![](https://i.imgur.com/CLvY2jA.png")
15-10-2022, 10:28 AM
Marwan Bishara
Senior political analyst at Al Jazeera.
Published On 14 Oct 2022
14 Oct 2022
......
the Russian invasion of Ukraine ...... has complicated the NSS final draft and delayed its publication by several months.
......
Biden makes a number of fanciful — even delusional — assumptions about US world leadership. “Around the world, the need for American leadership is as great as it has ever been,” the document claims, because “no nation is better positioned to lead with strength and purpose than the United States of America.”
Such assumptions may have been true in the post-Cold War period but can no longer be justified — not after three decades of failures and fiascos, overreaction and later overreach; and not after the country’s recent retreat and retrenchment from the global stage.
Yet, the NSS pronounces that “we must proactively shape the international order in line with our interests and values”. There’s no escape from American righteousness, even when those liberal values are backsliding at home and abroad.
Every time the United States leads by the example of its power, it compromises the power of its example, alas.
......
Biden claims not to seek “a new Cold War” with China, but rather reaffirms America’s One China policy, and makes clear that Washington does not support Taiwan’s independence.
But China and Russia view America’s “rules-based international system” as the incarnation of US imperialism. They pay attention mainly to what the US does — not to what Biden says. They regard US strategic containment, military buildup, and alliance formation and expansion with alarm and hostility that will certainly undermine the cooperation and coordination needed to meet global challenges.
......
Another problem lies with the NSS’s choice of resources and methods to achieve its objectives. It speaks of a desire to build a “free, open, prosperous, and secure international order” where people can “enjoy their basic, universal rights and freedoms”.
However, to achieve such a worthy, even noble objective, the US plans to grow its power, amplify its influence through international coalitions, and modernise and strengthen its military. This comes even as the US already spends more on its military than the next nine biggest spenders, all of which — with the exception of China and Russia — are its allies.
In other words, the Biden administration speaks as a healer but acts like a hammer, believing the US could and should act as the world’s policeman, despite a long and bloody history.
......
the US ...... persists in its violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty that requires nuclear powers to pursue disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals. The US insists that Iran must comply with its NPT obligations when it does not.
The same goes for values and interests that do not usually align with foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, where the Biden administration has been shoring up autocracies and rallying them against Russia, all in the name of democracy.
The NSS also commits the United States to proactively integrate Israel into the region, albeit at the expense of Palestinians and Arab rights. It mentions the two-state solution as the better option, but in practice — and unsurprisingly — it panders to Israel.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/...n-doctrine
Senior political analyst at Al Jazeera.
Published On 14 Oct 2022
14 Oct 2022
......
the Russian invasion of Ukraine ...... has complicated the NSS final draft and delayed its publication by several months.
......
Biden makes a number of fanciful — even delusional — assumptions about US world leadership. “Around the world, the need for American leadership is as great as it has ever been,” the document claims, because “no nation is better positioned to lead with strength and purpose than the United States of America.”
Such assumptions may have been true in the post-Cold War period but can no longer be justified — not after three decades of failures and fiascos, overreaction and later overreach; and not after the country’s recent retreat and retrenchment from the global stage.
Yet, the NSS pronounces that “we must proactively shape the international order in line with our interests and values”. There’s no escape from American righteousness, even when those liberal values are backsliding at home and abroad.
Every time the United States leads by the example of its power, it compromises the power of its example, alas.
......
Biden claims not to seek “a new Cold War” with China, but rather reaffirms America’s One China policy, and makes clear that Washington does not support Taiwan’s independence.
But China and Russia view America’s “rules-based international system” as the incarnation of US imperialism. They pay attention mainly to what the US does — not to what Biden says. They regard US strategic containment, military buildup, and alliance formation and expansion with alarm and hostility that will certainly undermine the cooperation and coordination needed to meet global challenges.
......
Another problem lies with the NSS’s choice of resources and methods to achieve its objectives. It speaks of a desire to build a “free, open, prosperous, and secure international order” where people can “enjoy their basic, universal rights and freedoms”.
However, to achieve such a worthy, even noble objective, the US plans to grow its power, amplify its influence through international coalitions, and modernise and strengthen its military. This comes even as the US already spends more on its military than the next nine biggest spenders, all of which — with the exception of China and Russia — are its allies.
In other words, the Biden administration speaks as a healer but acts like a hammer, believing the US could and should act as the world’s policeman, despite a long and bloody history.
......
the US ...... persists in its violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty that requires nuclear powers to pursue disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals. The US insists that Iran must comply with its NPT obligations when it does not.
The same goes for values and interests that do not usually align with foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, where the Biden administration has been shoring up autocracies and rallying them against Russia, all in the name of democracy.
The NSS also commits the United States to proactively integrate Israel into the region, albeit at the expense of Palestinians and Arab rights. It mentions the two-state solution as the better option, but in practice — and unsurprisingly — it panders to Israel.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/...n-doctrine
