Continuing press coverage at the Pentagon, TPUSA Frontlines White House Correspondent Monica Paige interviewed Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell Wednesday in a discussion about US military operations in Venezuela.
Parnell said he appreciated the questions asked by reporters in the Pentagon amid the recent changes in its agreement with news outlets seeking to cover the Department of Defense.
Paige asked Parnell about the US’s present strategy toward Venezuela.
“We’re a planning organization. You didn’t see this in the first Trump administration. He was met with a lot of resistance to his worldview in this building,” Parnell noted, which happens not to be a recurrent matter during this term, with people of coinciding views operating in the Pentagon. “If the secretary says ‘go’ in Venezuela we’ll be ready to go when that time comes… we’re ready.”
“We try very hard to not get ahead of the president and not curb his decision space,” Parnell continued. “These are all decisions for the Commander-in-Chief. He’s the only person in this town that was elected by the whole of the American people and when he does make these decisions we will execute.” He then cited Trump’s “body of work” such as Operations Rough Rider and Midnight Hammer. Parnell suspects that the president does not want to get bogged down in endless wars and endless regime change wars.
What red lines do you think would trigger further escalation in your eyes?” Paige asked.
“Any threats or attacks on American troops or our people,” or “any country importing drugs into our country,” would be considered sufficient for the US to escalate its military action in the region, Parnell stated, echoing the president.
