The World on the Precipice
The Lights Are Blinking Red--Everywhere
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a problem.
Our enemies are emboldened, and they’re making moves on the battlefield. On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin—a man who retreated from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Niger—confirmed that at least 3,000 North Korean special operation soldiers were in Russia training for combat against Ukraine.
Here’s what Secretary Austin had to say about it:
“If they’re co-belligerents—[if] their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf—that is a very, very serious issue.”
Wow. Riveting. Why else would they be there, Secretary Austin? Perhaps they’re just vacationing?
This, of course, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. In June, Russian “President” Vladimir Putin traveled to North Korea for the first time since 2000 and signed a “mutual defense pact” with Donald Trump’s little Rocket Man, Kim Jong Un (KJU-Boom Acronym!). KJU’s Orwellian nightmare of a country has supplied the Russian war machine with artillery for a while. At least 2 million North Korean artillery shells were sent to Russia—this summer! In return, little Rocket Man gets some cash and some refined petroleum.
How big of a deal is this? I’ll let Ukraine’s head of Military Intelligence, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, explain it.
Pyongyang is "supplying crazy volumes of artillery shells that are critical for the Russian Federation,” Budanov said. "And that is also critical for us. And unfortunately for the time being we cannot do anything about it.”
But you know who could do something about it?
President Joe Biden, Lloyd “Is It Time to Retreat” Austin, and Secretary of State Anthony “Ceasefire” Blinken could do something about North Korea’s reckless move. But will they?
Nah. Don’t believe me? I know, I know, I’m just an uber hawk. But here’s Phillips Payson O’Brien over at The Atlantic, making the case for me.
The Biden administration’s response has been to run out the clock and pass the issue off to its successor. Its excuses have become self-fulfilling: The U.S. has had countless opportunities to step up and help Ukraine promptly, and in every instance, it has prevaricated and wasted time. At some point, Americans should realize that Putin isn’t wondering what the U.S. thinks about him; he is trying relentlessly to win his war. The U.S. should respond to North Korea’s involvement by doing the one thing it always should have done: give Ukraine the means to defeat the Russian invasion.
Again and again, President Joe Biden and his crack staff at the NSC have dithered again and again and again.
It’s what President Biden does. Let’s take a look at some of his achievements.
He’s providing cash to the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the Haqqani Network, who killed 5K+ American soldiers.
Despite a surge of Islamic State attacks in Iraq, President Biden and Secretary of Defense Austin are going to retreat from Iraq—-again.
Biden has done more in the Pacific to strengthen his allies but has yet to announce a rearmament program or a comprehensive strategy to combat China’s revanchist aims throughout the region.
He prolonged Israel’s war against Hamas, specifically placing onerous restrictions on their Rafah operation, resulting in a spike in IDF casualties. Nevertheless, the IDF persisted and succeeded. While Biden’s baffling moves aimed to assuage his base, they prolonged the war and caused Vice President Harris to make some rather baffling pronouncements.
President Joe Biden likes to take credit for strengthening the NATO alliance and holding the line against Putin. Fair enough. Nevertheless, Ukraine and Russia are still mired in a slugfest despite Putin’s disastrous initial invasion. While Biden and Harris would be infinitely better on Ukraine than the Orange G*d King, it hurts Harris’ re-election efforts.
Why?
Because American voters—bless their little hearts—don’t pay attention to foreign policy. However, when they do poke their head up from binge-watching reality television, they tend to notice Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the largest ethnic cleansing of Jews since the Holocaust. And while Biden isn’t solely to blame for all of this, it places Harris in an unenviable position to defend his foreign policy.
And when you’re explaining in politics, that means you’re losing. If the polls are accurate, Biden’s foreign policy missteps will contribute to President Trump’s victory.
Good luck, America.
My guess is that the Chinese are closely watching how the North Korean troops perform in combat with Ukrainian forces. Continued lack of commitment to Ukraine by the U.S. seems to be signaling that more aggressive stances by China are likely in the Indo-Pacific region going forward. In my opinion this is a result of fellow travelers in the U.S. Congress who would rather win an election than counter the rise of Russia and China by providing effective support to Ukraine. It seems that these same people torpedoed an effective border security bill for similar reasons. We have met the enemy and he is us.