On Thursday night, President Joe Biden finally decided to get serious and give the American people what they deserve: an Oval Office address about the dangerous state of the world and how he plans to protect U.S. interests.
But despite high expectations and hopes Biden could step up in the moment and show some real leadership, he put his weakness on full display and provided no confidence that the Middle East on the brink will be pulled back anytime soon. Given his positioning toward the rest of the world is one of appeasement, nobody should be surprised.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his move on Ukraine in January 2022, knowing Biden was slow and weak. The U.S. bolstering of Ukraine has been an approach of "drip, drip, drip." There was a failure to provide the Ukrainian military with what it needed to prevent an invasion through deterrence. Once the bombing started, the Russian onslaught could have been blunted with a full-force response – in order to end the fighting quickly. Instead, the war is being drawn out, and the front line has been stuck for months with little movement.
Putin's move also came after Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Countless Americans were left stranded behind enemy lines, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was abandoned, and the Taliban, which the U.S. went in to destroy more than 20 years ago, easily marched across the country and came back into power. They now control the country along with billions in weapons and equipment the Pentagon left behind.
Then, on October 7, 2023, the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history — comparable to six 9/11 attacks when adjusted by population — was carried out in the most brutal way possible by Iranian-backed Hamas. Babies were slaughtered, families were tied up and burned alive, and elderly people were shot. Thirty Americans were killed in the attack, and countless were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. And yet, this wasn't worth more than four sentences in Biden's remarks.
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But recent attacks aren't just being launched against our friends in Israel as Hamas and Hezbollah continue to send rockets into the country.
During Biden's remarks, rockets landed at a U.S. military base in Baghdad, just outside of the airport. In the hours prior to the Oval Office address, half a dozen attacks were carried out on U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq.
"U.S. troops have been repeatedly attacked in Iraq and Syria in recent days, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups with regional tensions soaring during the Israel-Hamas war," Reuters reports. "There has been an uptick in attacks on U.S. forces since the conflict in Israel broke out on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants from Hamas attacked southern Israel. On Wednesday, a drone hit U.S. forces in Syria resulting in minor injuries, while another one was brought down."
In other words, Iran isn't deterred. Why would they be? Especially after a lack of oil sanction enforcement from the Biden administration resulted in an $85 billion terror boom. Not to mention the recent expiration of UN sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile and drone program.
Given Biden glossed over the terrorist regime's direct role in longtime and current Mideast instability, their continued aggression is entirely predictable.
Biden gave a speech about problems he helped create through weakness, which Russia saw and invaded Ukraine. The catastrophic, humiliating departure from Afghanistan destroyed U.S. credibility on the world stage. His enabling of Iran, which continues today, is why Israel is under attack and the Middle East is on the brink.
Talk is cheap. Biden is weak, and so are his words. Unless his foreign policy drastically changes, specifically his capitulation to Iran, things will get much worse quickly. The Middle East is simmering, and it's getting hotter. One miscalculation or miscommunication could send the region and the world into violent chaos.
