We hope we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed, but the world has become a more dangerous place since Joe Biden became president. Why? Perhaps because hostile actors sense weakness — and opportunity.
Russia poses the most immediate threat: It has mobilized nearly 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian-Russian border and appears poised to invade Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed NATO’s “military infrastructure is being irresponsibly brought closer to Russia’s border,” and new weapons in Europe might trigger a “nightmare scenario of a military confrontation.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken charged that Moscow’s plans “include efforts to destabilize” the country “from within, as well as large-scale military operations.” Such an attack could have ramifications well beyond that region.
Blinken did warn Lavrov of the “severe costs” his country would pay for an invasion. Let’s hope that’s not too little, too late.
China, meanwhile, has stepped up its harassment of Taiwan, repeatedly sending military aircraft into its airspace and hinting that it might soon look to reclaim the island territory by force. It just tested a hypersonic missile that surprised even the Pentagon. And it’s sending satellites into space at twice the rate of the United States.
On that last front, both China and Russia have been routinely striking US satellites with lasers, radio-frequency jammers and cyberattacks — maneuvers that could be interpreted as “acts of war,” Space Force General David Thompson says.
There’s potential trouble elsewhere, too: Iran seems unlikely to agree to any deal that doesn’t improve on the Obama-era pact, which paved the way for Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons and paid it billions to boot. Meanwhile, it’s moving steadily toward nuclear capability, a prospect that undoubtedly raises the chances for war in the region.
What’s prompting such international boldness? Well, it might be no coincidence that it comes after Biden’s botched bugout from Afghanistan was broadly seen as a sign of gross incompetence and weakness. And his handling of other matters, too, domestically and internationally, has backfired (think: inflation, the southern border) so spectacularly that our enemies may see him as vulnerable.
Nor has Team Biden responded with convincing force to any of the numerous provocations and belligerent acts by China and Russia. Just the opposite: Even as Russia preps for a possible invasion of Ukraine, for instance, the White House is trying to derail congressional legislation that could halt work on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, an invaluable asset for Moscow. It’s also trying to water down legislation to restrict Chinese imports made with Uighur slave labor.
Biden & Co. may think tough responses will escalate into conflict. He may be rudely awakened to learn that weak ones can lead to the same thing.