Former Vice President Joe Biden gave some of his first foreign policy-related positions in an interview with Stars and Stripes on Thursday, saying the “forever wars have to end” while seemingly ruling out any full-fledged withdrawals, arguing the US still has to worry about terrorism and ISIS.
Biden said the ongoing US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria are so complicated he can’t promise a withdrawal. He also suggested he may increase military spending even beyond its current record levels as he shifts focus to what he believes should be the military’s priorities.
The priorities, as are so often the case for the US, are fighting Russia, who Biden identified as a “near-peer” power. The US spends more than ten times the amount on its military annually that Russia does, and it is unclear in what way they are a “near-peer.”
Either way, Biden intends to shift the focus toward unmanned drones and cyber-warfare, and suggests that is likely to boil down to not just a shift in where money is spent, but likely an increase in spending as well.
“First thing I’m going to have to do, and I’m not joking: if elected I’m going to have to get on the phone with the heads of state and say America’s back,” Biden said, saying NATO has been “worried as hell about our failure to confront Russia.”
Though the international community has faulted President Trump for being too close with Russia, the fear of that appearance has meant extremely limited diplomacy between the major nuclear powers. Biden’s plans for confrontation seem to offer more of the same, higher record spending, and avoiding peace overtures for fear of not looking sufficiently tough.
Just what we need more of Washington rationalizing killing in the Mid-East.
No matter who is dictator/president nothing will change. Change has to come from the grassroots, dispossessed, the downtrodden. REVOLUTION is the answer and it is beginning to look like that. American people are waiting for a new leader.
Your optimism regarding the American people is unrealistic.
its a way off but getting closer. but what it ends up as is anyone’s guess.
anyway Trump is going to win (no endorsement)
You are correct. We think that the vote has power. Hah! Power is: 1) military industrial complex, 2) Chase, et al 3) Wall Street.
Nina Turner spoke the truth when she said the difference between Trump (GOP) and Biden (DNC) is like having a bowl of sh*t placed in front of you and all you have to do is eat only half. It is still sh*t. The woman is brilliant.
And so, we will continue to have sh*t wars, sh*t healthcare, sh*t wages, sh*t protection against pandemics.
So yes I am a pessimist. I am 76 and I am growing more so as the time goes by.
The vote would have power if people looked at their ballot and voted according to who is the best candidate and not whether they have an R or a D next to their name. And if we voted for Jill Stein because she was the best candidate and she became corrupted when elected then we vote her out and repeat until the house is cleaned. We have a duopoly because we refuse to have something different.
On the bright side, we’ll continue to produce shiny weapons.
I agree. Americans are putting up with a trillion dollars a year being spent on “defense” against imaginary enemies while they go without healthcare and jobs and line up at the food banks. Soon they’ll be losing their homes too. Yet they still don’t rise up and tell their government to start taking care of its own citizens instead of preparing for endless wars.
A revolution, with hundreds of conflicting agendas, will make us(US)look like one large version of Syria. Can’t wait.
Another addled-brain prez–exactly what the country needs.
Trump or Biden.Ignore what they say. Both enforcers for Israel.Both scandelised and compromised by Zionists..Israel does not mind who is in the White House.Tthe choice for Americans is whether they want Trump who gropes from the front or Biden who does from behind.(not mere insinuation all credibly reported)
That’s all fine, but let’s not pretend Biden isn’t likely to go full totalitarian over COVID. This is the scary difference between the two.
Trump or Biden two dogs of Israel.No difference.American West is burning. Corona is consuming America.Trump has no time. he is pimping for Israel. First U A E, Kosovo,Serbia now Bahrain.Biden also will do the same. America is doomed.
Better to go “full totalitarian” about a pandemic than downplay it and pretend it’s a hoax and can be cured with bleach.
Yeah. Thanks for proving my point….
Your framing is so disingenuous. Mainstream media may pretend theres not plenty of qualified experts contradicting just about every narrative being pushed about the pandemic but in reality those not directly dependant on the fascist technocracy that dominates the west tend to generally be yelling bullshit on almost everything to one degree or another. This isn’t surprising given that most people affected by COVID are effected by the lies damn lies and statistics nature of the pandemic – which I think is likely to be 10 – 100 x more deadly than the disease. That is if civilizations don’t just crumble.
You know what, since you were so disingenuous before –
Your desire to give Donald Trump and or any of the obvious kekacrats running Western governments more responsibility over Pandemics makes as much since as drinking bleach to fight them – but with potential mass fatalities well beyond whatever people likely to follow the advice your strawman Trump didn’t even give them.
That’s the problem. One is on one end of the spectrum and the other is on the other end. Nothing in between. Ever.
Truth determined by team affiliation. Getting reliable information is probably more trouble than it’s worth now except on immediate pressing concerns.
Good luck in the wilderness.
Remember the zionists are the “victims” all the time. It’s been the false narrative for decades. Yet, they get away with killing Palestinian women and kids. Now they murder autistic people, Iyad Halaq on May 30. Not too much in the media though about that. So who controls the media?
Does he really think people will vote for that?
Why not? The little echo chamber here isn’t a true indication of what the typical American thinks.
No, unfortunately most Americans seem to be quite willing to let their government spend a trillion dollars a year on “defense” against imaginary enemies while millions of them go without healthcare and jobs and line up at food banks in order to feed their families.
There’s your recipe for a nuclear war.
How so? Is there really a difference from our present situation?
No difference – for those who think Biden is a pacifist.
My question was about this being a “recipe for nuclear war”. We’ve increased the offense budget every year and we’ve been in the middle east forever, so why the sudden threat? And even if Trump(or Biden)would leave Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan we’d STILL be in the middle east.
Newer and better ICBM arsenal being built.
One planet dead is not enough.
Upgrade began under Obama. Continues under Trump. Will continue with Trump or Biden. Trump pulled us out of the START treaty with Russia. Both the U.S. and Russia are testing the weapons that were limited or forbidden by the treaty. Trump has also intimated that he would begin testing nukes again, something that had not been done since 1992.
And the U.S. worries about Iran coming up with ONE nuke? Israel has maybe 400 (according to Mordecai Vanunu).
“I’ve met with a number of my advisors and some have suggested in certain areas the budget is going to have to be increased.”
This is the only thing I could find that justifies the headline. Not to defend the senile fool but there is a difference between the headline and what Biden said. He should have just said more of the same. At what point do people vote third party?
Democrats had no choice but Biden, he was annointed and appointed over 2 years ago by owners of DNC party. Too think that Creepy Joe that likes touching little girls and fondling job hungry women even wives of those males looking for jobs shows just how decadent are those who run American lives.
His and others shady self enriching games in Ukraine were paid for by US taxpayers, but they obviously expect their government to be all of same low character traits.
The Officials elected and appointed to public office and their supporters are an offence to all decency,, and no matter their party labels, and their pundits, Inteligencia media shills for the syste, they should make honest people gag at their stench.
At present I sit along lower Columbia River in Washington state and can not see clearly beyond 100 yards due to smoke from three states forest and range fires, with breathing becoming hazardous, at least I know the discomfort is temporary and not as dangerous as the piles of offal that play politics as their s^^t permanently sticks upon everything they touch unto an unknown future time.
We have over 60,000 soldiers and sailors in Washington state. Any other nation would have them fighting these fires, but the USA thinks they must not waste time protecting American lives and property, they need to train deploy to protect the empire.
Why do I have a feeling that neither party will concede in November? Democrats will not, definitely. But if Biden wins, why would Trump concede? The only reason for conceding I can think off is — his Party. Republicans are by far more likely to side with Democrats on foreign policy then with Trump. And these days, Congress is all over foreign policy — any talk of domestic concerns sounds fake, almost as if straining to come up with anything domestic related.
We have epidemics and all politicians are scared stiff of implementing REAL epidemics control measures. Institute quarantine for infected, for example. Desperately trying NOT to look like China — as if epidemics control is a Chinese thing.
So this highly volatile domestic issue has been sidelined, given up on. Any other issue of consequence to this country’s economy, infrastructure, industry, technology?
Just bickering about giving some pittance to unemployed, with not a clue as to the long term crisis.
So, foreign policy is it. That is where the money is.
“Republicans are are far more likely to side with democrats than trump on foreign policy”
Please review the Omar bill to withdraw from Afghanistan. Then try again.
A token bill by a tiny fringe of the Democrats. .
Please review all the neo cons that have endorsed Biden. Then try again.
It was passed by a majority of dems…what page is this again ??
I guess you missed the fact that when the Democrats had the White House and control of both house of Congress the wars continued unabated. Pretty naive to think that political theatre equals anything of substance.
No comment on all those neo-cons (re)joining the Democrats?
Sure, and all those wars were voted near unanimously by the gop. Still are, by the house vote above.
“Political theater” to “own the lib” types, is when some dems contribute to war, tho not a majority, while ignoring that the jackbooted GOP goes all in, everytime.
No doubt if the gop had the White House during the arab spring we would have had full on Iraq style invasions of Syria and Libya….as the gop promised in 02, 7 countries in 7 years.
You go through great contortions to imagine the ” parties are the same”. Learn to research congressional votes. Biden is not “the dems”, the party is divided, trump is certainly the gop tho….see GOP policy platform…..bootlickers.
You do realize that you haven’t addressed my points, right?… Yada, yada, yada. Essentially you are saying Democrats are better because they pretend to be better.
Confront Russia? What he really means is overthrow the Russian government.
If there is no “enemy” there would be no justification for the US spending a trillion dollars a year on “defense” while millions of Americans go without healthcare and jobs and line up in droves at the food banks. As long as they can be convinced that some other country is eager to conquer the US they’ll put up with it.
Some lesser evil.
Indeed. Like choosing between being bit by a rattlesnake or a copperhead.
biden has been in a war loving coma for 3 decades—trump could only dream about approaching his level of corruption
Wow, you must have been living under a rock for 40 years.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, same as the previous boss, same as the boss before that, same as the boss before that………….
If voting changed anything…it would be illegal.
Got to keep the billions rolling in to the military-industrial complex and its shareholders. Not much will change if the US has a different president. They’ll still be the biggest warmongers on the planet.