Gunboat diplomacy as practiced by Britain, Germany and Italy in 1902 led to a prolonged naval blockade of Venezuela to force payment of contested debts.

Gunship diplomacy as practiced early Saturday morning by President Trump involved a two-hour raid by attack helicopters and special force operators who captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

But where the gunboats of 124 years ago just steamed away when the immediate dispute was settled, the gunships that carried off Maduro and his wife to face narcotic trafficking charges left behind the potential for disaster in a country twice the size of Iraq and almost three times the size of Vietnam.

The question now is how large Venezuela will come to figure in our history as measured by body bags. One is a devastating number if it contains a loved one.

Not that Trump seemed at all worried that his gunship diplomacy might lead to war such as he tried so strenuously to avoid in his youth. He had famously secured a draft deferment with a bone spurs diagnosis by a podiatrist who rented office space from his father.

In another of his many What the hell was he thinking? moments, Trump used Creedence Clearwater Revival’s anti-war anthem “Fortunate Son” as the soundtrack when he posted a clip of the raid video showing gunships in fiery action. His snippet included the lyrics, “Some folks are born silver spoon in hand. Lord, don’t they help themselves, Lord?”

If Trump sees nothing wrong with that song choice, how can he be expected to fully appreciate the ramifications of his actions? He must just like the feel of the rousing music, independent of the song’s significance. He similarly seems to have just liked the feel of the live video he saw of the raid, wherever it might eventually lead.

“Like I was watching a television show,” Trump enthused, as pumped up as President George W. Bush had been when he declared “Mission Accomplished” following the invasion of Iraq.

He was so pumped up that he hinted at doing it again if other countries dared to defy America’s will.

“Nothing can stop us,” he said.

At least in Trump’s mission, there was less ultimately false jargon about freedom and democracy. He made it clear that his aim is the military equivalent of a hostile takeover in business, only with........

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