A Prophesy Fulfilled
Ros Poplar
U.S. Navy, Author, Volunteer, Keynote Speaker, Commonwealth of Virginia Veteran Services Foundation Board Member
Robert M. Gates served with distinction as Secretary of Defense under both Presidents Obama and George W. Bush. Having served in the Pentagon under his tenure he earned the reputation as pragmatic, conservative, and consensus-oriented leader who rarely shot from the hip. As a career CIA analyst who eventually worked his way up through the ranks to become Director, he was extremely pragmatic not only in his assessment of raw intelligence but his judgement of individuals. In short Robert M. Gates was not your typical political appointee.
In his 2014 memoir Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Gates stated, “I think he (Joe Biden) has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” He also subsequently reaffirmed that judgement of our current Commander-in-Chief again in 2019 also added when queried “would be an effective president” Gates responded, “I don't know.” Not an extraordinarily strong endorsement of current President Biden.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/us/politics/biden-israel-palestinians.html
Fast forward to 2020 and we can see the pronouncement Gates made in 2014 vindicated by world events. When President Biden took office in January, he expressed little interest in pursuing an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. President Bill Clinton hosted an Israeli-Palestinian summit during his first year in the White House. President Barack Obama appointed a Middle East peace envoy on his second full day in office. And before his swearing-in, Donald J. Trump vowed to secure an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal “which no one else has managed to get.” Biden’s stand back and watch approach to the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict has only exacerbated that conflict and he has offered to provide increased aid to the Palestinians vice our ally, Israel.
In addition, his assessment of our peer competitor the Peoples Republic of China is off base and conflicts with reality. During the campaign then candidate Biden stated “China was “not competition” for the U.S." In addition, he sated he believes concerns that China could eventually surpass the U.S. as a world superpower and economic force are overstated. “China is going to eat our lunch. Come on, man,” the former vice president said. “I mean, you know, they’re not bad folks, folks.” Really ? Despite the Trump Administration who stood up to China we now continue to dither and play nice with an adversary who makes no bones about surpassing us as the world’s dominate superpower withing the next twenty years.
President Biden has already sent mixed signals to Russia. Despite talking tough to his counterpart Vladimir Putin, he allowed a Russian crime syndicate to hold Eastern Seaboard hostage while the Colonial pipeline was held for ransom for a sum of five million dollars – mere pocket change when compared to the damage this caused.
In addition, he singlehandedly created a crisis at our southern border of epic proportions. The immigration policies of the previous administration were capriciously dismantled on day one of his administration resulting in an influx of drugs and criminals that are now dispersed throughout the United States. Vice President Harris was dispatched to speak to the leaders of Central America. Her hubris and ethnocentrism were soundly rebuffed and told that the United States is responsible for the current morass.
https://nypost.com/2021/06/09/biden-pentagon-said-global-warming-is-americas-greatest-threat/
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/06/biden-tells-us-troops-global-warming-is-greatest-threat-to-america-says-pentagon-told-him-that-in-2009/
President Biden also recently stated that “the greatest threat facing America was “global warming ” because “the Pentagon told him that in 2009.” Having spent over thirty years in uniform I can tell you that with both Russian and Chinese Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) already targeting key military and civilian infrastructure targets “global warming” is by no means our biggest threat.
Based on President Biden’s lackluster performance in foreign affairs and national security issues Secretary Gates has been surely vindicated. I can hardly wait to see what the future holds for this administration - I will bet you a paycheck that it will not be good.
Consultant at ECO LLC
3 年Every day seems to be a new train wreck with this group in power...
At least President Biden chooses truth over facts and he has a Vice President who is qualified for the job because she is a woman of color. He’s clearly the strategic thinker he told us he was.