. If the president had his heart set of next year’s Nobel Peace Prize, he might want to start lowering his expectations. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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