Serving as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’ve seen firsthand how President Biden’s lack of a clear and coherent foreign policy and his weak leadership on the global stage is putting the United States and our allies at risk. Following on the heels of the horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is clear the President is willing to let bad actors and terrorists take the lead on actions harmful to the security of the United States and our interests. Russia is now massing troops and tanks along the Ukrainian border ready to re-invade a sovereign nation, China is conducting dangerous military actions toward Taiwan, and the crisis at our southern border continues to be ignored by this administration. This is what happens when we lead from the rear.
Ukraine is turning into Afghanistan 2.0, demonstrating again a lack of any planning or foresight in our President’s foreign policy decisions. On the House Armed Services Committee, we were fully aware for months of the growing problems between Ukraine and Russia, but the Biden administration did nothing. Now over the weekend, we see the President flailing with knee-jerk solutions, like sending troops to the region. This is the last thing we should be doing, and it was all completely preventable. The Ukraine situation is unfolding almost exactly like Afghanistan.
The President and his administration were fully aware of reports of the growing threat of Russia in Ukraine, just like the reports of a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, but he’s simply ignored the problem and done nothing to prevent it. The equipment and resources paid for by taxpayers and abandoned in Afghanistan could have been used to support our allies and partners in Europe, but now we have given these over to the Taliban. Providing no coherent strategy to the threats facing the United States and our Allies is foreign policy negligence, and it is making the world a more dangerous place.
When Joe Biden ran for president in 2020, he tweeted out, “Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be president. He doesn’t want me to be our nominee. If you’re wondering why, it’s because I’m the only person in this field who has ever gone toe-to-toe with him.” Well, here we are today and now President Joe Biden is demonstrating zero ability to push back on Russia’s threat to sovereign nations. His tweet must have been talking about dancing toe-to-toe with Putin because it certainly has nothing to do with pushing back or applying military pressure.
The job of the President is simple – protect the people of the United States by securing our borders and protecting our interests abroad. As I’ve stated before, the American people deserve leadership from President Biden, but so far we have seen none. The President must take action to protect our borders and show strength and leadership on the global stage before it’s too late.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
