President Trump is downplaying concerns about a new oil reserve agreement with Venezuela that experts say could take years to get up and running. CBS News' Lilia Luciano has more.
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Trump claims control of Venezuela's oil, bombs Iran 'limited,' then invites Russia's finance chief to G20.
As it ran on the front
Let's lay it out in the order it actually happened, because the order is the whole story. First, the administration cuts a new oil deal with Venezuela. Then the President goes on record saying the United States has 'control' of a large slice of that country's oil — his word, control, not 'access,' not 'a favorable trade arrangement,' control. Then, same stretch, he orders new strikes on Iran, calls them 'limited,' while his own Treasury Secretary is out there telling reporters the Iranian economy is months from collapse. And then, while allies are still objecting, Russia's finance minister gets a seat at the G-20 table — an invitation that came from Trump himself.
You put those four things next to each other on the same table and it doesn't read like foreign policy. It reads like a supply run with an air force for an escort and a seating chart for the people you're supposed to be squeezing. Claim the oil. Bomb the neighbor. Sit down with the other guy's finance minister anyway. That's not a doctrine, that's an itinerary.…
…(cont) Here's the part that should bother you even if you don't follow a word of foreign policy: none of this is cheap. Strikes cost money. Escorting oil claims costs money. Every one of these lines has a dollar figure attached to it somewhere in a budget nobody in this administration wants to walk you through line by line. And every time, when the bill comes due, it doesn't come due in Caracas or Tehran. It comes due here, in the same country that keeps getting told there's no money left for the stuff that actually shows up in your mailbox — the property tax bill, the kid's school fundraiser letter, the renewal notice for insurance that went up again.
They'll tell you it's strategy. Fine, call it strategy. But strategy usually has a stated goal you can check later. This just has a slice of oil, a limited war, and a seat at the table for the guy nobody invited. Watch where the invoice lands.
“Claim the oil, bomb the neighbor, seat the rival's finance minister anyway — that's not a doctrine, that's an itinerary, and every mile of it gets billed somewhere. Watch whose name is on the invoice.”
“This is decisive American leadership — calling it control of Venezuela's oil is just strong negotiating language, did I say control? That's... that's literally what he said. The strikes were limited and everything about this is completely normal.”
The receipts
As Moscow pounds Ukraine, the appearance by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was “quite troubling,” said one attendee. U.S. officials cited a need for “dialogue.”
{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Trump: U.S. has control of large slice of Venezuela's oil President Trump said Friday evening that there will be “majority U.S. control” of a large swath of Venezuela’s oil…
President Trump said Monday that the latest U.S. strikes against Iran over the weekend were "limited" while Iranian economy continues to face the wrath of U.S. sanctions. CBS News' Natalie Brand reports.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.