And there is a dirty secret with regard to Venezuela — one that is the case with almost every contingency the Pentagon ponders ― and that is that none of what is actually being bandied about originates in the Trump White House. Most of what does exist was not even formulated under Obama, Bush or Clinton. All of it follows a standard Pentagon playbook and fill-in-the-boxes checklist that should be both comforting for those who think “Trump” commands anything, and sobering for those who think the Pentagon is an amazing acrobat. According to two officers involved in Dunford’s briefing, key residences and command facilities of the Maduro circle and his Venezuelan military cronies were mapped into. Special operators were readying strike raids and options to protect American diplomats and assets.

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CIA counterparts were talking with the bad-guys and the Venezuelan military command to communicate American threats and promises. Clandestine actions were being taken to deal with, Chinese and even Iranian troublemakers on the ground. Cyber disruptions and influence operations had begun. And what to do if there is a catastrophic regime collapse? Well, they have a specific plan for that, too. But the only one that has any credibility is the one for North Korea.

So right now, military sources say, “action officers” are running around drawing up what to do specifically with regard to Caracas. This mostly means getting gas for that Humvee that will have to get off that ship or helicopter, driving down that road to this destination. In the world of the very real and not just presidential claim, it’s all about shipping and light bulbs and gas. This is not the political world of being greeted as liberators or some cakewalk to democracy. No one can say what will happen in Venezuela, and a lot depends on what path the Venezuelan military brass will go.

At middle and lower ranks of the military — away from the palaces and hushed meetings — where actual worker-bee counterparts are literally counting bullets and light bulbs, the Venezuelan officers are, no doubt, staring at the ledger. The hope in Washington is that they won’t kill for Maduro. But contrary to vibrant imaginations that their actions will be governed by CIA officers (or American money) whispering this or that outcome, in the real world their empty cupboard will more determine what decision they make more than anything else you might imagine.

So, yes, they have a plan for everything. And they have a president that they have to please. But right now, sources say, they are mostly explaining the facts of life of real limitations and a military stretched too thin. It’s not that the generals ultimately decide foreign policy, nor that they override whatever the occupant of the White House wants. No, it’s more the reality that timetables and logistics decide, which also goes a long way to explaining why the military is everywhere around the globe, and that the instruments of power we keep using — air power and special operations and increasingly cyber — are so popular.