As emphasized by then-President Ronald Reagan in his March 23, 1983 address to the nation on defense and national security, the "most basic duty [of] any president is the duty to protect and strengthen the peace."
Fast forward to the present, President Joe Biden and the radical Democrats have failed our nation and our allies in that most fundamental duty.
They have led us a on a regressive path to national weakness through the:
- Complete failure to secure our southern border;
- Stifling America’s energy production and subverting our global energy dominance;
- Failing to invest in our national defense;
- The tragic, humiliating debacle of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that resulted in 13 service members losing their lives and arming the Taliban with billions of dollars of American military gear and weapons; and
- Foolhardy attempts at appeasing Iran that ultimately precipitated the brutal Hamas attack against our ally Israel and the deaths of at least 29 Americans just one week ago.
Biden has emboldened our enemies and compromised our national security.
Reagan’s answer in 1983 for the current crisis: "peace through our strength."
This was his fundamental foreign policy strategy to ensure peace with freedom as he raised our nation from the abyss of the Carter presidency in the 1970’s to winning the Cold War in the 1990s, bringing down the Berlin Wall, and dismantling the Soviet Union.
Our economic and military strength is the key to deterring bad actors from attacking the United States, our allies, and our vital interests. "[W]eakness only invites aggression" from our enemies warned Reagan.
Biden Degrading Our Defense Capability
Militarily, as China invests heavily in its military and terrorist threats expand across the globe, Biden has failed year after year to invest in defense leading to a decline in military power that threatens our national security:
This deterioration of our military capability signals weakness to our enemies around the world.
Biden’s Appeasement Strategy with Iran Leads to Brutal Hamas Terrorist Attack
Iran’s determined objectives are to destroy Israel, dominate the Mideast and become a nuclear power. Indeed, in the wake of the Hamas invasion of Israel, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proclaimed, "God willing, the cancer [Israel] will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestine people . . . "
To that end, Iran has trained, armed, and funded terrorist groups like Hamas.
There is no rational negotiation possible with Iran and its terrorist partners like Hamas.
They do not operate from the same value system. Iran and Hamas will never accept any peace that includes the existence of Israel.
Biden and his advisors should have known better than attempt to negotiate with Iran.
Instead, for three years the Biden administration has senselessly sought to appease Iran in an effort to negotiate an Obama-era nuclear deal that itself fails to truly protect America and the world against Iran becoming a nuclear power.
Upon his election, Biden ended the Trump Administration’s maximum pressure strategy against Iran, including relaxing the enforcement of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
This allowed Iran to increase its oil exports substantially, mostly to China, and the influx of $30-40 billion in oil revenue, which enabled Iran to fund and arm Hamas.
Additional funding for Iran came from Biden unfreezing $6 billion of Iranian assets in exchange for the release of five Americans about a month ago.
Iran conned Biden. Playing along with Biden’s desperate ambition for a nuclear deal so that Biden would ease sanctions, Iran reaped tens of billions of dollars all the while staying focused on its true mission to export terrorism and destroy Israel.
The Way Forward
Like Reagan, after four years of decline under Carter, Republicans must lead the way to restore America. This will require as a start:
- Rebuilding our military power;
- Securing our southern border; and
- Unleashing America’s energy production to restore our energy dominance and, not only replenishing our strategic petroleum reserve, but significantly increasing that reserve.
And regarding Iran, the world’s most active state sponsor and exporter of terrorism, there can be no peace in the Mideast unless the U.S. contains Iran. Biden must at a minimum immediately:
- Refreeze Iran’s $6 billion of assets; and
- Shut down Iran’s chief source of revenue by reinstituting and aggressively enforcing strict sanctions against Iran’s oil exports.
Biden’s legacy is one of national weakness that has emboldened our enemies here and aborad. It's now time for Americans to unite to restore a strong America.
Our future, freedom, and national security depend on it.
Michael Clancy is a lawyer, member of The Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation, and former congressional candidate. He provides incisive, analytical commentary on political and constitutional law issues; and is a frequent guest on political news programs. Mike is a graduate of The George Washington University Law School and Notre Dame. Twitter: @MikeClancyVA. Read More Mike Clancy — Here.