Repeated blunders have led foreign policy experts and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to argue that the Biden administration’s foreign policy has diminished U.S. standing in the world as China and Russia gather aggressive defenses not seen since World War II.
Afghanistan
The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 drew global backlash after the Taliban swiftly seized control of Kabul, marking the sobering end to a conflict that spanned two decades.
On Aug. 18, three days after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital, President Biden spoke to ABC News host George Stephanopoulos about the remaining Americans and Afghan allies, reassuring the public that the U.S. military would remain in the country until we “get them all out.”
In December, the State Department revealed that 500 U.S. citizens had been left behind, a figure much higher than was initially reported. Also left behind in the country was billions worth of U.S. military equipment, which the Taliban seized and recently paraded in the Kandahar region, according to Agence France-Presse.
Europe and Russia
Less than a month after the Afghanistan debacle, the U.S. made diplomatic history when France, its oldest ally, recalled its ambassador from Washington, D.C., for the first time.
France also recalled its ambassador to Australia in an expression of displeasure toward both countries for a pact they signed with the United Kingdom that provided nuclear submarines to Australia. The new deal scrapped an earlier agreement that would have supplied Australia with submarines from France, which described the agreement as a stab in the back.
At the edges of Europe, tensions with Russia have also escalated during the Biden administration. Approximately 100,000 Russian troops have amassed along the Ukraine border in recent weeks, and U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News that they believe Russia is planning a multi-front military invasion of the country with as many as 175,000 troops as soon as early 2022.
China
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) moves to “reunify” Taiwan with its mainland, tensions between the U.S. and China have also continued to escalate in the Indo-Pacific.
The Biden administration drew condemnation from China in November after the State Department announced it had invited Taiwan to its Summit for Democracy in December.
Speaking with Fox News anchor Bret Baier during the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, earlier this month, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said China‘s increased military activity near Taiwan seemingly indicates a “rehearsal” of the country’s future intentions.