America is back. Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy. As I said in my inaugural address, we will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again, not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s. … America’s alliances are our greatest asset, and leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and key partners once again. — Joe Biden
As complex as foreign policy may be, there is also a simplicity which governs international relations summed up by the following aphorism: A rising tide lifts all boats, while a falling tide sinks all ships. In a globalized world, our interconnectedness increases our vulnerability to others' decisions. Increasingly, decision-making on the global stage has a ripple effect felt throughout the world.
Yet, the president who heavily criticized his predecessor for unilateral decision-making left his allies completely in the dark during one of the most consequential decisions in this century. Needless to say, our allies have become disillusioned.
Between the French, Germans and the U.K., political leaders have called Biden’s decision a catastrophic error of judgement, they have labeled his diplomacy a great delusion, and decried his actions as doing fundamental damage to the political and moral credibility of the West.
The botched pull-out of American troops, leaving behind billions of dollars of military equipment, hundreds of American citizens, thousands of Afghan allies, and a citizenry now ruled by an oppressive jihadist regime cannot be stored away in a memory hole.
The consequences of this error are already taking a toll with the tragic deaths of 13 American soldiers, and as I write there are six planes with American citizens being held hostage in northern Afghanistan. The tide is falling and the boats are sinking.
Undoubtedly, foreign policy is incredibly complex. The interests, motives, and actions of actors on the global stage are as diverse as they are numerous.
The tensions between isolationism and interventionism and idealism and realism have crossed party lines since the American founding. Yet, there is something distinct about the Biden administration’s brand of foreign policy.
Biden’s appalling trust in global terrorists is complemented by a woke identity crisis focusing military training on America’s evils rather than on foreign threats. An administration that believes they are leading a morally bankrupt nation will make decisions reflective of this conviction.
This Neville Chamberlain-esque philosophy represents the genesis of a new endless war. As stated by Winston Churchill, “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.”
The Red Pill of foreign policy looks a lot like reviving the ideas and ideals which led to past success, and this need not be a partisan exercise. The concentric circles of foreign policy interests on both sides of the aisle are overlapping in many respects.
Indeed a veto-proof majority of Americans share the same instincts on the Afghanistan failure. The way forward is to look back at the moments where America overcame the darkest of enemies.
Undoubtedly, every leader has failed, but the most successful prevented domestic political battles from diverting their focus on the enemy. From FDR’s steely resolve after Pearl Harbor, to JFK’s stand during the Cuban Missile Crisis, to Reagan’s speech challenging Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, these leaders appropriately approximated the enemy, but never lost faith in America’s ability to overcome in the end.
Diplomacy will only be successful when America is strong. History bears evidence to this fact.
During the Barbary Wars, it was the growing American strength at sea which eventually led to our victory over the Barbary pirates who held Americans hostage for ransom.
The more this administration focuses on our societal divisions, the more our enemies will use this to their advantage. When America falls, our allies suffer while our enemies prosper.
When America rises, our allies prosper while our enemies suffer. Let us desperately pray for rising tides before the damage becomes irreversible.
Throughout the months that follow, this blog will present the left-of-center perspective on hot-button issues such as abortion, economics, foreign affairs, free speech, religious freedom, and more followed by a “Red Pill” rebuttal.
Jonathan Jakubowski is the Author of a newly-released book that has gained national attention, "Bellwether Blues, A Conservative Awakening of the Millennial Soul." More information about Jonathan may be found here. Read Jonathan Jakubowski's Reports — More Here.