Col Doug Macgregor: U.S. Military Power Realities (Daniel Davis)

Doug's article:
On Ukraine and Venezuela, Trump needs to dump the sycophants
There's a lot of smoke being blown about big 'deals' and huge 'wins.' True military professionals would tell him the hard truths.

President Trump, speaking from a U.S. military base in Japan, praised the U.S. armed forces as the most powerful in history and highlighted the record-high defense budget exceeding $1 trillion. Colonel Douglas Macgregor, a defense analyst and former Pentagon adviser, responded critically, describing Trump’s comments as political “marketing.” He cautioned that boasting about unmatched U.S. power without realism can lead to dangerous overconfidence, citing historical failures in Vietnam, Korea, and Iraq where similar assumptions proved wrong.

Macgregor warned that while the U.S. military is capable, its strengths may not align with the realities of potential operations—particularly in Venezuela, where rumors of intervention were growing. He questioned the purpose, scale, and strategy of such an operation, pointing out Venezuela’s large territory, population, and militia forces. He doubted that a few thousand U.S. troops could achieve lasting success without massive destruction or political backlash.

He also challenged claims that Venezuela’s situation is primarily about drugs, arguing the real motives likely involve oil, gas, and mineral resources, including gold and rare earths. Macgregor dismissed Washington’s argument that intervention would push Russia and China out of the Western Hemisphere, calling it misguided “strategic genius.”

Overall, he warned that U.S. intervention in Venezuela would be costly, unnecessary, and could trigger widespread anti-American sentiment in Latin America, destabilizing the region rather than strengthening U.S. security.



This interview with Macgregor points to the many instances where various military leaders thought the conflict into which they were headed was going to be a cake walk but were wrong, such as in Korea or Vietnam. A key point is that it's easy to get involved in a war and another thing to have an exit strategy.

[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, October 29, 2025.]