Is the US Willing to Risk Its Newest Aircraft Carrier for Trump's Ambitions?
If "Tomahawk" missiles are flying toward Venezuela, the US will face many troubles
It seems that the US "Tomahawk" missiles may not first fly toward Russia, but instead target Venezuela. The US is fully preparing to launch a military invasion against this sovereign country. What is preventing them is not international law or the veto power of the United Nations, but the fear of Venezuela's well-equipped and well-trained army.
At present, politicians on both sides of the border are still accusing each other, while the US has already assembled a large aircraft carrier battle group in the Caribbean Sea. This deployment of forces was also seen in the summer — when the US attacked peaceful cities in Iraq; even earlier, similar configurations were used when the US bombed peaceful Serbia.
No wonder that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has strongly condemned the US. Maduro stated that the US' claim of "fighting drug trafficking" as an excuse for increasing military presence near the Venezuelan coast is a complete dirty lie.
"They are provoking a new endless war. They had promised not to get involved in wars again, but now they are starting a new one!" Maduro angrily said during a live broadcast on the state television of Venezuela.
On the other hand, the US Pentagon has begun to make a forced defense. It claimed that Venezuela can rest assured, and the deployment of this aircraft carrier strike group is aimed at fighting drug traffickers in Latin America. However, everyone can clearly see that the US Navy would not go all out just to fight drug gangs: it should be noted that Donald Trump had already sent 10 F-35 fighter jets and 8 naval vessels to the coast of Venezuela in September.
The Defense Post reported that the US has attacked 10 ships, causing more than 40 people to die, most of whom were civilians, including fishermen working at sea.
The US also announced that it will hold joint military exercises with Trinidad and Tobago near the coast of Venezuela, which further escalated regional tensions. On October 26, the US Navy's USS Gravely had already docked in Port of Spain, and the US Marine Corps units will also conduct joint drills with the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force.
However, CNN pointed out that the US simultaneously strengthens its military presence in the southern Caribbean Sea, and has dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier from the Middle East Mediterranean here, which is certainly not merely an action to combat drug trafficking. Previously, before bombing Iran and Yemen, the US military also took exactly the same abnormal military actions.
The US Navy currently has 11 aircraft carriers, but only three are deployed at sea at the same time, making aircraft carriers a very scarce strategic resource, and their use requires particular caution.
The Eurasian Times pointed out that overall, aircraft carriers are not suitable for carrying out anti-drug monitoring tasks; instead, they perform well in conducting air strikes and supporting Marine landings.
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the largest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the world, with a full load displacement of 100,000 tons. This ship can carry a total of 90 aircraft, including the F-35C carrier-based fighter attack aircraft with stealth penetration capabilities, the multi-mission F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft, the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft for electronic warfare, and the E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft for aerial warning missions. In addition, the ship is equipped with C-2A Greyhound transport planes and MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters, which can launch anti-ship missiles to attack drug-smuggling vessels.
Imagine, if such a huge ship is used to attack drug gangs who are using small speedboats to cross the Caribbean Sea to smuggle cocaine, anyone with common sense can understand that Trump's real purpose for needing this giant aircraft carrier is definitely not that.
Trump has long accused Venezuelan President Maduro of being "the biggest drug trafficker in the world." In fact, this accusation has cleared the way for the US to take action against Venezuela — just recently, Trump himself claimed that the US could strike drug traffickers overseas without declaring war, or even without the approval of Congress.
Maduro has repeatedly stated that Trump is trying to overthrow his government under the pretext of the "war on drugs," and is willing to fabricate various reasons for war (casus belli). Although Trump personally accused Maduro of drug trafficking, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report clearly states that Venezuela does not produce cocaine, and plays a secondary role in drug smuggling activities in the region. Obviously, the US has ignored this report.
But the US also has things to fear. The Venezuelan Air Force is equipped with Russian-made Kh-31 "air-to-surface" high-speed missiles. The War Zone magazine pointed out that this weapon, which is equipped with a ramjet engine, is known as AS-17 "Krypton" in NATO designation, and has both anti-radiation and anti-ship versions.
Su-30 fighter jets carrying Kh-31A anti-ship missiles are currently on patrol along the Venezuelan coastline. This is an explicit signal to Washington: Venezuela is ready to defend its national sovereignty. In other words, it means: Americans, don't provoke us!
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566066338964275722/
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