For more than three years, signs of President Biden’s cognitive decline have been ignored and covered up by his allies and the mainstream media. report Just a few months ago, highlighting Biden’s “bad memory” would have been dismissed as the ploy of partisan hacks. Now, America finds itself at the crossroads of a rapidly changing and increasingly unstable world and facing a crisis of leadership at home.
The main adversaries are China and Russia. More strongly alignedThe situation is more serious than it has been since the 1950s, and the risk of an accidental nuclear war between NATO and Russia cannot be ignored, so the U.S. OverextendedInvolvement in wars in Europe and the Middle East has strained military resources.
The crisis in American leadership and the fact that Russian President Putin’s aggression in Ukraine is hamstringing America in Europe have prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to warn that China “A historic missionXi Jinping has recently made clear his goal of forcibly incorporating Taiwan into mainland China. declare The “essence” of the national restoration movement is “the unification of the motherland.”
Meanwhile, Putin seems determined to retaliate against recent Western actions against Russia. Seizure Russian funds supplying arms to Ukraine.
Despite Putin’s warnings of “serious consequences,” President Biden allowed Ukraine to attack deep into Russia using U.S.-supplied weapons. action The US claim of starting a war inside Russia comes after the US joined Britain and France in sending long-range missiles to Ukraine intended for use far beyond the Russian front line.
Biden’s memory problems may well explain his increased risk appetite, including doing something he previously vowed not to do.
As the influx of Western advanced weaponry into Ukraine has failed to halt Russia’s advance and force it to withdraw from occupied territories, Biden has gradually escalated America’s involvement in the war by embracing previously taboo ideas. For example, he previously suggested that attacks on Russian territory in Ukraine with U.S.-supplied missiles would be illegal. against his mission “To avoid World War III”
The long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine by the US, UK and France need satellite reconnaissance data to strike deep into Russia, which Kiev does not have, so in effect the suppliers control the selection of targets and the transmission of coordinates to Ukraine for striking Russian positions across the Ukrainian border.
Biden’s punitive focus on Russia has come at the expense of effectively countering the threat from America’s bigger challenger: China.
China More than twice as muchSince 2020, the size of its nuclear arsenal has been shrinking, and its conventional forces have also expanded.FasterIt has achieved more than any other country since World War II.
China already dwarfs Russia in economic output, military spending and other material indicators, as Biden acknowledged during the 2022 presidential election. National Security StrategyChina is “the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to further that goal.”
But China is the biggest beneficiary of Biden’s efforts to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Weaponization of International Financehas been a boon to Beijing, banking Russia and expanding the international use of the Chinese yuan. Russia now earns much of its international export revenue in Chinese currency, and keeps this revenue in China. Mainly Chinese banksThis would effectively give Beijing a cut of the profits.
For China, the longer the United States remains distracted by domestic political malaise and conflicts in other parts of the world, the better.
Indeed, the defining moment that would formally end America’s era of global dominance would be a surprise Chinese attack aimed at conquering Taiwan, and given the ominous signs that Xi Jinping is attacking China, such an attack could come sooner than many in Washington expect. Preparing the country For this war.
China’s latest military exercises Surrounding Taiwan This appeared to be a rehearsal for at least a blockade aimed at gradually stifling Taiwanese democracy. In fact, this was China’s third rehearsal of an attack on Taiwan in less than two years, with the latest exercise more sophisticated, elaborate, and geographically widespread than previous ones.
If President Xi Jinping senses a strategic opportunity to act against Taiwan without sparking a full-scale war with the United States, he will likely use military force. Is the United States preparing for a Taiwan contingency?
America finds itself at a fragile time: domestic political turmoil and uncertainty could make it even more vulnerable to international geopolitical shocks.
Even if pressure from Democratic colleagues and donors compels Biden to abandon his bid for a second term, he would remain in office for another six months, raising questions about his intellectual acuity and suitability to lead the United States in an increasingly chaotic and dangerous world — a situation that could embolden America’s adversaries to test its resolve by revealing weakness.
Many democracies want the United States to remain the most powerful nation in the world. But with hyper-partisan politics and deep polarization already straining American democracy, the United States finds itself at a crossroads, facing a crisis of leadership at a time when adversaries are plotting to reshape the world by ending an era of American dominance.
Unfortunately, at home and abroad, the United States Your own biggest enemyAnd that carries serious risks. Strategic overreach Under short-sighted leadership.
Brahma Chellaney is a geopolitician and award-winning author ofWater: Asia’s New Battleground.”
