Is Joe Biden crazy as a fox or is he just crazy?
This is a question that has been raised around the world since the president said last week that the United States would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan.
The shocking remark in Tokyo came just two months after Biden insisted during a visit to Poland that Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power” because of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Both bombs sent the White House in control of DEFCON’s damage as aides rushed to provide “clarifications” to insist there was no change in long-standing policies. They said the United States was still committed only to selling military equipment to Taiwan to protect itself, and said Biden was definitely not talking about “regime change” in Russia.
In both cases, their attempts amounted to refusals. The president said what he said clearly. This has sparked a series of accusations that the unelected headquarters is undermining the commander-in-chief and adding new impetus to questions about whether Biden really runs the White House.
Given the many tours, cleanups, and clarifications during Biden’s short era, these two incidents would be quite routine – and almost comical – except for serious topics and additional presidential statements.
For example, the remarks in Tokyo were the third time since he took office that Biden had said essentially the same thing about Taiwan’s military defense. Either he thinks it or he lost it.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a video address at the opening session of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on May 19, 2022. Li Xueren / Xinhua / Sipa USA
As for Russia, Biden later insisted that he meant what he said about Putin, with this stipulation: “I will not take anything back … I want to clarify that neither then nor now I formulated a change in policy. I expressed the moral indignation I feel – I do not apologize for my personal feelings. ”
More than a feeling
Presidents are certainly entitled to their feelings, but it can be assumed that they reflect official policies, not conflict with them, as is the case.
Alas, our main opponents obviously also have their personal feelings, and Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have expressed theirs in an energetic way. They conducted a joint military exercise in which nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan while Biden was in Tokyo to meet with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan. Their topic: counteracting China’s aggressive expansionism.
Military personnel prepare equipment for joint military exercise by the Chinese and Russian armies on August 5, 2021. CHINE NOUVELLE / SIPA / Shutterstock
In his book The Sleepwalkers, author Christopher Clark masterfully describes how World War I began, even though no European leader wanted or believed it would happen. As the title suggests, each of them was lulled to sleep in a false sense of security, which led to one of the greatest disasters in history.
Are we on the verge of entering World War III? No one says they want it, but a global conflict involving the great powers still feels closer than ever since the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.
Hawk language and threats are routine, and nations from Japan to Europe are rapidly increasing their military spending.
Just considering the possibility is worrying, especially on Remembrance Day weekend, but one cannot escape the worry now that the idea of nuclear war is a fairly common topic in the media and international organizations. Putin has repeatedly shaken his nuclear weapons, including putting his forces on high alert as the West rushes to help Ukraine. There is widespread speculation that he will not hesitate to use one if he feels squeezed into a corner.
A new axis of evil
Similarly, China is rapidly expanding its nuclear stockpiles and has warned that the United States will pay an “unbearable price” if it supports Taiwan militarily. Last summer, a video of the Chinese Communist Party was clearer, warning Japan of a “full-scale war” involving nuclear weapons if Japan intervened in China’s control over Taiwan.
Russia and China are clearly forming a new axis of evil, but Biden’s role is surprisingly provocative. While it violates the habit of recent Democrat presidents to present a weak face to the world, there is a difference between securing peace by force and chaotic involvement in a major conflict with free speech.
China’s intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear capacity are seen during a military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 2019. GREG BAKER / AFP via Getty Images
Some of Biden’s supporters say he is deliberately creating “strategic ambiguity” about his intentions to make China and Russia guess, but there is at least an equal chance that his deviation so far from the scenario is evidence of the mental decline we see elsewhere in his behavior. .
Others insist the ambiguity is valuable, even if Biden did not mean what he said about Putin and Taiwan. This is nonsense, because Biden’s belligerent words could lead to an accidental Armageddon if Russia and China accept that America is preparing for war when it is not.
Biden’s recent aggression also contrasts with his recent position. Despite months of Russian accumulation on the border with Ukraine, he did nothing but speak until the actual invasion in February. Even then, he contented himself with imposing sanctions on his wrist, openly fearing he would provoke Putin.
After European leaders, themselves embarrassed by the European public, began sending military and humanitarian aid, Biden vetoed Poland’s plan to send MiG fighters to Ukraine, saying it would be “escalating”.
Hawks turn
Most recently, he changed his posture and moved all-in, sending an endless stream of billions of dollars and first-class military equipment. And although he has promised that there will never be American boots on the ground, it is now rumored that he will send special forces to guard the reopened embassy in Kyiv, which is usually assigned to the Marines.
If these troops come under fire, US forces could quickly fight Russian forces – a situation Biden has said for months must be avoided.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates military and civilian officials and veterans of the border service on Border Guard Day on May 28. MICHAEL METZEL / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images
The president is following a similar hawkish development in China. In his 2019 campaign, he scoffed at Donald Trump’s firm stance, saying: “Will China eat our lunch? Come on, man. I mean, you know, they’re not bad people.
And yet now we seem ready to start a war for Taiwan. I say seemingly because Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s main address to China last Thursday was more of a mess than a muscular one.
So maybe our policy in China is to speak loudly and carry a small stick.
Rising global tensions and doubts about the president’s ability to govern them are reminiscent of Robert Gates’ disgraceful statement that Biden “is wrong on almost every major foreign policy and national security issue in the last four decades.”
Gates made the scathing comment in a 2014 memoir, and last year cited Biden’s failed, chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan as current evidence.
This story, combined with the tumultuous internal disasters that defined Biden’s term, means that we are witnessing him making bigger, more dangerous mistakes later in his life in a bigger job.
Finally, it’s fair, but not very reassuring, to recall Barack Obama’s warning about his former vice president: “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to screw things up.
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