Just How Many Times Can Joe Biden Be Wrong? (Part II, Some Other Voices)

Gerard Baker, in the October 1, 2024 Wall Street Journal, made this observation:  "Israel has in 12 months done nothing less than redraw the balance of global security, not just in the region, but in the wider world."  But today's leaders in the Western world do not understand.  And, like Biden, they are fearful.  Baker:  "In Europe, they have gone even further, as usual, rewarding Hamas and Hezbollah by nominally recognizing a nonexistent Palestinian state and prosecuting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bogus war-crime charges."  

In an Op-Ed in the September 17, 2024 WSJ, Walter Russell Mead discussed a report issued by the Commission on the National Defense Strategy.  The report was written by eight "experts" appointed by both parties from the House and Senate Armed Services committees.  With unanimous opinion, the Commission wrote that the US currently faces the "most serious and most challenging" threats since 1945, including a real risk of "near-term major war."  Said the Commission:  "...the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat."  

Mead does not lay all the blame on Biden, stating that there has been a generation of failed leadership.  Mead:  "Even more appalling than the report is the general indifference with which it has been received," citing Mitch McConnell as an exception.  But the WSJ title of their September 23, 2024 editorial observed:  "How Freedom Faded on Biden's Watch."  After citing numerous foreign policy failures by the Biden-Harris Administration, they conclude with this:  "All of this and more adds up to the worst decline in world order, and the largest decline in U.S. influence, since the 1930's."

But does our President even have a clue?  The WSJ:  "Yet Mr. Biden continues to speak and act as if he's presided over an era of spreading peace and prosperity."  Additionally, Biden "has proposed a cut in real defense spending each year of his Presidency, which may be his greatest abdication."    The Journal:  "The first task will be restoring U.S. deterrence, which will require more hard power and political will."  And that, my dear readers, will require a U.S. leader who does not fear the threat, and if necessary, the use of military power.

I am well aware that there is a segment of the Republican Party that wants nothing to do with "foreign" wars.  A fair number are even isolationists.  I am not of that mind.  But I am of the mind that believes in peace through strength.  Peace does not come about through weakness and trying to appease the evil actors in the world.  Such weakness and appeasement only increases the likelihood of war.  The other issue is whether we side with our allies, or defer to our enemies.  Biden's actions have mostly sided with our ally Israel, but his words have deferred to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.  

"Mr. Biden has undermined the U.S. ability to deter adversaries because he fears any escalation, ceding the advantage to Iran, Russia and China.  Israel can't afford such indulgence.  It's survival is at stake."  (From the 9/30/24 editorial in the WSJ.)  

At the very beginning of my blog, in 2009, I wrote a post called "Iranian Nukes."  (It was written on 9/26/09 and posted on 11/26/09 - the date my daughters set up the blog for me.)  That post was followed shortly thereafter with "Iranian Nukes, Part II," posted 2/21/10.  Then, on 3/11/2012, I posted "What To Do About Iran?"  That post gives the opinions of multiple commentators.  As you can see, the issue of how to deal with the nuclear program of the religious fanatics who rule Iran has been going on for quite some time.  

When George W. Bush was president, I advocated for a joint strike force of the U.S., France, the U.K. and Israel, conducting an aerial assault on Iran's then much less developed nuclear facilities.  I felt that such a unified force would send a message to Russia and China to stay out of it.  But, while many U.S. presidents have said they would not allow Iran to get nukes, the reality has been quite different.  

Which is why I agree with the 10/3/2024 editorial in the WSJ:  "If Mr. Biden won't take this opportunity to destroy Iran's nuclear program, the least he can do is not stop Israel from doing the job for its own self-preservation."  After all, says the Journal:  "Israel has made its biggest military and strategic gains when it has ignored such U.S. advice" to stand down.  Amen to that.   

Just How Many Times Can Joe Biden Be Wrong? (Part I, A Look At Some History)

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates famously said that "I think he's (Biden) been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."  Let's take a look at a few past examples, before we get to today.

Recall his January, 2022 press conference, during which he suggested that a "minor incursion" by Russia into Ukraine might be acceptable.  Was that supposed to give comfort to the Ukrainian people, or any of our European allies.  Anyway, big surprise.  The next month - February, 2022 - Russia invaded Ukraine.  I trust I need not remind everyone of the disastrous withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, because Biden was determined to exit before 9/1/2021.  

In 2020 he criticized Saudi Arabia and sided with Yemen/the Houthis in their war.  After becoming President, Biden took the Houthis off the list of terror organizations, after which they promptly attacked Western shipping in the Red Sea.  Yes, he eventually put the Houthis back on the terror list, but after much damage had already been done.  And the Houthis continue to act with impunity.   

Remember the Abraham Accords?  I guess Biden did not, as he has been unable to expand on it.  However, he did restore funding to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, as well as to UNRWA in Gaza, a UN organization that has been shown to work hand in glove with Hamas.  What did Biden ask in return for this largesse?  You know, maybe commit to stop killing Jews.  Nope.  No such thing.  But Trump did all that - cut off funding to the PA and UNRWA, as long as they participated in, or assisted in, the killing of Jews.

But let's talk about Iran.  It was bad enough that Biden refused to enforce the sanctions on Iran.  This allowed Iran to sell oil (mostly to China) and make billions of dollars.  He even gave them six billion dollars.  Guess where Iran spent their billions?  Supplying Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.  Biden basically begged Iran to reenter the nuclear deal, which Trump realized was nothing other than a path to get nukes for Iran.  

So what about now?  What about after Iran attacked Israel for the second time in six months, with the latest attack resulting in over 180 ballistic missiles being fired at Israel by Iran.  Let's think about the current situation.  Iran's proxy in Gaza - Hamas - has been significantly degraded by Israel.  Iran's strongest proxy - Hezbollah in Lebanon - has also been significantly weakened.  Almost all of Iran's missiles fired at Israel were shot down, by Israel's multi-layered anti-ballistic missile system and with the help of the US.  The political head of Hamas, Haniyeh, has been taken out - when he was a guest in Tehran no less.  The head of Hezbollah, Nasrallah, has been taken out.  (Hezbollah, recall, was responsible for the deaths of 241 US Marines in Lebanon in 1983.)  

So, with Hamas and Hezbollah weakened, with Iran unsuccessful with their missile attack, what does Biden counsel the Israelis?  Might this be the time to take out Iran's developing nuke program?  Maybe even bring about regime change in Iran?  Not a chance.  Not when Biden fears our enemies more than they fear him.  Hence, his policy is one of appeasement.  Which does not work, and has never worked.  When Trump was in the White House, our enemies feared him.  Which would explain why Russia and Hamas did not try anything during his four years in office.  

Anyway, Biden made sure to get the leaders of the G7 on board when he was at the gathering of the UNGA.  What was the consensus pushed by Biden?  Israel should not attack any of Iran's nuclear sites.  And probably not their oil fields either.  Just as Russia got the message in early 2022 (see the top of this post), Iran has undoubtedly gotten the message now - you are free to develop nuclear weapons.  Would Iran use nukes against Israel?  The Ayatollahs have repeatedly said they want to destroy Israel.  Would Iran possibly attack the US - who they refer to as the Great Satan?  One thing is certain - it would be far more dangerous for Israel to attack Iran once it has nuclear weapons.  Yet that seems to be what Biden wants.  Biden's fear of a wider war makes that war all the more likely.