Losing without losing it all
In the Fall of 2021 following the disastrous withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, Russia began moving troops and military equipment along the Russianukraine border. At a press conference January 19, 2022, President Biden was asked about America's response if Russia invaded Ukraine. Biden replied, "I think what you're going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do.”
Biden's use of “minor incursion” to differentiate types of invasions elicited many angry reactions from a host of critics at home and abroad. The next day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted, “We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power.”
If Trump had won the election, I doubt Putin would have amassed troops and weapons around the Russia-ukraine border. Trump would have just said, “No!” In his book, “Never Give an Inch,” Mike Pompeo describes his and Trump's philosophies of dealing with challenges, particularly with international friends and foes.
Pompeo wrote, “It's always tempting to stick to the status quo as the ‘safest' option. Yet avoiding risk is quite often more damaging than confronting it is. That's true in warfare, diplomacy, business, and any other field. Quite simply, nothing can change for the better if you won't accept risk. And it's never in your interest for your foes to believe that you cannot or will not pursue a goal as aggressively as they will. If your opponents know that you have at least the capacity to do something a little wild, it will cause them to recalculate what they think they can get away with.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin knows weakness when he sees and hears it. When President Obama was in the White House, Putin did not hesitate to take over Crimea which had been part of Ukraine. He knew the Obama-biden administration would do nothing to resist.
President Trump's unexpected tenure in the White House threw a monkey wrench into Putin's plans to begin rebuilding the Soviet Union. Trump was unpredictable and foreign adversaries feared what he might do. Biden's election as president signaled all of America's adversaries they could take advantage of a predictable Biden administration, i.e. a very weakened America.
Biden's policies have also weakened America domestically. He inherited an annual inflation rate of 1.4%, and managed to hike it to 6.5% by the end of December 2022. Biden's management of the supply chain has slowed the production and delivery of essential products like baby formula while raising prices of basic items to record highs. He's drained our strategic fuel supplies to 40-year lows in attempts to lower gas prices which are substantially higher than in January 2021.
Biden began his tenure as president by dismantling every positive policy Trump had established. See open borders, both north and south, and rising crime rates for details. Too many Biden voters confused their ill feelings about Trump with critical thinking. Hopefully, America can survive two more years of losing without losing it all.
Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at Pjandme2@gmail.com.