By Blaine L. Pardoe – New Contributor! Our foreign policy problems began in August of last year with the horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan. It wasn’t just a botched military operation that cost 13 American’s their lives. What followed was a litany of mistruths that are now coming to light that showed that we knew their military would […]
By Blaine L. Pardoe - New Contributor!
Our foreign policy problems began in August of last year with the horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan. It wasn’t just a botched military operation that cost 13 American’s their lives. What followed was a litany of mistruths that are now coming to light that showed that we knew their military would collapse if we left. It was topped off with the fact that no person has been held accountable for the largest military blunder in a century. If I had been in charge of a project in the private sector that was run as poorly as our retreat, one that cost lives, I would be fired, sued, and possibly brought up on criminal charges.
The left wrote off Afghanistan with a string of fanciful speculation and blame tossing. It was Donald Trump’s fault for saying we would leave. If Trump had been President, it would have been worse. We never should have been there in the first place. The Pentagon blamed the State Department who blamed the Pentagon. All of it was designed to lay the blame either with the former President or write off the American lives that had been spent in securing that nation. While the Pentagon leadership passed the buck on blame, hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families were infuriated, made to feel that their sacrifices were squandered and wasted.
Worse yet, it sent a message to our enemies aboard…America had no fortitude to use its military, even to protect its own interests.
No doubt China was paying attention. They have stepped up military activity near Taiwan, a state that they believe is still part of the mainland. Taiwan relies on American military support in the event that the Chinese decide to take action. What China has seen is that America may not have the will to get involved in a conflict over far-away Taiwan. Despite the chest-thumping by the Biden Administration, our actions speak much louder than our words.
In the Ukraine, the President has warned that Russia will pay a high price if the Ukraine is invaded. The reality is, however, that none of the NATO nations are willing to go to war with Russia over the Ukraine. Biden is promising sanctions, which have never reversed Russian foreign policy in the last century. He is willing to unleash harsh language if the Ukraine is invaded…hardly a threat that will compel Putin to stand down. Much like Czechoslovakia in 1939, no one will rush to the Ukraine’s defense when the Russian bear shows up.
With North Korea, President Trump had more or less diffused tensions with that nation. Where it has been said that it took Nixon to go to China, it could also be said that, only Trump would dare go to North Korea. Smelling weakness, the North Koreans are back to test firing missiles – with the Biden Administration once more trying to wield the rubber sword of sanctions at the UN, only to have Russia and China block the effort.
Even the Iranians have been stonewalling with the current administration…no doubt attempting to extort more money from the United States. Biden has turned his back on our Israeli allies like his mentor before him.
In a single year, the Biden Administration has taken an aggressive and decisive foreign policy and has managed to make us look weak, waffling, and indecisive. Yes, Trump stepped on toes diplomatically, but there was no question that he was willing to take action when called upon. In the rush to erase the Trump Presidency from history, the Biden Administration has put the world at risk.
Our enemies have been watching, no doubt salivating over what the next three years of Biden’s Presidency means for their territorial ambitions. It isn’t Build Back Better…it’s more like Whine, Whimper and Blame.
You have to feel sorry for the citizens of Taiwan, South Korea, Israel and the Ukraine. Through no fault of their own, they suddenly found the support that from our nation has become a promise of sanctions as their barriers against their enemies. They realize that the risks of war or other conflicts have escalated because our military has turned its focus on finding ‘extremists’ in their ranks, rather than preparing to honor our treaty commitments.
America is always best when it has a strong military and the resolve to use it. Right now we have neither. We are behind on hypersonic missile technology and we have military leadership that refuses to accept accountability for its own failures.
Pray for the people in those countries that rely on us…I fear they are going to need those prayers in the coming years.
Blaine L. Pardoe, is author of Blue Dawn: The most chilling "what-if" in history...the progressive overthrow of the United States. Pardoe is an award winning New York Times bestselling author who lives in Virginia. He is the author of numerous science fiction, military history, true crime, horror, and business leadership books.
