One place where US President Joe Biden should be commended is his capability to equally destroy the US’ domestic as well as foreign policy. At a time when the USA is facing a geopolitical crisis at multiple fronts and a much more aggressive China, North Korea over the weekend launched several short-range ballistic missiles. South Korea revealed that two cruise missiles were fired into the Yellow Sea early on Sunday from Onchon in North Korea.
What could be considered a show of confidence and military strength by the North Korean regime, in the backdrop of the recently concluded Alaska summit between China and the USA, Pyongyang fired non-ballistic cruise missiles, sending ripples world over. However, more surprising than the actions of North Korea was the meek response of the US President. Responding to reporters’ questions on Tuesday night, Biden said, “We have learned that nothing has changed.”
When asked if he considered the test a provocation, Biden said, “No, according to the Defence Department, it’s business as usual. There’s no new wrinkle in what they did.”
The Biden administration’s North Korea policy is through and through a failure and the comment made by Joe Biden is the latest addition to the list. Even before the US President, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while in Seoul, stated, “Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest in helping to pursue the denuclearization of (North Korea) because it is a source of instability. It is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners.”
If one reads between the lines, the statement overtly says that the Biden administration does not have any policy to handle North Korea and expects the USA’s biggest adversary China to deal with North Korea.
Joe Biden is now showing a casual attitude. Interestingly, he is the same person who was criticising Trump for following not so aggressive approach vis a vis North Korea, during the presidential debates last year. During the debate, on the question of North Korea, Biden while addressing Kim Jong-un said, “That’s like saying we had a good relationship with Hitler before he, in fact, invaded … the rest of Europe. Come on.”
Now, half a year down the line, Joe Biden is contradicting his own stance on North Korea by playing down its missile launch into the Yellow Sea. However, if one considers Joe Biden and Democrats, they have contradicted their stance concerning Pyongyang multiple times. As soon as Donald Trump came to office, he made the most aggressive statement directed towards North Korea. At an event at his Bedminster, N.J. Golf Club, Trump said, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
As soon as President Trump made this statement, Democrats started criticising him en-mass. The Democrats slammed Trump for a reaction they said was “bombastic” and “unhinged.”
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, “President Trump is not helping the situation with his bombastic comments.” So, you see, the Democrats have a history of contradicting their own stance.
So basically, the Democrats did not have any policy preference of their own. Their only priority was to oppose then President Donald Trump, a classic case of ‘opposing for the sake of opposition.’ The Democrats kept on flip-flopping between two polar opposite policy choices. They were sometimes aggressive against North Korea and sometimes had strategic patience against it.
However, during the last days of the Trump presidency, they criticised Trump for not taking a tough stance on North Korea and Kim Jong-un. However, now as the ball is in Joe Biden’s court and the time has arrived to back his statements with actions, Biden has outrightly downplayed the significance of the latest missile launches, first under his presidency. In such a short span, Joe Biden and his administration have given the exact representation of who they are and the characteristics which define them certainly include hypocrisy.