https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/biden-national-security-team-threat-america-james-jay-carafano
"President Biden's Euro-tour this past week played like many a horror movie, where things go from ‘eerily off’ to full-blown crisis in a matter of seconds. His trip was meant to reassure Europeans that when it comes to beating back Russian President
Vladimir Putin, America is in it to win it. What happened was something else entirely.
On the surface, the folksy ‘Uncle Joe’ routine plays well in Europe. Biden’s statements of solidarity, along with his reassurances of U.S. commitment for Ukraine and the defense of NATO, get good press. Most importantly for most European leaders,
he never asks them for anything more than they are already willing to do. He is the inoffensive bystander-in-chief.
Trailing behind the likeable Biden, however, is a dark shadow. Two perplexing problems pose a nagging worry for the future of the transatlantic community.
It does not help that a national security team that has proven itself subpar backs Biden. Vice President Harris's European visit, for instance, looked like the stuff of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. The White House would be hard-pressed to cite one
positive outcome.
...
The second problem is a deeper one than the cognitive abilities of the president and his team’s lack of competence. It’s that they have shown no skill, no ability, to formulate and execute strategy to safeguard the long-term interests of the United
States.
More than a year after taking office, Biden boasts a national gender strategy, but still no national security strategy.
The lack of strategic vision is particularly troubling right now. How is the U.S. going to lead after this war to ensure that Putin never troubles us again? "
To be sure, Foxnews is a GOP mouth piece. Negative comments against a Democrat administration has to be taken with a large grain of salt.
Nevertheless, it seems Biden's high level meetings with foreign leaders are more proforma than substantial. Involvement is about showing up more than asserting leadership.
But the problem may be deeper than Biden and his team's cognitive ability. However intelligent is his team. Strategic vision would be limited by the reality. In this case, a complex reality shaped by history.
“The language people speak in the corridors of power, is not economics or politics. It is history," observed former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
Language, policy, and strategy are all shaped by history. In this sense, history will not end.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)