Iran’s Islamic revolution in the late 1970s changed the face of the Middle East. The Persian nation was a large and strong ally to Israel. That changed instantly as Iran would become ground zero for terrorism coming from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and other locations. That’s what makes this popular uprising in Iran so earth shattering. It was completely unexpected, but not unpredictable with an economy in ruins. The protests that started Dec. 26 have now expanded to dozens of cities, including the capital city of Tehran. It remains uncertain how this ends or whether the U.S. and Israel plan to get involved.
For months, the U.S. has been destroying drug boats and the military gathered in the Caribbean near the Venezuelan coast. In the early moments of Jan. 3, we learned of a U.S. attack on Caracas, Venezuela, under the guise of a foreign leader wanted in the United States, Nicolas Maduro, and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, inflicted much political and economic pain on this oil-rich nation. People fled, if they could. Simultaneously, Venezuela became a outpost for China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba in our own backyard. There was no prior approval from the Congress for the strike, although congressional leaders have been brought in the loop. Adam Housley, a former Fox News reporter, has friends on the ground in Venezuela. He provided a lengthy explanation on X why this happened. Meanwhile, communist organizations in the U.S., with ties to the Chinese communist party, set up pro-Maduro protests to happen in the U.S. With the U.S. running Venezuela now, I offered up a Top 10 list of functions for Venezuela moving forward.
