There is much debate about the federal government expanding its authority beyond the scope of the Constitution – and even in violation of the Constitution. However, there are two responsibilities of the federal government that are clearly noted in the Constitution – the protection of America’s borders and the defense of American interests and security from the actions of foreign adversaries.
The Biden administration is failing in both these constitutional duties. We see the failure at the southern border daily as millions of people illegally enter the country – and arguably hundreds of thousands pursuing deadly activities, from the importing of illicit drugs to record numbers of individuals on the terrorist watch list. In addition to the known numbers, there have been hundreds of thousands of got-aways who evaded capture. It is safe to assume that they present a much higher percentage of bad and dangerous actors, such as MS13.
Though leftwing media would have us believe that the border crossers are women and children from oppressive Central and South American nations. The fact is that a growing percentage of coming from nations all over the globe – including adversarial nations.
The porous southern border is a major threat to the health, welfare, and security of the United States. It has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from the illicit drug trade – which indirectly results in a range of related crimes, such as murders, robberies, and assaults. Failure to secure the border is a clear and present danger to the American people and a dereliction of the constitutional duty of the President of the United States. No previous President has failed the nation in this regard more than the incumbent, President Biden.
Sadly, as a threat to the United States world leadership and internal security, the situation at the border pales compared to the failure to defend the country from foreign enemies. The world is clearly becoming a more dangerous place for America – and American citizens, here and abroad. The State Department has had to issue advisories, telling Americans to stay out of – or not to travel to – a specified number of nations.
At the time of Biden’s surrender in Afghanistan, many political leaders and pundits (including this author) said that Biden’s unilateral withdrawal – against the advice of his own military advisors and the leaders of allied nations – would weaken America’s standing in the world. It would lead to greater recruitment by terrorist organizations. It would embolden efforts to bring down the United States from world leadership. It would increase terrorist aggressiveness. And all those fears have come to pass.
It should not be overlooked that the planning and equipping for the Hamas attack on Israel commenced two years ago in Iran – shortly after the surrender of Afghanistan. While the leaders in Tehran were working diligently on their jihadist war against the West, the Biden administration was attempting to placate Iran into a renewed Nuclear Deal – a deal that was seen by Iran as buying more time to enhance their strength in the Middle East and their influence in the world.
Iran used the time well. They built up their military forces — with the help money provided directly and indirectly by the United States. They were able to coalesce the divergent – and often adversarial — ragtag terrorist groups into organic military force – and then supplied them with sophisticated weaponry. Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda, and others were no longer local terrorist militias fighting with machine guns off the back of pickup trucks.
As was the case with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden gave full throated unconditional support to Israel at the onset of aggression by Hamas. But Biden undermined his own firm resolve by playing into the Iran/Hamas public relations campaign to make Israel the villain – the pariah — by unnecessary demands that Israel be limited and cautious in its pursuit of justice and victory. Biden’s pressure to hold off the ground invasion of Gaza provided the terrorist world with time to mount a public relations propaganda campaign against Israel and America.
Unlike Ukraine, Biden did provide Israel with many of the necessary weapons in the American arsenal. Biden also provided direct American military involvement in conjunction with Israel’s war effort. Initially, it involved shooting down missiles being launched from sites in Syria and Iraq – and eventually attacking ground installations in those countries.
Biden’s reluctance to point the finger of guilt at Iran – and to draw the line in the sand over which America would respond militarily of crossed – provided Tehran with a free hand to promote and support terrorist attacks on Israel AND the United States.
In addition, the Biden administration failed to enforce its own sanctions on oil and providing weapons to Russia. There was no interdicting shipment. The sanctions on Iran tended to be limited to tough talk with no enforcement.
It was after the surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban that Russian President Vladimir Putin began to fulfill his dream of a new Soviet empire – and began planning a bold attack on Ukraine. While Biden gave verbal support to Ukraine, his action reflected weakness. He crumbled in the face of Putin’s bully-like threat of launching nuclear weapons. He assured Putin that the United States would not put boots on the ground – and even withdrew military advisors that were stationed in Ukraine. Biden refused the request for a no-fly zone and warned Ukraine not to attack inside Russia. These all looked more like a green light for an invasion than a means of preventing one. Biden engaged in a “too little/too late” policy in terms of weaponry and sanctions.
Not only was the Biden policy inadequate to an early victory for Ukraine, but it has needlessly prolonged the War – causing more loses of life and treasure. In addition, America’s timid response to the invasion of Ukraine increased the perception of American weakness and lack of will.
America’s profound weakness is compounded because it is seen as the leader of NATO and the world’s democracies. Weakness by the United States results in less commitment from allies. We saw this in real time in Afghanistan. When Biden withdrew, other allied nations – such as France – had to also withdraw.
Ukraine and Israel are the hotspots, but they are not the only examples of the decline in American leadership and national security.
- North Korea has restated testing of an expanded nuclear weapons program.
- Kim Jong un engages in meetings with President Xi and President Putin.
- China has enhanced its spy programs – even flying reconnaissance over the United States without consequence.
- China and Russia have entered into an “unlimited partnership.”
- Once strong allies, such as India, have drifted into more neutral positions — ever ignoring American sanctions on Russia and China.
- There is an ongoing effort to undermine and replace the American dollar as the world currency.
If you want to see how badly American influence has waned across the world, you just need to focus on the recent action of the United Nations. The head of the UN recently said that the attack on Israel did not “happen in a vacuum” – intimating culpability by Israel. A recent anti-Israel UN resolution was supported by more than 140 nations – and opposed by the United States and 13 others. Allies, such as France and England, abstained.
The decline of America as THE world leader, did not begin with Biden, but his presidency has been the most damaging in failing to meet the rising challenges – many of which are the results of his own weak policies.
One may argue the matter of degrees, but it is irrefutable that America today is less trusted by allies and less feared by adversaries than in the past. To put the question in a different context: Is America better off today than it was four years ago? Only a blind partisan could give that a “yes.”
There is a Chamberlain mentality in Biden policies. He seems to pursue his vision of peace at any cost. The only problem it will not produce peace – and the cost is the leadership and security of the United States and the American people.
So. There ‘tis.