How Biden Can Advance Unity in U.S. Foreign Policy

The new Biden administration, if it is serious about unity, should admit why it was and was not elected. It certainly was not elected by the majority of Americans to reverse the tremendous gains toward Middle East peace by now aiding Iran – the one obstacle to peace in the Middle East and an intractable totalitarian regime. Trump isolated and weakened Iran and revealed that change in Tehran is the only policy option for an implacably hostile and expansionist Iran. Biden is positioned now to negotiate a total end to the Iranian nuclear program, sap Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria from outside the theater, and work with regional allies committed to fundamental change in Teheran. If instead, Biden lifts sanctions and aids Iran, he will be forever known, along with former President Obama, as the savior – if not sponsor -- of the worst totalitarian regime currently on the planet and the only obstacle now to peace.

Trump's modernization of the U.S. military provided much stability and attention from our competitors. We are in a better position today because of such modernization. Biden was not elected to cut the defense budget.

Trump successfully called out NATO allies for not meeting their agreed financial commitments to the alliance and got them to pay more. Biden can now capitalize on such increased expenditures and demand more cooperation in opposing Russia's Nord Stream program and confronting Putin's hybrid warfare directed against Russia's neighbors (including NATO members), eager to escape Russian influence. Democrats claimed Trump was sympathetic to Putin; Biden is positioned now to govern differently toward Putin and elicit stronger NATO cooperation in confronting Putinism.

Trump turned the country's attention to Chinese unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and manipulation of the WHO. Biden can now add traditional American values and concerns over Chinese human rights abuses, openness, authoritarianism, adherence to international institutions and intellectual property law, and develop a bipartisan strategy to contain Chinese expansionism and predatory commercialization.

Tailored environmental policies could aid U.S. businesses and isolate China's horrendous environment policies and predatory commercial practices while serving Biden's new national security priority of addressing Chinese authoritarianism. Biden is now positioned to sign the Paris Climate Accord if China does the same as well as advance -- and sell -- more serious clean energy solutions, such as next-generation, advanced (and safer), American solid-fuel nuclear systems.

Only Nixon could go to China. Only Trump could bludgeon NATO allies to pay more for their security, turn the country away from endless wars so quickly, and flip U.S. China policy 180 degrees. Only Biden can advance nuclear modernization in an era of fiscal hardship; leverage a stronger NATO to confront Putinism; end (not slow) the Iranian nuclear program; build a consensus to address Chinese anti-liberalism; challenge tech companies to do for Latin America what they did for communist China; and advance economic and social justice by advancing free-enterprise, liberal democratic, rule-of-law governance worldwide.

Republican foreign policies proved unequivocally superior to democrat policies. The election was about COVID fears and the President as communicator; it most certainly was not a rejection of Trump's economic growth or foreign policy success. When democrats move away from republican foreign policy success in a childish knee jerk response to do the opposite of whatever Trump did, republicans learn that democrats continue to be unserious with foreign affairs and disinterested in unity.

James Van de Velde, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Johns Hopkins University. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.