World leaders wonder who is running America's foreign policy
With Kamala Harris taking calls from foreign leaders now, less than one month into the Joe Biden presidency, and Joe's spokesweasel Jen Psaki saying Joe won't be taking foreign visitors, it's pretty obvious that foreign leaders are wondering: who the heck is running America? Why can't Joe come to the phone? Is the Biden "transitional" presidency really a "regency"?
The signs of it are all over. Here's a list of how bad it is, starting with America's allies:
Israel: After Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu gave Biden an early congratulatory call over the phone for his "victory," the locals are now wondering if the Biden administration is "ghosting" them. Three weeks into his term, he's called practically everyone but Israel. No calls to Bibi. Israel's foreign policy establishment is ready to call it a "full blown snub." And with open anti-Semites like Rep. Ilhan "all about the benjamins" Omar now promoted by Joe's Democrats to a top spot at the House committee on foreign affairs, there's reason to think there's something nasty going on. They are indeed wondering who's running the show.
Taiwan: Taiwan's leader, too, gave Biden an early congratulatory call and within days got a Chinese communist incursion into its airspace. Biden threw out some tough words, but apparently nothing else, and obviously, the Taiwanese are concerned, even as they cross their fingers. According to Wang Hao, a Taiwanese local commentator quoted by NPR:
WANG: I think that public opinion in Taiwan obviously is willing to give the benefit of the doubt.
RUWITCH: The benefit of the doubt for now at least. John Ruwitch, NPR News.
That isn't exactly a resounding vote of confidence, such as President Trump got, cited earlier in the report.
Saudi Arabia: No normal diplomacy — just diplomacy by digs and undercutting action is all the Saudis are seeing, and they're noticing. Biden cut off aid to Yemen, which allows the Houthi rebels supported by Iran a field day and undercuts Saudi Arabia. As for Saudi Arabia, Biden had called for making the Saudis "the pariah that they are" and vows to deal only with the kingdom's elderly retired King Salman instead of the desert kingdom's actual man on the job, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is not without missteps but certainly has made the country generally better, allowing women to drive and releasing prisoners, as well as taking significant steps to befriend Israel and check Iran. No phone calls, of course. Don't be surprised if he's puzzled at best.
Ukraine: Biden doesn't want to touch this one, and Ukraine's leaders are antsy. According to The National Interest:
For weeks now, Zelenskyy has sent numerous private and public messages; call me! He desperately wants a phone call with the new president.
He isn't getting one, given young Hunter's ties with Burisma and the criminal probe presumably still happening around it. Zekensky tried to get Biden's attention with a long interview with Axios, which, as a coincidence, is run by Evan Ryan, a Clinton Foundation deputy chair for "governance" and Axios co-founder. She just happens to be secretary of state Tony Blinken's wife. See how these things work?
Colombia: Lucky Colombia. After expending decades of blood and treasure on eradicating Marxist narco-terrorist cocaine kingpins and all their drug profits, Colombia learns that Joe Biden wants to end the "war on drugs." Colombians tried the globalist approach with the election of its last president, Juan Manuel Santos, and reverted back to the nation's conservative norm with the election of Ivan Duque, who's moved heaven and earth to wipe out the cocaine crop. Colombia can't get its phone calls returned, and that's weird stuff, given that Joe used to call the Colombian president all the time back when he was President Obama's vice president. Colombia's cordial and conservative ambassador, Francisco Santos, is a former vice president, so all the more reason for Joe to talk to the Colombians. But he won't. And the signals that Colombia's getting are pretty nasty — Joe is ordering them around. According to Colombia Reports:
A press release by Blinken's spokesperson Ned Price made it clear that US President Joe Biden's priorities would require major policy changes from his far-right Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque.
The secretary of state said the US government will help Bogota "as it extends the benefits of peace throughout the country" and ensures "the protection of human rights."
Good luck with that one — we know what these endless demands lead to. Worse still, Biden will yank their drug-fighting aid and cut them off at the knees on the matter of Colombia's being flooded with Venezuelan refugees. You bet they're wondering.
Now let's look at opponents and rivals in assorted hellholes:
China: China's leaders have been officious, quick to tell us what is best for us, sounding as though Biden's their dog and they're cracking the whip. Stuff like this (emphasis mine) is what's coming out, according to the Associated Press:
"I think after this very difficult and extraordinary time, both the Chinese and American people deserve a better future," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily briefing.
She said China and the U.S. need to relaunch cooperation in a number of areas. She particularly welcomed the new administration's decision to remain in the World Health Organization and return to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
"Many people of insight in the international community are looking forward to the early return of Sino-U.S. relations to the correct track in making due contributions to jointly address the major and urgent challenges facing the world today," Hua said.
The oppressors of Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and beyond are telling us what's best for us, being all concerned for the welfare of the American people, you see. Compassionate bunch. Anybody believe that one? With Biden's son on their string as the Chinese professor said, and yet to "unwind" his big Chinese investment that has brought him party-favor diamonds, it sounds pretty fishy.
The Chicom officiousness continues with their idea of what "the correct track" is for U.S.-China relations, with just one country making that determination. you see. It's not the one represented by Old Joe. Meanwhile, their praise of America's entry to the WHO and the Paris climate agreement reeks of self-interest. The WHO is completely controlled and corrupted by China, while Paris requires America to destroy its economy while China, the world's biggest polluter, sits on its hands. Sounds like just the foreign policy that China wants. Walking dog Biden seems awfully convenient.
Cuba: The military dictatorship in Havana is holding its cards tight to its vest, and a search for "Biden" in its most prominent state-controlled media turns up zero. It made a tight statement about how it "continues to believe in the possibility of a constructive bilateral relationship where our differences are respected" (pay no attention to those torture chamber) and continues to rave about the flimsy U.S. embargo, as well as extricating itself from charges that it engaged in sonic attacks on the U.S. embassy in Havana, something that suggests it wants Biden to re-open it. Granma spews amazing and grotesque lies about Cuba's dissidents (I read them so you don't have to, they are disgusting and can't be unread). They also rave a lot about NGOs and the king of them, George Soros' Open Society Foundation, coming for them, something that's a new one, but hopefully keeping them busy. Otherwise, a lot of radio silence, nothing about sucking up to Biden, several statement about support for China. Biden has sent signals about not going back to the Obama hog wallow that made Cuba's brutal regime so rich and happy, but there is said to be interest in returning the bucks to Cuba's military, which is what his lift of remittance restrictions will do. Lucky Cuba. Cuba, however, does have allies and proxies. One that appears to be in this category is a leftist NGO called "Cuba Study Group," which called on assessing the "effectiveness" of sanctions on Cuba's brutal military rulers, which appears to be an overture to lifting them, complete with helpful talking points. Another Cuba apologist is Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass). He's calling for prisoner swaps and is undoubtedly pleased, as are Cuba's rulers, at Biden's vow to shut down Guantanamo and bring the terrorists to U.S. soil, where leftist judges and prosecutors will find a way to let them out. It sounds like Cuba's letting its useful fools in the states take the lead.
Venezuela: For Venezuela's Marxist tyrants, they're hearing tough words and shouting their own insults back, but in reality, it's gravy time for them with Biden. Latest news is that with Biden shutting down U.S. energy pipeline construction, he's planning to make America dependent on foreign oil, and sure enough, that includes Venezuela. Surprise, surprise, the energy trade press is reporting that Biden is planning to lift the embargo on Venezuelan oil, put in there by President Trump. Millions of dollars to the Maduro dictatorship will flow. Sound fine for us? It's fine for them.
Iran: Like many of his foreign policy statements, Biden is all bluster and bee ess. Iran's mullahs, though, are looking for better times, with a pro-Iran writer writing in a column at Business Times that Biden's choice of personnel are more important, and his early decisions to move a U.S. aircraft carrier out of the Persian Gulf as well as cut off arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, made Biden's Iran policy "better than Biden makes it sound." Better for whom? You decide.
And there are plenty more of these mixed signals, all of which make world leaders, friendly and unfriendly, wonder who the heck is running things - Omar, Kamala, Biden, or the swamp?
All in all, this isn't the 'America's back' approach that Biden promised.
Image: Screen shot from a camera aimed at a television set, processed with Adobe Camera Raw.