Commentary

I found it astonishing that within a few days, President Biden talked of a new world order, intimated we might answer Russia’s use of chemicals in kind, suggested that the 82nd Airborne might see action in Ukraine, and most recently he seemed to call for Putin’s ouster through regime change.

“For God’s sake,” he said, “this man cannot remain in power,” a phrase not in the prepared remarks.

With that backdrop, NBC News analyst Howard Fineman, ridiculously tweeted @howardfineman: “Please, everyone, pause the fury and admit that Joe Biden, as unpopular as he is, and as tough a hand as he has to play, so far is deftly handling Putin, Ukraine, NATO and the EU.  All those decades of learning foreign affairs from the ground up count for a lot.”

I surmise that Fineman is ingratiating himself with the White House, perhaps seeking an exclusive one-on-one interview with the Prez.

Fineman, formerly with Newsweek, may not be familiar to you.  He’s one of the few “old Washington” group of political pundits still peddling White House talking points on the left.  Of that group, that included Mort Kondracke, Fred Barnes and Mara Liasson, only Liasson is seen on Fox.

Fineman’s opinion of Biden’s foreign policy certainly differs with that of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who wrote, “I think he (Biden) has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

Biden’s Speech in Warsaw

While I was unable to find any commentary from Fineman or Gates on the need for the White House to walk-back Biden’s “off the cuff” remark, the media was reporting how aides were forced to walk it back even before he boarded Air Force One to return home.  His speech was intended to show his strength of leadership.

A spokesperson said he was merely saying that “Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”

It was called “a bad lapse in discipline that runs risk of extending the scope and duration of the war,” by Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Affairs.

                                            Trump’s Speech in Warsaw

Impressed with former President Trump’s July 6, 2017 speech in Warsaw, from which I have quoted several times, I consider it one of his best speeches. Though criticized for his America first policy, his words in support of Poland were well-received.  Even Charles Krauthammer, not generally an admirer of Trump, thought his speech was his best, “Reaganesque.”

After chronicling Poland’s history in war, he reminded the Polish people how they were supported in their victory over communism by a strong alliance of free nations in the west that defied tyranny.  “Now, among the most committed members of the NATO alliance,” he said, “Poland has resumed its place as a leading nation of a Europe that is strong, whole and free.”

But he warned “there are dire threats to our security and to our way of life.  You see what’s happening out there.  We will confront them. We will win.”

He spoke of urging Russia to cease its destabilization activities in Ukraine and elsewhere, recalling I am sure, the Obama-Biden administration’s failure to intercede in Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

“Americans, Poles, and the nations of Europe value individual freedom and sovereignty,” he said. “We must work together to confront forces that threaten over time to undermine these values and to erase the bonds of culture, faith and tradition that makes us who we are.  If left unchecked, these forces will undermine our courage, sap our spirit, and weaken our will to defend ourselves and our societies.”

Ironically, as we see Ukrainians standing strong against Russian soldiers, Trump noted “just as our adversaries and enemies of the past learned here in Poland, we know that these forces, too, are doomed to fail if we want them to fail.  And we do.”

Ponder this:  Do you think Putin would have invaded Ukraine had he not noted Biden’s weakness, approving Nord Stream, his caving-in to deal with Iran, and his botched withdrawal of Afghanistan?  I have no doubt that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president.

Now, more than ever … may God continue to bless the United States of America.