The United States sent elite forces into a sovereign capital on Saturday, seized the President Nicolás Maduro and the First Lady Cilia Flores, and kidnapped them by force. Any other phrasing is a political indulgence.
When Russia crossed into Ukraine, Western capitals did not tolerate euphemism. Vladimir Putin’s insistence on calling it a “special military operation” was rejected immediately and collectively. British politician Boris Johnson has called the Russian action “hideous and barbaric.”
No European leader asked whether Russia’s grievances deserved to be heard first. France’s Emmanuel Macron did not suggest that Moscow might oversee a “peaceful, democratic transition” in Kyiv. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, did not caution, “we need to establish all of the facts.” No German chancellor hinted that Ukrainian president had “led his country into ruin” and therefore forfeited its protection by misgoverning under international law.
Governments, media houses, civil society groups and international institutions named it what it was: an invasion. Words mattered then, because words locate responsibility and international order. They still do.
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law...
