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FOREIGN POLICY

Russia and Ukraine Likely to Ignore Biden’s Attempts to Sabotage Trump’s Ukraine Peace Effort Given the havoc that Biden’s post-election Ukraine policy decisions have caused, Donald Trump cannot return to the Oval Office fast enough. Fred Fleitz

https://amgreatness.com/2024/11/22/russia-and-ukraine-likely-to-ignore-bidens-attempts-to-sabotage-trumps-ukraine-peace-effort/

In December 1992, after the security and humanitarian situations in Somalia significantly deteriorated, the George H.W. Bush administration decided to deploy U.S. troops as part of a UN-sanctioned peace enforcement mission. Because President Bush had just lost the 1992 presidential election and would be leaving this crisis to his successor, Bill Clinton, Bush consulted with President-elect Clinton and obtained his agreement before making this major foreign policy decision.

This instance of post-election foreign policy collaboration by incoming and outgoing presidents represented the U.S. tradition of the peaceful transfer of power—and an outgoing president respecting the will of the American people who just elected a new president. Unfortunately, President Biden has chosen to ignore these crucial traditions concerning the war in Ukraine and instead appears determined to sabotage the policies of his successor.

President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that one of his top national security priorities is swiftly ending the war in Ukraine. Trump is determined to change U.S. policy on the war by ending it instead of supporting a long war of attrition that Ukraine is sure to lose. Under the peaceful transfer of power tradition, President Biden should cooperate with the policy of his successor during his final days in office.

Unfortunately, Biden has taken a defiant approach to Trump’s new policy.

Biden decided last weekend to allow Ukraine to attack targets in Russia with the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACM). Ukraine had been asking for permission to fire these weapons at targets deep inside Russia for almost a year, but Biden refused—until after the election—because he worried this would dangerously escalate the war.

Seriously, Is Biden Trying To Start WWIII To Get Even With Trump?

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/11/22/seriously-is-biden-trying-to-start-wwiii-to-get-even-with-trump/

A mentally-challenged President Joe Biden turned 82 years old this week, a much-diminished man from his hey-day as a Democratic Party Senate stalwart in the last century. But one part of his character is undimmed by the passage of the years: His legendary spite and gleeful willingness to betray his political foes.

Knowing this, is he now about to set off a third world war to settle an election score with newly re-elected President Donald Trump, who Biden still calls an “existential threat” to America?

We’re talking of course of Biden’s inexplicably dangerous decision to encourage Ukraine to use long-range U.S. missiles against Russian territory, which has already prompted a response from Russia in the form of a missile barrage against Ukraine.

Biden’s also approving antipersonnel mines for use against Russian forces, along with sending yet another $237 million in military aid and forgiving $5 billion in loans.

It makes no sense at all, unless you see it as a way of showing he still has the reins of government firmly in hand, and wants to hand newly re-elected President Donald Trump a nasty, dangerous mess as he takes the oath of office on January 20, 2025.

Can Trump End Ukraine’s ‘Endless War?’ How he could pull that unlikely deal off. Victor Davis Hanson

https://www.frontpagemag.com/can-trump-end-ukraines-endless-war/

Trump was elected in part on promises to avoid “endless wars” of the sort that cost American blood and treasure in Afghanistan and Iraq but without resulting in strategic advantage or civilized calm.

Yet as a Jacksonian, Trump also restored American deterrence through punitive strikes against ISIS and terrorist thugs like Baghdadi and Soleimani—without being bogged down in costly follow-ups. During the last four administrations, Putin stayed within his borders only during the Trump four years.

But upon entering office, Trump will likely still be faced with something far more challenging as he confronts what has become the greatest European killing field since World War II—the cauldron on the Ukrainian border that has likely already cost 1-1.5 million combined dead, wounded, and missing Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians.

There is no end in sight after three years of escalating violence. But there are increasing worries that strategically logical and morally defensible—but geopolitically dangerous—Ukrainian strikes on the Russian interior will nonetheless escalate and lead to a wider war among the world’s nuclear powers.

Many on the right wish for Trump to immediately cut off all aid to Ukraine for what they feel is an unwinnable war, even if that abrupt cessation would end any leverage with which to force Putin to negotiate.

They claim the war was instigated by a globalist left, serving as a proxy conflict waged to ruin Russia at the cost of Ukrainian soldiers. They see it orchestrated by a now non-democratic Ukrainian government, lacking elections, a free press, or opposition parties, led by an ungracious and corrupt Zelensky cadre that has allied with the American left in an election year.

In contrast, many on the left see Putin’s invasion and the right’s weariness with the costs of the conflict as the long-awaited global proof of the Trump-Russian “collusion” unicorn.

Biden Administration Sent Over $2,000,000,000 to ‘Palestinians’ Since Oct. 7 Daniel Greenfield

https://jihadwatch.org/2024/11/biden-administration-sent-over-2000000000-to-palestinians-since-oct-7?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=biden-administration-sent-over-2000000000-to-palestinians-since-oct-7

Kill over 1,000 people in one of the worst Islamic terrorist attacks in modern history and what do you get?

Over $2 billion and counting. Or around $2 million for every person they murdered on Oct 7.

USAID, which has been repeatedly accused of complicity in funding Islamic terrorism around the world just bragged that it handed out another $230 million while boasting of its total of $2.1 billion in ‘aid’ since Oct 7.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $230 million in additional funding to support economic recovery and development programs in the West Bank and Gaza. This significant investment highlights USAID’s commitment to improving the lives of individuals and communities in the region amidst challenging conditions. Since 2021, USAID/West Bank and Gaza has invested over $600 million in economic support funding of the Palestinian people, in addition to the over $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance since October 7, 2023.

The Biden-Harris administration has made America one of the world’s leading funders of Islamic terrorism. Take away a lot of our ‘humanitarian aid’ and a lot of the terrorism will go with it.

Can Trump End Ukraine’s ‘Endless War?’ There are lots of parties who want, and lots of incentives for, an end to our 21st-century Verdun. By Victor Davis Hanson

https://amgreatness.com/2024/11/18/can-trump-end-ukraines-endless-war/

Trump was elected in part on promises to avoid “endless wars” of the sort that cost American blood and treasure in Afghanistan and Iraq but without resulting in strategic advantage or civilized calm.

Yet as a Jacksonian, Trump also restored American deterrence through punitive strikes against ISIS and terrorist thugs like Baghdadi and Soleimani—without being bogged down in costly follow-ups. During the last four administrations, Putin stayed within his borders only during the Trump four years.

But upon entering office, Trump will likely still be faced with something far more challenging as he confronts what has become the greatest European killing field since World War II—the cauldron on the Ukrainian border that has likely already cost 1-1.5 million combined dead, wounded, and missing Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians.

There is no end in sight after three years of escalating violence. But there are increasing worries that strategically logical and morally defensible—but geopolitically dangerous—Ukrainian strikes on the Russian interior will nonetheless escalate and lead to a wider war among the world’s nuclear powers.

Many on the right wish for Trump to immediately cut off all aid to Ukraine for what they feel is an unwinnable war, even if that abrupt cessation would end any leverage with which to force Putin to negotiate.

They claim the war was instigated by a globalist left, serving as a proxy conflict waged to ruin Russia at the cost of Ukrainian soldiers. They see it orchestrated by a now non-democratic Ukrainian government, lacking elections, a free press, or opposition parties, led by an ungracious and corrupt Zelensky cadre that has allied with the American left in an election year.

Trump II: Challenges Ahead by Amir Taheri

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21119/trump-challenges

The real question, therefore, is what could Trump II do to restore America’s prestige across the globe and reassert itself as the indispensable power that it still is? The answer is: plenty.

In fact, Trump, even if he doesn’t do anything, will repair some of the damage that the past three administrations shaped by Barack Obama have done to US standing and credibility as a world power.

In those 12 years of Obama and Biden, US leaders went around the world to apologize for imaginary injustices done by Americans to various segments of mankind, mused about “leading from behind” and presented the United States as a room service that doesn’t even ask you to sign the bill let alone offer a tip.

Under the three Obama administrations, with Trump I as a brief interlude, the US saw Russia attack and occupy parts of Georgia and annex Crimea and eventually invade Ukraine, and the US did nothing.

Obama drew a red line against the use of chemical weapons to kill Syrian people, but when Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, did so, went into purdah.

To divert attention from the Middle East, Obama conjured the “pivot to Asia” slogan, while letting China grab a bigger chunk of the world, including US markets, in the name of free trade.

Also remember that regardless of what experts or even Trump himself say, the 47th president is likely to be as unpredictable as the 45th one, a feature that helped him in foreign policy last time and may do so again.

What will Donald Trump’s foreign policy look like in his second term?

This is the question currently making the buzz in the commentariat around the world.

Western European pundits claim that Trump will abandon the Ukrainian lamb to the Russian wolf or, at least, force the European shepherd to foot the bill for keeping it half alive.

Trump Would Be Wise To Deliver Regime Change in Iran by Con Coughlin

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21120/trump-iran-regime-change

The October 7, 2023 attacks carried out against Israel by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists…. was the direct result of Tehran’s ability to fund the terrorist movement to the tune of $100 million a year, an operation that would not have been possible without Biden’s lenient attitude towards the ayatollahs.

Trump may come to see as well that, unfortunately, due to the deep-seated commitment of Iran’s regime in exporting its brand of Islam, as enshrined in its constitution, there can be no real long-term peace in the Middle East without regime change, especially if Iran has nuclear weapons — not to mention the global arms race that would follow such an event.

Not only would many of Iran’s neighbours be relieved, but its captive citizens could then be free to choose leaders better aligned with their aspirations. A liberated Iran might even join the Abraham Accords….

Now that Donald Trump has secured his remarkable victory in the US presidential election, supporting regime change in Iran could soon emerge as one of his new administration’s top priorities after he takes office in January.

Trump’s no-nonsense approach to confronting the ayatollahs’ malign influence in the region was one of the defining characteristics during his first term in the White House.

One of his more laudable foreign policy initiatives was to withdraw from the flawed nuclear deal with Iran agreed by former President Barack Obama in 2015.

10 things Trump can do to clean up Biden’s messes abroad by Douglas Murray

https://nypost.com/2024/11/07/opinion/10-things-trump-can-do-to-clean-up-bidens-messes-abroad/

Donald Trump’s victory on Tuesday was so overwhelming that even his opponents seem to have gone quiet for a bit. Relatively speaking.

No doubt they will soon start constructing a whole new set of roadblocks to throw in his way. But there is no doubt that the president-elect now has an opportunity to reshape not just America, but the world.

The free world is desperately in need of strong leadership. And the un-free world is in desperate need of containment.

Here are 10 things the Trump administration could do to clean up the Biden-Harris chaos, and bring the peace that Trump-Vance promised in the campaign:

Ukraine

Trump has promised to negotiate a settlement to the war in Ukraine. It is inevitable at this stage that this will include some land compromises for the Ukrainians.

Some of us wish that wasn’t so. But Russia needs a way out, and Ukraine needs to not lose any more of its younger generation.

The quid pro quo should be that Trump makes it clear to Russia’s Vladimir Putin that there’ll be no more invasions on his watch.

And no more actual Russian election interference in neighboring countries like Georgia and Moldova.

America’s Enemies Working Together Is the Biden-Harris Foreign-Policy Legacy By Pat Fallon

https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/11/americas-enemies-working-together-is-the-biden-harris-foreign-policy-legacy/

Our adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are working closer together than ever before and appear far more willing to undertake acts of aggression.

In February 2021, after less than a month at the helm in Washington, D.C., the Biden-Harris State Department revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation for Ansrallah, more commonly known as the Houthis, a belligerent, armed militant group operating out of Yemen. The message was clear: Even if your group is defined by targeting innocent people, the Biden-Harris White House will bestow the same legitimacy upon you as any nation-state by granting you a seat at the negotiating table.

Nearly four years later, we have intelligence reporting that indicates that Russia is providing Houthi terrorists with real-time targeting data to strike commercial ships in the Red Sea. A major U.S. adversary is providing known terrorists with intelligence to wreak havoc upon international commerce — what went wrong?

Much has transpired since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, and any objective observer will note that the world is far less safe — with the potential of a great-power conflict at the highest point since 1939. Our adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are working closer together than ever before and appear far more willing to undertake acts of aggression.

Many point to the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 as the catalyst for how the Biden-Harris foreign-policy agenda would play out. The chaotic withdrawal, which culminated in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, was the result of reckless planning and a refusal to listen to the concerns of the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and the U.S. Central Command commander, who we now know pleaded with Biden and Harris to reverse course. By pursuing their naked political objective of leaving Afghanistan before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Biden-Harris White House stranded American citizens and Afghan allies on the ground. Russia and China, no doubt, took note of the incompetence displayed by U.S. leaders.

Biden’s Hollow Warnings to China Are Leading to War by Gordon G. Chang

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21036/biden-hollow-warnings-to-china

The world’s two most dangerous states, Xi Jinping’s People’s Republic of China and Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation, have been growing closer in part, it seems, because they see there is no cost to ignoring the warnings of the Biden administration.

“Mr. Biden can either enforce his red line through sanctions or other means, or he can signal a collapse of American resolve by applying merely symbolic penalties. Beijing and its strategic partners in Moscow, Tehran, Pyongyang, and Caracas would surely interpret half-hearted enforcement as a green light to deepen their campaign of global chaos. Mr. Xi sees a historic opportunity here to undermine the West.” – Matt Pottinger, wsj.com, April 30, 2024

Since then, the Biden administration has done little but impose meaningless sanctions on Chinese parties, such as the ones announced on October 17 on two companies.

The American inaction today brings to mind President Obama’s infamous red-line failure in Syria in 2013. We should not be surprised: Biden, then vice president, was Obama’s foreign policy advisor.

Britain and France [last century] issued a series of threatening words to Berlin. German leaders, from the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936 to the eve of the invasion of Poland in late summer 1939, ignored them.

“Warnings were crafted in such a way so they could not be enforced and understood as not intended to be enforced.” — Arthur Waldron, retired Lauder Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania, to Gatestone Institute, October 17, 2024.

China’s aggressive leader apparently believes he can with impunity do just about anything.

Hollow warnings lead to war.

“These are not dual-use capabilities,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters in Brussels on September 10, describing China’s aid to Russia for use against Ukraine. “These are component pieces of a very substantial effort on the part of China to help sustain, build, and diversify various elements of the Russian war machine.”

The Beijing-Moscow cooperation, Campbell argued, is “not a tactical alliance.” It is, instead, “a fundamental alignment.” The Chinese-Russian hook-up was “orchestrated at the highest levels” in the two capitals, he said.