In VZ, the leader was removed with the apparent consent of a critical mass of the military[1]. It seems like a color revolution by other means—Libya with fewer airstrikes.
In Iran, which I believe is very ill-advised for other reasons, the leader that was killed seemed to want a martyr’s death. He was 90 years old, and had spent the months prior preparing the government for a transfer of power. Plenty of commentators point out that he could have done a lot more to preserve his life, in terms of relocation and security, but did not. One could argue that his killing was an unforced error (and I would agree), but I think that both belligerents were intent on making it happen.
Hence the total standdown of Venezuelan AA. The U.S. claims—at least sometimes—that they disabled it with some kind of secret weapon, but I think most serious analysts do not consider that claim credible. Not least because they clearly didn’t do the same in Iran.
In VZ, the leader was removed with the apparent consent of a critical mass of the military[1]. It seems like a color revolution by other means—Libya with fewer airstrikes.
In Iran, which I believe is very ill-advised for other reasons, the leader that was killed seemed to want a martyr’s death. He was 90 years old, and had spent the months prior preparing the government for a transfer of power. Plenty of commentators point out that he could have done a lot more to preserve his life, in terms of relocation and security, but did not. One could argue that his killing was an unforced error (and I would agree), but I think that both belligerents were intent on making it happen.
Hence the total standdown of Venezuelan AA. The U.S. claims—at least sometimes—that they disabled it with some kind of secret weapon, but I think most serious analysts do not consider that claim credible. Not least because they clearly didn’t do the same in Iran.