{"id":125308,"date":"2021-02-12T05:00:22","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=125308"},"modified":"2021-02-12T05:12:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T10:12:22","slug":"bidens-concerning-foreign-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-concerning-foreign-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Concerning Foreign Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">8<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbidens-concerning-foreign-policy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=125308&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1231087536.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s been only three weeks, but already I\u2019ve lost count of the times the Biden administration has expressed its deep concern over a matter of foreign policy. Hungarian media closures, Somali election disputes, Chinese intimidation, Russian repression, Sandinista crackdowns, the coup in Burma, the International Criminal Court investigation into Israel\u2019s conduct in Gaza\u2014in just the last seven days the State Department has said it\u2019s concerned about all these topics.<\/p>\n<p>And it is right to be worried. The world is a dangerous place. It\u2019s filled with aggressive, autocratic great powers and smaller nations succumbing to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/charles-krauthammer-the-authoritarian-temptation\/2019\/11\/08\/a55427f4-01a2-11ea-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">authoritarian temptation<\/a>. Which is why words are not enough. They have to be backed up with action.<\/p>\n<div class=\"posts-content__category-widget md:hidden -ml-4 -mr-4 my-8 px-4 py-6 bg-gray-100\">\n<h4 class=\"mt-0 text-red-600 font-medium font-sans uppercase\">Recent Stories in Columns<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"list-none p-0\">\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/columns\/bidens-concerning-foreign-policy\/\"><strong>Biden\u2019s Concerning Foreign Policy<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/columns\/nation-building-101\/\"><strong>Nation-Building 101<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/columns\/bidens-blue-state-claw-back\/\"><strong>Biden\u2019s Blue State Claw Back<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s where the Biden team falls short. When asked what the president intends to do about the developments he bemoans, Biden\u2019s spokespeople often deflect by pointing to the calendar. It hasn\u2019t been a month since we\u2019ve taken office, they say. We have to get situated. There are a number of policy reviews in progress. You wouldn\u2019t want us to get ahead of ourselves, would you?<\/p>\n<p>There is something to the argument that it takes time to formulate considered and substantive countermeasures. At the outset of an administration, key positions have not been filled and everyone is playing catchup. But Biden isn\u2019t powerless. He\u2019s done plenty, in both the domestic and foreign arenas. Indeed, the administration has bragged about the number of executive orders he\u2019s signed since January 20, and about his renewal of multilateral partnerships to fight climate change.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not that Biden can\u2019t react to objects of concern. It\u2019s that he doesn\u2019t want to. Or maybe he can\u2019t decide on a course of action. Either way, his administration\u2019s references to bureaucratic procedure are more often than not excuses for inactivity.<\/p>\n<p>Passivity is one thing. Rewarding bad behavior is something else\u2014something much worse. But that is precisely what Biden has done in three critical areas. He rejoined the U.N. Human Rights Council despite its corruption and anti-Semitism. He handed Vladimir Putin a cost-free victory despite the Russian dictator\u2019s arrest and imprisonment of democracy activist Alexei Navalny. And he took the pressure off an Iranian ally despite its terrorist behavior and Iran\u2019s mounting violations of the 2015 nuclear accord. These decisions won\u2019t end worrisome behavior. They will incentivize it.<\/p>\n<p>On February 8, when Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States would rejoin the Human Rights Council as an observer, he acknowledged that it is a &#8220;flawed body, in need of reform to its agenda, membership, and focus, including its disproportionate focus on Israel.&#8221; Those are the reasons the Trump administration left the group in 2018. Why recommit? Blinken said that, &#8220;To address the council\u2019s deficiencies and ensure it lives up to its mandate, the United States must be at the table using the full weight of our diplomatic leadership.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But of course the United States spent years &#8220;at the table&#8221; and had little to show for it. Council members <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/HRBodies\/HRC\/Pages\/CurrentMembers.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">China and Russia<\/a> didn\u2019t believe in human rights then, and they still don\u2019t. The council will operate as it always has: downplaying the abuses of authoritarian powers and ganging up on Israel for defending itself. Participation in the council legitimizes this misconduct. The council doesn\u2019t protect human rights. It mocks them. Better to draw a line and look for alternatives than to engage in a forum where you will be overruled routinely.<\/p>\n<p>In his determination to undo the Trump presidency, Biden privileges words over deeds. It\u2019s true that President Trump rarely had anything bad to say about Vladimir Putin. Nevertheless, he did provide lethal aid to Ukraine, threaten the Russian energy market by exporting liquid natural gas, sanction Russian officials, force NATO to spend more on defense, and oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>Biden, by contrast, has rightly and forcefully condemned Putin\u2019s assaults on human rights and global security. But his first move in the great game\u2014a clean extension of the New START arms control agreement\u2014was a gift to Russia. Biden had the leverage to bargain for a shorter extension. He might have linked the future of New START to Russia\u2019s treatment of its people. He didn\u2019t. Putin got what he wanted. Now Biden has to regain the upper hand.<\/p>\n<p>The most absurd of Biden\u2019s unilateral concessions is Yemen. On February 5 the administration said it wouldn\u2019t designate as a foreign terrorist organization the Houthi rebels backed by Iran. The Houthis didn\u2019t thank him. On the contrary: Within days, State Department spokesman Ned Price admitted the United States &#8220;is deeply troubled by continued Houthi attacks,&#8221; including on &#8220;civilian areas inside Saudi Arabia.&#8221; His verbiage fell flat. When Biden\u2019s envoy for peace negotiations arrived in Saudi Arabia, the Houthis attacked an airport and struck a civilian plane. It was a slap in the face\u2014and a reminder that magnanimity does not go far in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Biden may recognize that his foreign policy needs to be more assertive. On February 10 he announced sanctions against the Burmese generals who recently ended their country\u2019s half-hearted democratic transition. And the pace of Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea, including a transit of the Taiwan Strait, has increased as China grows more nationalistic and territorial. This willingness to exercise American power in defense of national interests and values is welcome. More of it is needed.<\/p>\n<p>Diplo-speak isn\u2019t enough. Nor is a reliance on unreliable allies. To date, Biden\u2019s foreign policy has been more interested in resuscitating the legacy of Barack Obama than in maintaining America\u2019s position of strength. To use the language of the State Department: I am very concerned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-8 hide-print\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1526555381173-4\" class=\"mobile-250 desktop-90\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been only three weeks, but already I\u2019ve lost count of the times the Biden administration has expressed its deep concern over a matter of foreign policy. Hungarian media closures, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1893269,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3706,6496,5542,4326],"class_list":["post-125308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bidens","tag-concerning","tag-foreign","tag-policy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1893269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}