Last week, President Biden made yet another “inflection point” speech as he announced a combined $100 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel.
Biden was responding to longstanding criticism that he has failed to explain why helping Ukraine defend itself is in the U.S. national security interest, and he weaved into his argument America’s commitment to the defense of Israel.
He observed that the horror Israel is suffering from the “pure, unadulterated evil unleashed by Hamas […] echoes nearly 20 months of war, tragedy, and brutality inflicted on the people of Ukraine.”
As Ukraine’s President Zelensky put it, “Their essence is the same.”
Biden noted the similarities in the “depravity” demonstrated by both Hamas and Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion forces — wanton cruelty in the murder, rape, torture and kidnapping of innocent civilians, including women and children. He said they seek the same goal.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”
Biden explained why the United States and its allies and security partners, in their own collective interest, must help defeat the evil represented by both Putin and Hamas.
“History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going, and the cost and the threats to America and to the world keep rising.” He cited Putin’s explicit ambitions toward Poland and the Baltics.
In the lead-up to Biden’s address, the administration indicated that in addition to Ukraine and Israel the president would discuss China’s threats against Taiwan. But he decided to focus instead on the visible conflicts raging now and on the immediate perpetrators of those crimes against humanity.
His passing mention of Iran was muted, as was his warning to Teheran. “Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine, and it’s supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region. And we’ll continue to hold them accountable.”
His mention of China was even more oblique. “Beyond Europe, we know that our allies and, maybe most importantly, our adversaries and competitors are watching. They’re watching our response in Ukraine.
[I]f we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraine’s independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same. The risk of conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world — in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East — especially in the Middle East.”
The name of Taiwan never passed Biden’s lips though it was surely on his mind. Like Russia with Ukraine and Iran and Hamas with Israel, China also wants to crush a neighboring democracy. It is understandable that the president did not wish to overload the circuits by delving in this speech into the rising danger from the China-Taiwan crisis — but delve he must.
His reticence on Iran’s destructive role is more puzzling. When Biden asserts, “We’ll continue to hold them [Iranian leaders] accountable,” it begs the question: How is his administration holding Iran accountable at all?
The putative deterrent effect of the limited economic sanctions Biden has imposed on Iran is offset by his almost-desperate efforts to entice Teheran back into the Trump-cancelled nuclear deal and his release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for the release of five American hostages. Those Biden concessions were immediately followed by the brutal attack on Israel from Iran’s proxy, Hamas, and its seizure of 200 additional hostages.
On China, he refrained from mentioning not only Xi Jinping’s aggressive designs on Taiwan but also his full support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine pursuant to the China-Russia “no-limits strategic partnership.”
Putin has reciprocated by offering full-throated support for Beijing’s authoritarian claims on democratic Taiwan, consistent with their shared statement that “It is only up to the people of the country to decide whether their State is a democratic one.”
The fourth member of what has been called the “axis of authoritarianism” is North Korea, whose successive Kim regimes, including their missile and nuclear programs, have been relentlessly funded and supported by China.
Though China has been inhibited from sending unambiguous lethal aid to Russia for fear of incurring additional Western sanctions, Beijing’s ally, Pyongyang, is already sanctioned out, so it is free to provide the arms and munitions Russia needs to keep fighting.
China, meanwhile, buys massive amounts of North Korean coal and Russian oil and sends dual-use technology to Russia, while supporting both allies diplomatically. Russia, in turn, rewards North Korea with nuclear and missile systems, while they, along with China, provide Iran with military technology. Completing the circle, Iran sends plentiful drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.
While Biden justifiably touts Western cooperation in supporting Ukraine’s defensive needs, that four-party network of nemeses keeps Russia well-supplied with the financial resources and offensive weapons needed to maintain its aggression against Ukraine, and provides Hamas with the means to kill Israelis and other Westerners.
The most glaring omission from Biden’s speech was his failure to connect Iran-sponsored terrorism against Israel and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine as part of the larger global attack by authoritarian regimes against the rule-based international order, what he has called “the defining challenge of our time,” It would have been a natural supplement to his Summit for Democracy initiative, which states as its first objective, “strengthening democracy and defending against authoritarianism.”
At the Hudson Institute last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed the global and historic nature of the challenge. “We have not forgotten that in World War II, democracy won over fascism and autocracy. And this triumph set our foundation for our peace order. And this is not only about the past, but it will also define our future.”
Several commentators have noted that the horrific recent events have created a moment of “moral clarity.” It should also be seen as a time of strategic clarity. Ukraine must be whole, free and independent of Russian pressure and interference. Israel and the Palestinian people must be free of Hamas and the corrosive influence of Iran, living side by side as separate, peaceful and independent states. Taiwan must be secure from the threats of Communist China — either Beijing must unequivocally renounce the use of force or Washington must unambiguously state it will defend Taiwan.
Joseph Bosco served as China country director for the secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2006 and as Asia-Pacific director of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief from 2009 to 2010. He served in the Pentagon when Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia and was involved in Department of Defense discussions about the U.S. response. Follow him on Twitter @BoscoJosephA.