Joe Biden had a great opportunity to show strength and to put President Xi on the spot.
There are several issues at hand right now with China, most notably this cold war that is brewing and the possible invasion of Taiwan.
By all accounts, Biden backed down to China, and now his critics are hammering him for it.
Squandered
One of the more notable critics was Fox News contributor General Jack Keane.
Keane stated, “The urgent situation we have is the threat of war, and that is the most dangerous situation the United States is facing.
“And, yes, the fact that we’re outgunned and outmanned in the Indo-Pacific region accentuates the real danger that’s here.
“We’re having people who are in uniform saying if we go to war with China, we could actually lose that war.”
He continued, “He had the opportunity to look President Xi in the eye and tell him, ‘Listen, we are not the aggressor here.
“‘It is your aggression, your malign behavior, your intimidation, your coercion of Taiwan that is causing a destabilization across the Taiwan Straits.
“‘And if you take further action to actually go into conflict with Taiwan, then you are forcing my hand to respond militarily and to encourage the allies to do so as well.'”
Hudson Institute’s Center on Chinese Strategy Director Michael Pillsbury also chimed in, stating, “I think there is a Cold War underway.
“I think it’s nice that both sides want to defuse the harsh rhetoric, but nothing really is changed because of this three-hour meeting in Bali.”
The bottom line here is that Biden has let us down and once again, portrays the United States as weakness rather than strength.
Source: Fox Business
