WASHINGTON – Delivering his first address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, United States President Joe Biden had a central message to convey. “By closing this period of relentless warfare, we are ushering in a new era of relentless diplomacy.”
He spoke directly about the messy end of the war in Afghanistan and the commitment to boost international aid. But noting that he was the first president in two decades to deliver such a speech with his country that is not actively at war, he tried to send a broad message. “The military might of the United States should be our tool of last resort, not our first,” he said. “We have turned the page.”
His predecessor, Donald Trump, famous came to the same podium and boasted it would pursue trade wars and develop American military capabilities in support of its creed, “America first.”
Biden has been trying tirelessly to change the channel. America is your friend, friends, not your bully. Forget “America First.” The new message, voiced again on Tuesday, is “America is back.”
Biden loves the cooperation of the United Nations, he said. He wants to work with allies in NATO, he said. “As America seeks to unite the world to act, we will lead not only by the example of our power, but with God through the power of our example,” he said, in a line that he especially likes to repeat at every opportunity. .
It’s a time when those allies and institutions you want to work with have some questions about that example and that leadership.
France has withdrawn its US ambassador after Biden’s surprise announcement of a new nuclear submarine deal with Australia that cost your friends in France a $ 66 billion contract to ship conventional submarines. The EU president was complaining about the same deal when Biden arrived in New York, according to the Associated Press, saying that Biden had left Europe “out of the game in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Some talking with Canadian reporters we feared that the deal would have sidelined us as well, although it is unclear what Canada’s role is in a deal between the US and the UK to share their technology with Australia. But it would not be the first time that the White House has marginalized us: there is the issue of the United States canceling our pipelines, implementing new protectionist procurement policies and again on Monday announcing it kept its land borders closed to our travelers.
In the developing world, the COVID aid that Biden has promised hasn’t moved the needle much on vaccination rates. The entire world, including many allies, was baffled by America’s chaotic and bloody exit from Afghanistan. The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, told the AP on Monday that he feared that the “completely dysfunctional” relationship between the United States and China would lead to “a Cold War that would be different from the past, and probably more dangerous and more difficult to manage.”
What did Biden have to say to all that? Well, first of all, “we are not looking for a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocks.” Still, he didn’t back down from his stern speech about targeting the Indo-Pacific region (a China-specific focus that led to the Australian submarine decision). And he continued to push forward his plan to establish the leadership of the world’s democracies against autocracies by “showing that no matter how challenging or complex the problem we are going to face, government by and for the people is still the best way to fulfill all our people “.
He has been pursuing a rhetorical showdown against the threat of authoritarianism around the world, but specifically in China. “Simply put, in my opinion, we are at a turning point in history,” Biden said. He uses that phrase a lot: often in direct reference to competition with China. Here, he was broader in his description of why this “fight for our shared future” will “impact generations to come” in how it addresses the global crises of pandemic and climate change and a realignment of global trade and technology flows. .
Biden touted the 160 million doses of COVID vaccine that he said the United States has shipped to other countries so far, and promised more news about how the United States would help the world overcome the pandemic at the UN meetings he is convening this week. He spoke of his own administration’s renewed internal commitments to cut carbon emissions in half, while aiming to double financial aid for other countries to fight climate change (and said he hoped to double that amount of aid again). He had high hopes for a global climate conference later this year in Scotland, where he said countries should “bring their highest possible ambitions to the table.” It reaffirmed its commitment to international rules and cooperation through global institutions.
“It is a fundamental truth of the 21st century that, within each of our countries and as a global community, our own success is tied to the success of others. To serve our own people, we must also deeply engage with the rest of the world, ”said Biden. Rather than fight the wars of the past, Biden said his country was “setting our eyes on dedicating our resources to the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future.”
Those words to the world sound good. Now, the rest of the world leaders, both allies and rivals, could well respond that words are worth as much as the paper they are printed on, and that if you want the power of your example to lead, there will come a time. when you need to start providing powerful examples.
Get up or shut up, people often say. Obviously, no one’s going to tell Biden to shut up. But to answer the world’s questions about the strength and tenor of US leadership, you might think that this week’s UN meetings may be the time for Biden to start holding on as well.
Reference-www.thestar.com