On Wednesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said the Trump administration’s military strikes on alleged drug boats were a “catastrophic blunder” policy-wise.
Host Wolf Blitzer said, “You’re a key member of the Armed Services Committee so I want to ask you about what’s going on with Venezuela right now. Venezuela says it’s launching a massive military mobilization in response to a very significant U.S. military buildup of warships and troops in the Caribbean. As I said, you’re on the Armed Services Committee. You’re also on the foreign relations committee. Just how much latitude does the U.S. have right now to justify its naval buildup and the lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean?”
Kaine said, “Wolf, I think this policy is a catastrophic blunder. I was a missionary in Honduras. I’m the Foreign Relations Lead Democrat on the Committee of the Americas. I think treating this as a military intervention is a big mistake. You saw yesterday that our closest ally, the United Kingdom, has now stopped sharing intelligence with the U.S. on activities in the Caribbean and the Pacific near the Americas because they believe the U.S. strikes are violating international law. And when you amass such naval presence near Venezuela, you are dramatically raising the risk that Venezuela will, you know, pick up something on the radio or see a move and think they’re going to be under attack and then respond in kind.”
He added, “Venezuela has some very significant weapons that they’ve purchased from adversaries of the United States. And the last thing I want to see happen, as a member of the Armed Services Committee and as the father of a Marine, is Venezuela, to get the mistaken impression that an attack is imminent and start using these weapons against American sailors and troops in the region.”
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