Gary Franks, syndicated columnist

On Dec. 7, 1941, Imperial Japan caused the United States to enter World War II. We must remember that Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor was due to an expansionist Japan, U.S. economic sanctions, and the U.S. disrupting the ability of the Japanese to acquire oil (among other natural resources). Thus, the ill-placed and overuse of sanctions along with blockades can lead to war, as well as World War III.

Today, China is the primary buyer of Venezuela’s oil. Beijing receives over 80% of Venezuelan exports. Though China gets most of its oil from other countries, blocking or stopping China from acquiring oil from Venezuela could bring about unconscionable repercussions.

Where is Congress? Acts of war like these must be approved by Congress, the representatives of the American people. Unless there is imminent danger, Americans must agree and approve such actions or President Donald Trump simply confirms the charges of him being a king, a dictator.

It is easy to bully the weak and small, but to bully bullies – that little game of chicken or “Russia roulette” (pun intended) – is quite different. Gambling would be fine if you are just trying to run casinos in Atlantic City where your failure is your failure. But today, Mr. President, 330 million Americans are at risk.

Why is Trump so obsessed with Venezuela? Is it due to illegal drugs that people in the United States should not be using anyways? Or is it over the South American country’s vast oil fields – which would suggest that Trump is pursuing an expansionist agenda. Regardless, regime change seems so old-fashion and has had questionable results over the decades. It does not make sense – economic and otherwise – to satisfy one’s thirst to exert power over countries that are a fraction of the size of America, simply because we can.

We have 15,000 soldiers deployed to the region, as well as our most powerful warships, high-powered fighter planes, and enough military hardware to destroy a developing country like Venezuela several times over.

My first recollection of regime change policy was when former presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy sought to remove Fidel Castro from power in Cuba. Back in the day, these aims were in the context of the fight against communism while today it is within our supposed fight against “terrorism” that, according to the administration, makes bad or illegal actions OK – even the killing of defenseless people on boats in the Caribbean Sea.

This is not the best way to make friends or build good relations with your neighbors, even if these operations prove successful. The Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba led to an attempt by the Russians to position and point missiles at America from Cuban soil. It was the first faceoff between two nuclear powers.

Vietnam also comes to mind. In 1963 the United States performed a regime change operation, backing a coup that overthrew and assassinated then-President Ngo Dinh Diem. And after the deaths of 58,000 American soldiers and more than 10 years of battle, the conflict ended with America’s first war defeat.

In 2001 when former President George W. Bush decided to pursue Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein because the latter supposedly possessed “weapons of mass destruction” – a false claim – America subsequently lost over 4,000 soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom. For what? I ask. This is further proof that regime change can be problematic to say the least.

I do not have time here to talk about the Afghanistan disaster – America’s longest war.

So much for the ill-conceived regime change policy in modern history. Such a policy seems to be very costly for Americans, and yields poor results. Yet, Team Trump seems to be fixated on trying it again. When will we learn?

I would argue instead that Venezuela has little to nothing to do with an “American First” agenda, which Trump had promised.

Can Venezuela do significant harm to America? That answer for most Americans is no, except perhaps for those victims of drug overdoses.

Could U.S. actions in Venezuela provoke China to act in Taiwan? Can China do harm to America? Flash bulletin – yes!

China wants America to be under its authority someday. The Chinese are working tirelessly to become numero uno. They are a threat to America. They can cripple us economically and could be a major concern for the U.S. militarily, especially in the size of its military and navy with respect to ours.

So, if you have an America First stance, and if you want to prevent unthinkable deaths of innocent Americans, not just of those tied to drug abuse, we should watch China and not get distracted by Venezuela.

And oh, if there is someone to truly blame for our fentanyl situation, that would be the place where it is made: China.

Sometimes history seems to repeat itself or echo into the future. Here are some examples:

The near 80-year-old former President Joe Biden blew it with Ukraine. He watched Russia build up its forces at the border. Russian leader Vladimir Putin amassed 200,000 troops along the border of Ukraine while Biden and NATO did nothing.

Today millions of Ukrainians have paid a heavy price. America has spent billions of dollars assisting Ukraine against Russia. Now the near 80-year-old Trump is sleep-walking down the same path.

China’s military buildup overall and especially near Taiwan makes Russia’s military build-up look like efforts from the eighth-grade team (China is playing varsity). Russia’s target was Ukraine under Biden. And now with Trump, China’s target is Taiwan.

What would America do if China decides to treat Taiwan like Russia is treating Ukraine? Both Russia and China believe Ukraine and Taiwan are part of Russia and China respectively.

A fight with China is a problem, like a direct fight with Russia would be. Worse, we are tied economically to China’s hip, unlike we are to Russia, which further complicates things.

China is a frenemy. It aspires to be the most dominant force in the world. We need to keep our focus internationally on those who can truly hurt the America First agenda.

And, at the same time, we need to strengthen America from within. That should be the America First agenda.

We can start with the affordability issue. The fact that unemployment is at a four year high, credit card debt is at record levels, healthcare costs are out of control, mental health problems are still causing suicides, mass shootings are not becoming fewer, and that only 29% of Americans feel we are going in the right direction per a recent Gallup poll – all of it should be unacceptable.

Former President Bill Clinton once said during his successful campaign in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Well, today folks should realize that with regard to foreign affairs, it is not Venezuela and regime change. It’s China, stupid.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org