By Ray Cardello for September 20, 2023, Season 22 / Post 7

China, Russia, and North Korea are acting like a bunch of adolescent thugs. They are playing each other, looking for attention, and seeking relevance in this game of world dominance. Xi meets with Putin while snubbing Kim, and Kim and Putin get together while dissing Xi. It would be a game of international chess if their intentions were not so obvious. It is more like Mousetrap, but the stakes are too high. These three narcissists are posturing for superpower status and flexing their arsenals like testosterone-filled teenagers. Unfortunately, we watch this charade while our military machine is aging and depleting as we abandon equipment worth billions in Afghanistan or ship them to Ukraine. We are not investing in new technology, and recruiting is a problem in every branch. Our Navy, our strength over China and Russia, is at its lowest ship count in decades. The push by the current Administration to have a more Woke military has driven down morale and enlistment. We are not ready for conflict, and that is where you never want to be.

Some say it is a sign of desperation that Putin and Kim are meeting and Russia is looking to buy munitions from North Korea. What NOKO has is old and outdated but may be adequate for Russia to use against Ukraine. Also, North Korea needs money and food, two things Russia can supply. The other thing that Russia will supply North Korea is missiles and possibly submarines. This should make most of the world uneasy.

While the three adversaries are meeting, Biden and Xi have not spoken in months. Supposedly, the two have not spoken since the Chinese Spy Balloon fiasco in February. Biden continues to brag about the strength of their relationship, but to not talk in seven months indicates a chill has cooled their ties. Biden has sent underlings like Blinken and Yellen for talks, but nobody has had time with Xi. We were warned about the weakness of Biden’s international diplomacy, and this is a signal those warnings had merit.

Biden always claims his talks with any other country, especially our foes, include discussions on human rights. Never has Biden, or any of his Administration, broached the subject of the Uygurs with Xi or any of his staff. Millions are kept in camps or have been killed, and the issue is too sensitive for Biden to touch. Joe also elaborated at great length while in Vietnam how he wants China to succeed as a country and economy. He feels a strong China is good for the world. As Robert Gates, former defense secretary in the Obama administration, once said, Biden has “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” Gates knows Joe Biden.

At the same time all this is happening, Biden is trading prisoners with Iran and unfreezing $6 Billion for Iran to use for humanitarian purposes. Right. Iran has already said the money is theirs and will use it as they see fit. It is another lousy decision that weakens America and puts a price on every American’s head who travels abroad.

What Biden has done to harm and divide the country at home, combined with his horrendous track record on the international stage, gives us a one-two punch that will take years to correct. Fortunately, most of his decisions have been enacted by executive order and not by legislation, so they can be changed quickly once we have a Conservative President in office. The question is, can we last long enough to make those changes?