Putin-Kim Meeting Is a Wake-Up Call for the West
In yet another sign of the Biden Administration’s failed strategy to deter America’s adversaries, news broke this week that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un plans to visit Vladimir Putin to discuss how his communist regime can supply Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine. This development is in line with a pattern that has revealed itself since the Biden Administration took office: Enemies of freedom are aligning and cooperating more than ever. The Biden Administration’s indecisive, feckless leadership, coupled with Europe’s strategic indifference, has encouraged this dangerous state of affairs. The West needs to wake up.
Sadly, the Biden Administration continues to be asleep at the wheel. Its immediate response to news of the meeting was underwhelming, with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan remarking at a press conference that “providing weapons to Russia . . . is not going to reflect well on North Korea,” as if the Kim regime has ever been worried about how its actions will affect its international reputation. The statement was reminiscent of then-White House spokesperson Jen Psaki’s remarks following the Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan: “The Taliban also has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community.” Sullivan’s assurance that North Korea would “pay the price” for helping Russia rang hollow, too. Prior to Russia’s invasion, President Biden said that the consequences for Russia would be “severe” and that Putin had “never seen sanctions” like those the Administration would impose. But in reality, the sanctions were imposed too slowly to be effective in crippling Russia, China bought up Russian oil at a discount with little consequence, and just last month, Russian oil export revenue hit its highest point this year. Put simply, nations like Russia and North Korea do not take American power seriously with Team Biden in charge.
Instead of recognizing these facts, the Biden Administration continues to view the world in a manner that is unrealistic and dangerous for the American people – through weakness instead of strength. President Biden has structured his foreign policy around diplomatic engagement, soft power, and climate change, while doing little to establish real deterrence or show American power and resolve. His strategy in Ukraine is an example: By failing to provide sufficient military aid from the start of (or even before) the conflict and not giving Ukraine the weapons it needs to win – thereby eliminating any chance for a decisive victory – he has allowed the conflict to become a war of attrition. This sort of war favors Russia, of course: Putin has more men to send to the front lines and more resources to pour into the war, and the only thing that would truly threaten his regime is defeat. While Ukraine’s brave soldiers may be draining Russia of its weapons stockpiles, Putin will simply look elsewhere for materiel – as he has already done with Iranian drones, and as he will now do with North Korea.
This is the opposite of both reality and the actual views of our allies and adversaries. Our enemies care little for climate change, and sanctions are not a replacement for real deterrence – something I wrote following Russia’s invasion. Yet Biden’s Cabinet officials continue to flock to Xi Jinping’s court in Beijing, seemingly under the notion that diplomatic visits will yield meaningful concessions from the Chinese Communist Party. They won’t; they will only further signal that the Biden Administration is not serious about protecting American interests or denying further cooperation among our enemies.
Many, including some within my own political party, allege that this alignment is not the fault of the Biden Administration’s fecklessness, but rather the direct consequence of our involvement in Ukraine. They claim that our effort to oppose Russia’s invasion and help Ukraine defend itself has driven Russia into the arms of Iran, China, and now North Korea. To avoid further alignment among our adversaries, they favor American retrenchment: Let Russia deal with Ukraine as it pleases, let China deal with Taiwan as it pleases, and so on. So long as these conflicts do not concern the safety and security of the American people, they believe the United States should not engage in them.
These are flawed assessments. We should, of course, always approach foreign affairs with caution, but the plain truth is that each of these conflicts affects the safety and security of the American people. Russia was already working with these regimes to oppose our interests; and by not enabling Ukraine to hand Russia a decisive defeat, we have allowed Putin to deepen his engagement with them. And it is not only Russia that has benefited from this alignment; Iran reached an agreement with Putin last July that ensured all enriched uranium would be returned to Iran in the event a new nuclear deal fell through, while North Korea is reportedly seeking Russia’s help in developing nuclear submarines. Allowing Putin to achieve victory in Ukraine would encourage further alignment, not discourage it – making Americans less safe.
President Biden and the Western world must wake up to what is happening. Ensuring Ukraine can deal a decisive defeat to Putin would critically undermine his regime’s power and check further alignment. Allowing him to bleed Ukraine dry while deepening his engagement with our adversaries makes our enemies stronger and leaves all Americans less safe in the future.
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