BIDEN ABROAD: RESETTING AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

In our October 28, 2019, post one of us saw “repair[ing] our alliances around the world thereby protecting our national security in a way consistent with our values and those of our allies” as a major task of any Democrat elected president in 2020. We’ve consistently emphasized the importance of demonstrating America’s global leadership after the decline caused by the Trump administration’s

dysfunctional foreign policy.  With Joe Biden just back from his first foreign trip as president, now seems a good time for looking at 46’s progress on that task of restoring American preeminence in the world.

 

The Man and His Team

Biden arrived in the White House superbly

qualified for taking on foreign policy challenges. He served as chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years. Foreign policy comprised a major part of his portfolio during his eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president. He’s on a first name basis with many foreign leaders.

Biden picked an experienced foreign policy team. State Secretary Antony Blinken had key foreign

policy jobs in both the Clinton and Obama administrations and served as Democratic staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Defense

Secretary Lloyd Austin, a respected retired four star U.S. Army general, commanded troops in Iraq and led the U.S. Central Command. Jake Sullivan

served on President Obama’s staff and was Biden’s national security advisor as vice president. United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

worked for 35 years in the State Department.  If experience matters, Biden’s team passes the test.

 

To This Point

Despite raging domestic problems like the covid pandemic, its resulting economic dislocation, and

his agenda on infrastructure, climate, and racial justice, Biden moved quickly on some important foreign policy fronts:

·    Emphasizing alliances – Trump disdained NATO, ridiculed the joint defense aspects of the Atlantic alliance, and managed to have nearly all the major European leaders laughing at him in public at international meetings. Biden has pledged his backing for NATO, most importantly reaffirming the mutual security aspect of the NATO treaty that makes an attack on one NATO member an attack

on all. European leaders like England’s Boris Johnson, Germany’s Angela Merkel, and France’s Emmanuel Macron welcomed the new American president with open arms.

·    Resetting the relationship with Russia – Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both said it wasn’t unpleasant or confrontational, but Biden clearly aimed to let Putin know he won’t find the same coziness and acquiescence he found with Donald Trump.        

·    International organizations and cooperation – Biden put the U.S. back in the Paris Climate Accords, stopped the American withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and returned the

United States to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Participation in these  organizations assures the U. S. a voice on major international issues and helps prevent other nations from taking actions that affect the U.S. when we’ve had no say.

·    Getting out of Afghanistan – Americans of all political persuasions want an end to our military

presence there. We went there in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. We spent $2 trillion. About 240,000 people lost their lives. The only real debate has been over timing of withdrawal. Trump pledged we’d get our remaining 2500 troops out by May 2021. Biden did a review of the situation and announced we’re leaving by September 11. Maybe it’s the right thing to do, maybe it’s not. It apparently will happen with the agreement of most Americans.

·   Fine tuning American policy – Biden has changed many of Trump’s policies, but not all of them. On

China, for example, Biden will  keep in place tariffs Trump imposed and continue diplomatic pressure on the Chinese over alleged atrocities committed against Uyghur Muslims.  In the Middle East, however, he’s resuming financial aid for the Palestinians that

Trump cut off. He’s reaffirmed American support for a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, a longstanding U.S. policy Trump essentially abandoned. Biden also ended American backing for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. 

·    Launching a global anti-corruption effort – The Biden administration’s first National Security Study Memorandum established fighting corruption as a core national security interest. The memorandum ordered that federal agencies prioritize efforts at confronting financial crimes. Cybercrimes and “strategic corruption” by foreign entities and governments will receive new attention.    

 

What it Means for Americans

Biden believes ordinary Americans have a stake in foreign policy beyond simple national security. “He’s always seen foreign policy as part of the overall interest process of our country,” says

former defense secretary and Republican  Senator Chuck Hagel, a long-time Biden friend.  “It’s something that is very much a part of who he is ….” International trade, the pandemic, and basic economic concerns motivate Biden. He sees a robust American role in the world as part of his effort to hold on to the working-class voters who helped him get elected. In that sense, Biden’s foreign and domestic policies are bound up with each other.

The G7 meeting and the face-to-face with Putin

represent steps in Biden’s early efforts at returning the U.S. to its premier place in the world. He’s been in office five months. Five  months will

neither undo all the damage Trump did nor accomplish Biden’s long-term objectives. He has made a promising start, and for that Americans can rest a bit easier.

WE’RE BACK!!!!: JONESWALKERWILEY RETURNS AFTER A BRIEF HIATUS

 

NOTE:   We’ve been absent from this space since our November 13 post-election offering due mainly to personal issues. Rob contracted COVID-19, spent five days hospitalized, and has gradually mended at home since his release. Henry & family grieve the loss of two beloved family members. BUT WE’RE BACK AND READY TO TAKE ON WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD.

A New Administration Takes Shape

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been putting together their new

government. Generally, sane, experienced people who appear capable of doing the jobs they’re being tapped for make up the roster. We’d call these appointees “grownups”. None appear anything like the cult worshippers and sycophants around Donald Trump.

Challenges remain for Biden and Harris on the diversity front, despite an initial roll out that looks much more like America than the mostly

white male cast Trump installed. Biden has named an ethnically diverse White House staff, featuring

an all-woman communications team. The first cabinet choices include a Latino who’ll run the Department of Homeland Security, the agency responsible for immigration and border control, the first female Treasury Secretary, and a black woman as United Nations Ambassador who should help restore America’s diplomatic clout.

Biden faced considerable pressure to name an African American or Hispanic to one of the Big Four cabinet jobs -- Treasury, State, Justice, or Defense. His choice of a black man, retired four-

star general Lloyd Austin, for Secretary of Defense alleviated some ethnic concerns, but created another problem. Austin left the Army four years ago, not seven as a statute requires for naming a former military officer defense secretary. Even some congressional Democrats balked at the idea of granting yet another waiver for a retired general (Trump got one in 2017 for Jim Mattis). General Austin’s stellar resume and the unique opportunity of the first black defense secretary probably will get him the needed waiver and U.S. Senate confirmation.

Biden still has some jobs he must fill and says 

everyone should wait until he’s done, then look at the overall picture. Fair enough, but given the racial composition of the voters who fueled the Democratic ticket’s victory, Biden can’t ignore pressure for high profile black and brown appointments.

 

COVID – 19 Runs Wild While Trump Whines

We’ve documented President Trump’s malfeasance on the virus many times. Another recitation of his sins serves no purpose. His current behavior demonstrates how much better off the United States

will be when he leaves office. By spending his time on a hopeless, destructive campaign aimed at overturning the result of the election instead of helping his successor better prepare for fighting the virus, Trump has shown his utter lack of concern for average Americans. New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths keep increasing in almost every state. Things are worse many places than they were during the grim days of the spring. Health experts say a brutal winter awaits, despite vaccines on the horizon that should help get the pandemic under control.

Trump’s pitiful, disgraceful legal attack on the election while the pandemic rages has been

overwhelmingly rejected by the courts. He’s had one minor legal victory and about 40 setbacks, often doled out by Republican judges, both appointed and elected. Some judges have been scathing in their characterizations of his evidence-less claims.

Trump shamelessly pursued this strategy while, for

the longest, not letting the General Services Administration open the government to Biden’s team, thereby facilitating a peaceful transition. History may regard Trump’s lame duck behavior as the worst thing about his presidency.

Pardon Who?

It’s also possible Trump could further disgrace himself and the office he holds by doling out dozens of pardons to cronies, contributors, family members, and maybe even himself. He’s already given his former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, a broad pardon. He’s reportedly discussed granting his children pardons and giving

one to Rudy Giuliani, the  lawyer who has run his post-election legal crusade. Several prominent figures in the right-wing media have suggested he pardon himself, something no president has ever done and seems subject to significant legal challenge.

That a president can even think about pardoning himself results from the fact presidential pardon power is exceptionally broad. It is for a reason. The drafters of the constitution wanted a way someone could right unjustly wrongs, and no one could challenge that action. It’s doubtful, however, the founders thought presidents should pardon themselves.

In a 1915 case, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that anyone who accepts a presidential pardon admits guilt. What, then, does Trump know that we don’t about himself and those on the purported pardon list, especially people who haven’t been investigated or prosecuted?

We should remember presidential pardons don’t affect state judicial actions. Trump faces multiple investigations in New York that focus on business and tax matters. Whether he pardons himself or resigns early so Mike Pence does the deed, a presidential pardon won’t save Trump from state investigations.

In the coming weeks we’ll address many pressing topics now on the national radar screen – the Georgia senate runoffs, Biden’s agenda, congressional action (or inaction) on pandemic-related stimulus relief, lingering effects of COVID -19 on the economy and on people individually, among others. Right now, we’re just thankful we’re writing again.