there are many people who believe that punishment creates fear and fear creates compliance and compliance solves problems. So if someone in America believes this, then they probably think this will punish people for trafficking drugs (or disobeying US demands) and instill fear in them with regards to trafficking and will get them to stop trafficking drugs and therefore Americans will no longer be addicted to drugs.

The problem is that fear-based problem solving often just becomes problem avoidance. People become afraid to say there's a problem so it _looks_ as if the problem is solved, but the problem just becomes more buried and actually gets worse.

So, it might help Americans _think_ that the drug problem is solved, but not actually help us solve the drug problem. And I suppose when we push punishment, we're mostly pushing problem avoidance, and so it helps people Americans avoid problems more, so I guess it'd be successful in that.

Oil.

That is an out of date question unfortunately. Now you just have to ask how it benefits the criminal oligarchy currently in charge of our country. Short term it gives them bread and circuses for their base. Longer term, oil wealth.

That’s a way of viewing it, but of course it assumes logical planning by reasonably bright individuals. So it’s begging the question somewhat.

Same as with Iraq. A more friendly regime that would be willing to let American companies extract its natural resources, and a proxy state used to coerce neighbors on behalf of the US.

I think even Bush would recognise it didn't really work out that way with Iraq, but hey, maybe this administration has unlocked the secret.

It is just Trump trying to distract from the Epstein files.