Biden presses skeptical world leaders to work together in first U.N. speech
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 3 years ago • 24 commentsBy: Jeff Mordock (The Washington Times)
President Biden pressed the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday to work together on challenges like COVID-19, climate change, and human rights abuses, even as U.S. allies question his leadership on the world stage.
In his first speech as president to the U.N., Mr. Biden defended his widely panned military withdrawal from Afghanistan and assured leaders around the globe that the U.S. will take the lead in international diplomacy.
“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and as we close this era of endless war, we are opening an era of endless diplomacy,” Mr. Biden said.
During the nearly 40-minute speech, Mr. Biden ticked off a list of crises that nations must work together to solve, including trade, cyber threats, and terrorism.
He argued that the world is entering a “decisive decade” for determining the global community’s success, saying that each nation’s welfare is dependent upon its allies. The president said the U.S. does not seek another Cold War, without mentioning adversaries China and Russia by name.
“As a global community, we’re challenged by urgent and looming crises wherein lie enormous opportunities if — if — we can summon the will and resolve to seize these opportunities,” the president said.
The president laid out his case for cooperation before a skeptical audience whose members have been disappointed in some of his foreign policy missteps.
Mr. Biden frustrated allies following the U.S.’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and angered France after announcing a security pact with the United Kingdom and Australia.
The move undercut France’s own multibillion-dollar nuclear submarine deal with Australia. French officials claimed they were blindsided by the deal and recalled ambassadors to both nations.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Tuesday that Mr. Biden “has damaged longstanding alliances, emboldened enemies, and failed to stand for freedom.”
“The first eight months of the Biden presidency have been riddled with crises he has created and failed to address – from a humanitarian disaster at the border, to a catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, to folding to totalitarian governments in China and Cuba,” she said in a statement. “Americans and the world know Biden has lost all credibility at home and abroad.”
Still, Mr. Biden pledged to work with world leaders, asserting that the U.S. will resume its traditional leadership role in international diplomacy.
“As the United States seeks to rally the world to action, we will lead not just with the example of our power, but God willing, with the power of our example,” he said.
He declared the U.S. is “back at the table” by re-engaging the World Health Organization and rejoining the Paris climate agreement, adding that America will also take a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Former President Trump had pulled the U.S. out of both the WHO and the Paris Climate agreement as part of his “America First” agenda.
Mr. Biden highlighted the moves as part of his effort to mend fences among world leaders who view him as having the same go-it-alone approach as Mr. Trump.
Several NATO allies had urged Mr. Biden to push back his self-imposed Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline in Afghanistan, but the president rebuffed their calls. Others griped that the chaotic scenes at the Kabul airport left them scrambling to get their own citizens out of the country ahead of a Taliban takeover.
Mr. Biden used his speech in an effort to turn on the page on the bungled withdrawal.
While insisting that the U.S. will continue to defend itself and its allies, Mr. Biden said “bombs and bullets” cannot defend against COVID-19 or climate change.
“Instead of continuing to fight the wars of the past, we are fixing our eyes on devoting our resources into the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future,” he said.
Mr. Biden pledged to battle terrorism by working with local partners, not through large overseas military deployments. He noted that the world has changed in the 20 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
He also stressed the need to combat climate change, noting that his administration pledged to double international financing to assist developing nations with tools to tackle the issue. Mr. Biden said he would work with Congress to double the funds again to make the United States the leader in financing climate change efforts.
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Most striking feature of Biden UN address was total lack of a coherent thesis. By contrast, was Trump's coherent address:
Which speech was that and where is the link?
Obviously that was Donald Trump's UN speech.
.
Sparked your interest?
If it's coherent and cohesive - it wasn't written or thought of by whatshisname. . . he doesn't believe in God or anyone . . . but himself.
Just wanted to make sure it was the one written by Stephen Miller,
the one where Trump threatened to annihilate NK shortly after the UN secretary general appealed for calmer rhetoric.
I guess one's view of the speech is based on ideology, no shock there.
Thanks for the link.
He was also an excellent speech writer.
I hear a sincere leader making an articulate appeal.
Hardly the ramblings of a man beyond his abilities...
They aren't dumb. They scheduled his speech early in the morning, before lunch and his afternoon nap while he was semi-coherent and his reading ability was at peak.
Last week they admitted to the drone screw up late on a Friday afternoon.
When they did not have to.
Go figure.
Don't be absurd. Biden has all his faculties. He is ten years younger than my mother and she can still whoop your butt by any measures of brains.
If Biden is too old Trump is too old to run in '24.
Trump couldn't speak coherently no matter what time of day it was. He was always incoherent...
They had to. Even the New York Times was on it!
Let's see if he talks this afternoon and see if you can tell the difference between this morning and then
They could have stuck to the unexplained secondary explosions for a lonnnnng time
and chose not to, making Milley look bad.
I too am curious about the secondary explosions and not quite convinced.
Once they couldn't name anyone they killed, it didn't pass the sniff test. They got caught quick.
Biden has never been sincere, is certainly not a leader, and clearly not articulate
Ironic criticism coming from you...
[deleted]
Let's see, Biden never mentioned China, Russia or Afghanistan. Not much of a world view. Should we give him credit for just showing up and being able to complete a speech?
"President Biden ’s remarks Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly fell flat.
Why? Because once again, Biden demonstrated weakness. He is pushing our allies away and cozying up to our enemies.
Biden said during his remarks, "We’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy, of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world." And while we should value diplomacy, a strong America is what will enable that diplomacy, and not the promise of American tax dollars.
A strong, America first policy that ended years of dumping billions of U.S. dollars in an attempt to buy peace and cooperation saw successful results around the globe during the Trump administration in dealing with adversaries and establishing better relations with our allies in having them step up as partners sharing in those alliances.
American strength is what will deter war; weakness and the potential for cash payouts for our enemies as we did with Iran, only invites attacks.
Joe Biden spoke as if he were living in a different world.
He did not address his administration’s failures in Afghanistan.
He made a point to mention America’s willingness to reenter the JCPOA, while at the same time offering platitudes about preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
He was singularly focused on climate change, while ignoring many of the pressing security and diplomatic challenges the United States and our allies face.
Most importantly, he failed to call out China.
President Biden asserted that "those who commit acts of terror against will continue to find a determined enemy in the United States." But the actions of his administration say otherwise. He pulled American troops out of Afghanistan unconditionally, granting the Taliban free reign over not only Afghanistan and its people, but also over the many American civilians still stuck there.
In allowing the country to fall to the Taliban without imposing any costs, the Biden administration guaranteed a resurgence of al Qaeda and ISIS. And what has the Biden administration done in response to the tragic act of terror which killed 13 U.S. service members?
They executed a drone strike which killed only civilians, including seven children. This administration’s feckless decisions in Afghanistan do not amount to their being a determined enemy of terror.
Regarding Iran, President Biden pressed once again to reinvigorate the failed Iran nuclear deal. His administration seems intent on repeating the mistakes of the Obama administration – Iran was never in compliance with the JCPOA and will stop at nothing to obtain nuclear weapons so that its malign, radical Islamic regime can wreak further devastation and havoc throughout the Middle East.
Providing them a pathway to the development of those nuclear weapons should never be a priority of the United States. That’s why the Trump administration executed its maximum pressure campaign against Iran – you don’t help your enemies, you deny them.
But rather than stand up to our enemies and present the world with strong American leadership in light of the myriad challenges we face, President Biden chose instead to focus primarily on climate change.
He claimed that the world is faced with a "borderless climate crisis" (a poor choice of words, considering the only borderless crisis the United States faces is the immigration crisis playing out right now on our own southern border).
Make no mistake, putting climate first puts America last. President Biden wishes to subordinate many of America’s most pressing challenges to climate change, putting American security at risk and threatening to devastate our economy while imposing no costs on our adversaries, in particular China, whose leaders care little about the climate pandering of internationalist elites.
Which brings us to China. Perhaps the greatest threat the United States faces right now, and certainly in our lifetime, is the People’s Republic of China, led by the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
To say that the U.S. is "not seeking a new Cold War," is an unbelievably weak statement to make in front of the world’s leaders.
China clearly sees itself as our adversary and wishes to displace us. They have seized on the weakness of the Biden administration by aligning authoritarians and dictators against the rest of the world.
Beijing has made overtures to Iran and to the Taliban in Afghanistan. They bully and threaten their neighbors, and they trap third world countries in deep debt with broken promises to undertake massive infrastructure projects. And they allowed the spread of the coronavirus around the world with impunity.
This is not to say we shouldn’t work with China where possible, but effective American diplomacy necessarily relies on American strength and credibility. Unfortunately, this administration seems to care little for either.
President Biden was right in saying the world sits at a critical moment and that the world needs strong American leadership.
Unfortunately, that leadership was nowhere to be found during President Biden’s address. "
So, if Biden mentions one of those countries he is giving away our plans. How dare he. He doesn't mention them and there is outrage....
Makes me think some people just want to be outraged.
Consider the source, Fox Entertainment.
The alternative reality for this country
James Carafano: Biden's inept UN speech guaranteed to delight globalists (msn.com)
So, all of these "skeptical leaders" pacing the hallways and all we get is a quote from Ronna Q McDaniel ... @!@