Is American Deterrence Being Established Round the Globe? /Glenn Diesen & Lt Col Daniel Davis

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Lt Col Daniel Davis and Glenn Diesen argue that U.S. claims of promoting democracy are hypocritical, using Venezuela as a stark example. The U.S. allegedly carried out a military operation to remove Maduro under the banner of illegitimacy and drug trafficking, killed dozens, but ultimately left the same regime and power structure in place—just with a new figurehead—so long as U.S. access to oil continued. This, they argue, exposes that U.S. actions are driven by power and resource extraction, not democracy, morality, or international law.

They reject comparisons between Venezuela and Iran. The Venezuela operation is described as a staged, low-risk “snatch-and-grab” enabled by insider cooperation, designed largely for media impact and domestic perception. It required no real fighting and says nothing about U.S. ability to confront Iran. Claims by U.S. politicians that Venezuela demonstrates what could happen to Iran are called misleading, naïve, or intentionally propagandistic.

Iran, by contrast, is portrayed as a fundamentally different and far more dangerous adversary: no insider help, stronger missile forces, credible air defenses, naval capabilities, and a willingness to retaliate. Any U.S. strike—even a limited one—would be seen by Iran as an existential threat aimed at regime change and national destruction, leaving Iran no rational option but to respond forcefully to reestablish deterrence.

The speaker argues that U.S. rhetoric signals total regime change while U.S. military posture appears insufficient for that goal, creating a dangerous mismatch between words and capabilities. Mixed messaging, past betrayals, assassinations, and surprise attacks mean Iran would not trust claims of “limited” strikes. The conclusion is that Western leaders are understating the risks, overselling U.S. dominance, and drifting toward war without a coherent or credible strategy—repeating the familiar pattern of making war sound easy and dealing with catastrophic consequences later.