Biden’s Foreign Policy: Most Dangerous in My Lifetime?

 

by Walt Zlotow 

Posted onMay 29, 2023

Joe Biden is the 15th president in my 79 years. I’ve followed the foreign policy of all but FDR. Only missed his presidential exploits because I was just 33 days old when he died.

But took an interest in the second, Harry Truman, when mom and pop explained WWII and the current Korean War to me in 1951. Still remember the brouhaha when Truman fired Gen. Douglas McArthur during the latter. Why would the president fire such a revered war hero? Must be a bad president, I thought. Years later I found out how right he was to do so. McArthur was hell bent on nuking China for entering the war against the US.

But Truman should never have blundered into Korea in the first place. He launched an unnecessary and undeclared war there that killed millions of Koreans for no valid reason and no permanent resolution 73 years on. War with North Korea is still possible today. Even worse, Truman’s ditching Congress’ Constitutional duty to declare war inaugurated dozens of interventions, large and small that have killed millions since 1950. It gave every succeeding president a blank check to pursue US world dominance without congressional approval.

None of the succeeding 13 presidents I’ve experienced had a decent, peace oriented foreign policy. Eisenhower bashed the Military Industrial Complex pushing perpetual war when he left office after 8 years. But he helped create it and inaugurated regime change near (Cuba, Guatemala) and far (Iran) which became the "go to" US policy for foreign leaders presidents hate.

JFK snuck into office in 1960 using the phony "missile gap" canard. He invaded Cuba using Cuban proxy soldiers. It was a colossal failure. His obsession with overthrowing Cuba’s Castro was both criminal and nearly blew up the world by creating the totally avoidable Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

It continued through 10 more presidents till Joe Biden assumed office 59 years later. His foreign policy has been wrong turn after wrong turn. He even managed to tarnish his signature peace accomplishment of ending our 20 yearlong Afghan war. Humiliated by being tossed from Afghanistan by the rag tag Taliban, Biden continued to cruelly punish the Afghan people by withholding billions in Afghan treasure stolen from them during the war. He’s also maintained crippling sanctions leading to starvation and diminished health for millions.

Biden reneged on his promise to end America’s seven decade isolation of Cuba; extending the US embargo into its 62nd year. He further reneged on reinstating the Iran nuclear deal, the signature Obama peace accomplishment Biden championed as his VP. He not only maintained America’s support of Saudi Arabia’s ghoulish war in Yemen that has killed nearly 400,000, he’s interfering with the ongoing Saudi, Houthi Yemen peace process that could end the 8 yearlong Yemen killing field. He keeps 900 soldiers guarding Syria’s oil fields we stole from Syria during the Syrian civil war. He keeps punishing sanctions on the beleaguered Syrian people in hopes of toppling hated Syrian President Assad.

While suffering "Stop The Steal" from his predecessor, Biden maintained his own "Stop The Steal" in Venezuela. He continued America’s delusional attempt to overturn the 2018 election of hated socialist Nicholas Maduro by installing US backed puppet Juan Guido. The Venezuelan people had enough, booting Guaido back to America which spent years promoting his takeover from Maduro.

Biden refuses to end America’s merciless War Of Terror against any person or group we deem "kill worthy" in the Middle East and Africa. Just ask the 10 kids of innocent sheepherder Loutfi Hassan Mesto whom Biden’s bombers blew to bits in Syria, May 18. The US response was sickening… "We still think we whacked an al-Qaeda dude."

As horrendous as these policies are, they’re small potatoes compared to Biden’s ratcheting up Cold War II with both Russia and China. He has maneuvered them into their closest political and economic ties in generations. Biden is fueling and perpetuating the Russo Ukraine war with nearly $40 billion in weapons. He’s sabotaged every sensible plan brokered by Turkey, China and Israel that could have ended the war early on. He’s greenlighting increasingly more dangerous weapons including F-16’s, depleted uranium artillery, long range missiles that have already zoomed over Russia’s red lines. Just one mistake, miscalculation or renegade combatant could ignite WWIII. Biden has painted himself and America into a corner with no exit; one even Biden indicates could last years.

At the other end of the world, Biden has completely jettisoned the half century One China policy over America’s ironclad defense declaration for Taiwan, whose history with China goes back thousands of years. One would think Biden would have more sense than possibly provoking all-out war against its two biggest imagined enemies simultaneously. Alas, he doesn’t.

Like me, Biden was a teen during the ’62 Missile Crisis, the closest we’ve come to nuclear war in our lifetime. It still haunts this 17 year old back then to this day; one reason I work in the peace movement. Apparently, it made no dent on 19 year old Joe Biden. He’s spent most of his half century in public service championing American exceptionalism and US world dominance, regardless of the risks of it descending into the madness of nuclear war.

Joe Biden has abrogated his primary responsibility of keeping America, indeed the whole world safe. With profound sadness and fear for our future, Joe Biden gets my nod as conducting the most dangerous US foreign policy in my lifetime.

Walt Zlotow became involved in antiwar activities upon entering University of Chicago in 1963. He is current president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition based in the Chicago western suburbs. He blogs daily on antiwar and other issues at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com.

https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2023/05/29/bidens-foreign-policy-most-dangerous-in-my-lifetime/