Walter Russell Mead
WSJ, Dec. 18, 2023
“As American power globally is perceived to recede, chances of escalation in the South China Sea rise.”
With less than a year before a challenging election, the Biden administration risks getting caught in a political doom loop. President Biden’s perceived weakness at home undermines his authority in dealing with foreign leaders, while the deteriorating global picture erodes his popularity at home.
Mr. Biden’s foreign-policy efforts have not exactly been crowned with success. In Ukraine, Western squabbles and policy misfires have given Vladimir Putin reason to hope that victory might be heading his way. In the Middle East, as the original wave of Western sympathy for Israel following the Hamas terror attack fades, calls for a cease-fire that would leave Hamas in control of Gaza steadily mount. More ominously still, Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq are stepping up their assaults, with the Houthis now attacking peaceful commerce in the vital Red Sea.
This is not a world that is becoming more stable, and it is not a world in which American interests or values are becoming more secure. It is not a world in which America’s rivals and enemies are gaining respect for the president. It is not a world in which America’s waning powers of deterrence can long hold back the rising tide of aggression and war.
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