Monday 5 October 2020

'Biden presidency could restore EU-US partnership’ | SCMP

Let's see. People quoted in this SCMP Focus article: an ex-Obama Ambassador; a Biden campaign member; Biden himself suggesting Brussels should be "the capital of the world”(Brussels!); an ex-EU Ambassador; a German Ambassador; a Leftwing Never Trump think tank*; and sundry other Trump bashers.
And this is a “balanced" article… Right….

To note:
    1. "The era of naive engagement with China is over". (Parello-Plesner, executive director of Alliance for Democracies*). That change was brought about by Trump.
    2. Pulling out of the Iran deal: was a predicate for the recent Middle East peace deal.
    3. NATO: Trump being rude achieved some increase in European contributions, something talked about by previous presidents, but never achieved by any one of them.
    4. Trump draw down of US troops in Germany is something long wished-for by the Left, but criticised when Trump does it.
    5. Robert Gates, US Defence Secretary to Bush and Obama: "I think he [Joe Biden] has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades". Is there any reason to think Biden can wend his way any better in the complex issues now facing us?
    6. The article assumes Biden is his own man. He clearly is not, as we can see from the “Biden platform”, which Bernie openly boasts is his own, with some AOC thrown in. He will be tossed about by the policies of the Bernie/AOC Left. Who knows whither?
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*The "Alliance of Democracies" is centre-right, but Never Trumper.