The Rules-Based Order Has No Clothes (Sargon)

This was a long time coming.



Sargon talking about the realpolitik aspect to what happened in Venezuela. His views are heavily Western centric while coming down hard on the socialist rule of Maduro. However, he's wrong to compare what happened in Venezuela with Ukraine. Russia stepped in to protect the breakaway areas of Ukraine that were already being heavily attacked by Kiev. In the case of Venezuela there was no military action being taken against US interests beforehand. It's not the same.  

Also, his implicit argument about the oil wealth helping the people of Venezuela is wrong too. If the US takes over production the profits will go to the corporations not the people. The only good thing that will happen is that sanctions will be lifted, which is perhaps the primary driver of their shrinking economy, along with socialist mismanagement. Sargon seems to be ignoring the impact of US sanctions and pinning everything on the socialist authoritarian Government.

Sargon is 100 percent correct about the US being unhappy that Venezuela sold oil to enemies of the US establishment, which is accurate in regard to his realpolitik line of thinking. He's correct about the fact that Trump is playing a map game in getting assets to boost US (corporate) economic interests, taking over things through force and/or bombast. 

At the end of the day borders are still important. There are consequences for disrespecting them. The bigger hidden problem is that what's playing out is more of the same neocon regime change strategy that destabilised much of the Middle East and North African. It led to the mass migration of people into Europe that was further facilitated by dumb (globalist) open borders policies.

Sargon should go back and think about the importance of the Treaty of Westphalia that helped bring an end to the Thirty Years War in Europe (1618-1648). If the US and Russia were not at war with each other in Ukraine both countries could have worked together to unwind the authoritarianism seen in many countries of the world - by helping them economically. Countries that become wealthy, and have a growing middle class, tend to become more moderate where the people end up kicking out the authoritarians. This is what's happening in Iran today. Ordinary people will only put up with so much hardcore oppression before they act.

A fundamental truth is that the power of extremists, or oppressors, who are often few in number, always tends to wane over time. Interventionism, that more often causes the opposite of what was intended/marketed, is generally not needed for real reform to come about.

Best comment on You Tube:

@LeoLeo-xz5lt
Just remember, they all cheered when Charlie Kirk died. They are not as peace loving as they appear to be…

@connoraustin8999
The Left: "Borders are just imaginary lines! We're all immigrants!" Also the Left: "But what about national sovereignty!"

[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, January 6, 2026.]