Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 8, 2017



Stratfor: Will Venezuela's Military Turn on the President?

* By itself, the theft of arms from Fort Paramacay won't be the downfall of the Venezuelan government.
* The incident does indicate, however, that parts of the military could be turning against Maduro.
* The possibility of a coup isn't the only threat to the government. Steady military defiance could weaken it against the opposition and complicate its efforts to rewrite the constitution.
* But the Maduro government won't go down without a bitter fight.

Something big happened at Venezuela's Fort Paramacay military base early Aug. 6, but the only clear thing about the event is that it's significant. Piecing together information from the Venezuelan government and independent media reports, we can gather that around 5 a.m. local time a group of people entered Fort Paramacay in Valencia. It's unknown how the individuals gained access to the base, but according to government reports they made their way to the armory and stole more than 90 AK-103 rifles and four rocket-propelled grenades. Security forces responded, and two of the intruders were killed in a shootout. Eight people, whom the government accused of being involved, were presented to the press later the same day.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 8, 2017

The coming collapse of Venezuela -- David Keene, Washington Times

Top Prosecutor’s Removal a Grim Sign of Things to Come in Venezuela -- Alex Remark, Daily Beast

Dear fellow journalists: Let’s stop calling Maduro ‘president.’ He’s a dictator -- Andres Oppenhiemer, Miami Herald

The case for Kurdistan -- Shlomo Ben-Ami, The Strategist

Trump's Anti-Nuclear Playbook Looks a Lot Like Obama's -- Noah Feldman, Bloomberg

Beware a Second Korean War -- Donald Manzullo, National Interest

Another reason China’s adding troops on its border with North Korea -- Robert E. McCoy, Asia Times

Analysis: US, allies slow Beijing’s South China Sea momentum -- Jim Gomez, AP

Calling the Chinese bully’s bluff -- Brahma Chellaney, Asia Times

What is China’s PLA doing in Laos? -- Zi Yang, Asia Times

India Takes a Bold Approach in Border Standoff With China, but the Endgame Is Unclear -- Anubhav Gupta, WPR

Why Does the Left Suddenly Hate Russia? -- Victor Davis Hanson, NRO

Top Trump Aides Clashing Over Direction of U.S. Foreign Policy -- Jonathan Lemire & Bradley Klapper, AP

Tillerson's Tenure: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest

Facebook and Twitter Are Too Big to Allow Fake Users -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

1 comment:

RussInSoCal said...

"Will Venezuela's Military Turn on the President?"

I certainly hope they will.