The Costs of U.S. 'Leadership'

U.S. “leadership” costs far more than its cheerleaders think, and we could stand to have a lot more abdication.

I reviewed Biden’s foreign policy record in 2023 in my column this week. Biden’s mishandling of the war in Gaza loomed large. Among other things, I discussed how his unconditional support for Israel’s war undermined his other high-profile policy of supporting Ukraine:

First, it has diverted U.S. attention and resources away from Ukraine as the U.S. has turned its focus once again to the Middle East. It has also made a mockery of the administration’s rhetoric in support of Ukraine. The U.S. spent the better part of two years extolling the importance of international law to rally support for Ukraine, and then demonstrated that the U.S. doesn’t hold its own clients and partners to the same standard that it expects from other states.

I didn’t mention it in this column, but I could add that Biden’s support for both wars has also exposed the president’s inflexibility and his tendency to view conflicts in sharply ideological terms. When it comes to these wars, Biden is arguably as rigid and ideological a president as George W. Bush was. He dismisses ceasefires as unacceptable “wins” for the other side, he refuses any suggestion that U.S. clients compromise, and as far as anyone can tell he agrees with the clients’ impossible goals.