Joe Biden’s failed foreign policy legacy

As Joe Biden’s presidency winds down, there’s been a renewed effort to gloss over his foreign policy legacy. Op eds and essays have made the case that Biden will leave America stronger than it was before he took office. These articles have something in common. They fail to convince if there is a Biden doctrine, it’s involved highfalutin rhetoric on democracy, lackluster efforts to deter and combat aggression, and foreign policy put at the service of domestic politics. The result is that Biden has presided over the most rapid deterioration of the international scene since the presidency of Jimmy Carter. His strategic missteps, flawed concepts and ideological blind spots have made the world a more dangerous place. Whoever inherits the White House will have to pick up the pieces. Biden’s desire to be FDR Junior has contributed to a national debt that stands at $35 trillion his one and a half trillion dollar American rescue plan act of 2021 brought about record setting inflation that continues to erode purchasing power, inflation also cuts into the US defense budget, not that defense is a Biden priority. He sent to Congress budget proposals that reduce defense spending, only to be overridden by sober minded committees of jurisdiction under Biden. The US government spends more on debt service than on defense. The Armed Forces struggle to meet recruitment goals. Meanwhile, threats multiply. Biden deserves credit for welcoming Sweden and Finland to NATO, bolstering the Indo Pacific quad of America, Australia, India and Japan, and creating aukus, a trilateral partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Yet Biden’s diplomacy hasn’t lessened China’s belligerence. Security alliances are means, not ends in themselves. Effective. Alliances are purposeful. They prevent foes from crossing lines. We won’t know if Biden’s exercises in multilateralism are successful until they have been tested. What happens if Russia targets NATO, if China moves on Taiwan? The Biden record is not reassuring. Biden and his friends portray his 2021 decision to retreat from Afghanistan as an act of courageous statesmanship. But the real lesson of Afghanistan is that America cannot deter its adversaries without a credible threat of force. The connection between Biden’s pullout and Putin’s war in Ukraine is plain deterrence failed in Kabul. Six months later, Russian tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border. True Kyiv remains independent, and while Biden has supplied Ukraine with weapons. Eight has carried a price Biden’s slow walked transfer of critical platforms such as patriots atacms, Abrams tanks and F 16. He continues to impose restrictions on long range fires, promising to stand by Ukraine as long as it takes, Biden has refused to do whatever it takes to help Ukraine stop and repel the invaders. It’s the same in the Middle East. Biden entered office determined to revive the Iran nuclear deal. He projected weakness by lifting sanctions, offering diplomatic carrots and turning a blind eye to Iran’s malign behavior. What happened next was predictable. Tehran accelerated its nuclear program. The mullahs used their new cash flow to suppress internal dissent and arm terrorist proxies. They built a ring of fire around the Jewish state of Israel. On October 7, 2023 Hamas ignited the Ring of Fire. Terrorists invaded Israel and committed the worst atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust. The next day, Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel’s north and forced the evacuation of Israeli civilians. Biden has spent the past year proclaiming his support for Israel while trying to constrain Israel’s fight against Hamas and Hezbollah worried about gas prices and domestic political fallout, Biden has urged the parties to de escalate to avoid a regional war. Yet no one listens. The regional war has been raging for a while. Anyone can take a stand. What matters is how you act. Joe Biden’s foreign policy has taken plenty of stands, but his actions have not matched his ideals. His dislike of hard power has given autocrats and barbarians the advantage. The more the President’s friends describe the world he’s made the more they indict his tenure in office. Joe Biden did not bring about renewal. He ushered in decline. That will be his legacy in.