Step 2: Ease International Tensions
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Former President Donald Trump has made the case that under the four presidents in the 21st century, Russia has invaded another country in three out of those four. Who’s the only president Russia didn’t invade another country under? Donald Trump. There may be many reasons, but former President Trump has a point: during his presidency years, Putin stayed under the radar. Whether that’s good or bad, it kept the peace. Since that date, the administration has sent $75 billion to Ukraine. 41% disapprove of this, while 39% say they approve of it. But that’s still beside the issue. Biden needs to do a couple of things. First, he needs to show how supporting Ukraine weakens Russia, but most importantly, Putin’s legitimacy, which the math shows it does. Statistics show the war in Ukraine put Russia’s military advancements back 15 years. And, of course, Biden needs to calm the war somehow; if he ends it, he wins the presidency, but he doesn’t necessarily have to do that. If he demonstrates that the U.S. can dominate in foreign affairs, it puts Bidens on the landscape of being a strong, dynamic leader. And, say he was to end both wars. Trump could say, no wars were started under me. But Biden could say, well, I ended two wars involving nuclear countries, easing tensions for potentially decades.
The President needs to make it clear that Ukraine is winning, confirming that his instinct of supporting Ukraine is correct, and that will move people away from the idea that for four years there was no war; when the guy who stops mid-sentence comes into office, all of a sudden Russia invades Ukraine.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying it’s Biden’s fault that Russia invaded Ukraine; I am saying Biden’s messaging towards the U.S. support of Ukraine is weakening, and it’s possible Putin saw this would happen all along.
Then, you take a look at October 7th, 2023. It was the worst terrorist attack in the history of Israel, with nearly 1,160 casualties, equivalent to almost 50+ 9/11’s in terms of Israel’s population ratios. The war came at an awful time. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy had just been ousted, and until October 25, there was no Speaker. As Congress manages the finances and international funding, and as the Speaker is head of that, it was a significant issue as no funding or aid was going toward Israel, so the war didn’t start great on the U.S. side. In addition to that, Biden’s handling of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is probably a vital issue of why the war is still happening. Netanyahu, also a Prime Minister of ups and downs, had a successful tenure from 2009 to 2021 before he got voted out due to corruption, and then he got back at the end of 2022. When I say successful, Israel’s GDP grew more than double, unemployment was halved, and there were only two threatening missile strikes, nothing that lasted above two months. Despite Netanyahu’s success in keeping the peace during that 12-year tenure, Benjamin Netanyahu has an issue: he puts himself first above practically everything. Yes, he may or may not get the job done, at least before the 2009 – 2021 tenure, but he aligns himself with the far-right religious party so that his party can have a majority, enabling him to be Prime Minister. In addition to his self-centeredness, over the summer, he tried to make the Prime Minister practically a dictator by limiting the powers of the Israeli supreme court, moving those powers to the Prime Minister, entirely removing checks and balances, unsuccessfully trying to make Israel the Russia of the Middle East. He was distracted with himself, and the government was conflicted internally, so it was Netanyahu and his government’s fault for October 7th to have been a surprise when inhumane Hamas terrorists invaded the country. Proof of when a leader puts themselves first. Eventually, it will catch up with them. But there has barely been any progress in this war. Sure, large percentages of around 20-30% of Hamas have been wiped out, but there are still hostages, and the war is still going on. The longer the war goes on, the longer Netanyahu stays in power, and as long as he’s in power, he avoids facing repercussions of his corruption charges. Biden must strengthen this relationship with Netanyahu and him on board to win. If Israel wins, Netanyahu gets voted out. Only in times of uncertainty, Netanyahu has the playing card of keeping his party aligned and behind him. If you add all the math up, this war is ONLY going on because Netanyahu is not using his full efforts to effectively win this war. His messaging has been off. Netanyahu is a smart guy; in prior conflicts, he can address the enemy. But not quite this time. It’s clear the enemy is Hamas, but Netanyahu himself is not saying why we should be against them. It’s different when people hear it from a leader or what they read in the news. All in all, not only has messaging been off, but so has Israel’s response. Give me a break. We are talking about nuclear power, with a smart guy as PM, against a tiny terrorist organization that controls a strip not even the size of Westchester County. Netanyahu can win this effectively and fairly. Either way, if Israel wins under him, he will be voted out because October 7th only happened because Netnayhau did not do his job and got the public distracted with the stupid drama of a potential Netanyahu – dictatorship. Doing weird things like banning Muslims from being able to use the mosque of Jerusalem during Ramadaam just proved Netanyahu is trying to instigate tensions; he needs to be voted out. But he won’t be voted out until Israel is at peace.
People are dying, troops and civilians, instead of attacking Netanyahu on his political views or not getting members of his administration on board for supporting Israel. The Vice President has already called for a ceasefire without any mention of the hostages. Although the Secretary of State has called for one, with the hostages, Netanyahu doesn’t want a ceasefire either way, and it also demonstrates the clear division of the Biden administration. Biden should be helping Netanyahu win this war on Netanyahu’s terms. As corrupt as he is, Netanyahu is the incumbent Prime Minister. He knows how to win if held on a tight leash; experience is not an issue; he’s seen it all. Not to mention, if there are any tensions with the U.S., Netanyahu can be highly destructive in the long term. He knows the system inside and out; the U.S. should not play around with him but control him; he is too intelligent and influential for the U.S. to play games. If Biden can dominate the relationship and get Netanyahu in support of “Israel first” instead of “Benjamin first,” Israel will win. Already, Biden’s administration, not necessarily Biden specifically, has jeopardized the Israel-U.S. alliance. “Bibi” has already canceled diplomatic trips to the U.S.; he is looking for other providers for weaponry. It’s just not right. As the only democracy in the Middle East, the U.S. must stay allies with Israel. Israel gives critical national intelligence to the U.S. Unlike Ukraine, another essential ally, Israel is the ONLY democracy in its region: more democracies, a better world. If Israel wins, America wins. It’s as simple as that. Above all, if Israel wins, and the war is over, Netanyahu gets voted out, so it’s a win for Biden, it’s a win for the U.S., as a sister democracy wins, and it’s a win for Israel. Biden needs to get his act together in this scenario. He must stop the personal bias against Benjamin Netanyahu, start to help Israel, fix the damaged relationship, and, for the first time since October 7th, go against the terrorist organization that started this whole mess, Hamas, instead of rhetoric against Netanyahu. Netanyahu is clearly on Israel’s side; he is the Prime Minister. Israel is on America’s side, and to get Netanyahu out, rightfully so, Biden will have to work with him for a bit longer as, in the long term, it helps the U.S., Israel, and the world significantly. However, Biden must show unity in his administration, which is possible if he is willing to have some tough conversations about future “employment” or a “corporate restructure” of members of his cabinet.
