Biden’s policies are the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century’

OPINION:

Seventeen years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his parliament that “the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” 

Mr. Putin pointed to Russian disenfranchisement and separatist movements as his basis, but his real frustration stemmed from the declining perception of Moscow’s crumbling power after the Soviet Union collapsed. As Republican strategist Lee Atwater said, “perception is reality,” and the perception of Moscow’s power after 1991 was diminished — until now. 

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was good for the free world since, as President Ronald Reagan said, it was an “evil empire.” But Mr. Putin was not all wrong in that the Soviet Union’s breakup diminished the fear and respect the West had for the superpower. With China rattling its saber in the Pacific, some have even referred to Russia as a “second-rate power.” 

Despite still possessing the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, some have said the post-Soviet international system was “unipolar” inferring the U.S. was a singular global hegemon, dismissing East-West bipolar tension. 

But while Mr. Putin has made it his life mission to change that by taking the Crimea, surrounding Ukraine and using Belarus as a military staging area, President Biden has dramatically damaged the perception of U.S. power. 

As the world watched the U.S. do nothing amid the July 11 Cuban uprisings and watched Afghanis fall to their death from the wings of American jets as they fled Kabul, Mr. Putin knew his moment had come. Former President Obama let him take the Crimea, so he suspected his second in command would forsake Ukraine. 

Technically, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that required Ukraine’s nuclear disarmament does not require the U.S. to rescue it amidst attack. But when the West conned Ukraine into dismantling its nuclear arsenal, there was a reasonable expectation that if this day ever came, Washington would have Kyiv’s back against Moscow. We don’t. 

Imagine the message this sends North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, whom we’ve repeatedly tried to herd into nuclear disarmament. Think about the message it sends Iran’s Ayatollah, who is determined to complete its nuclear program. The word is out. If you’re not nuclear, you’re nothing.  

If dictators come with torches in the dead of night, don’t count on America anymore. Gone are the days of the once heroic U.S. that was “a hope to the world” by liberating occupied nations. 

If your country faces invasion or genocide, the U.S. will not fight. It will sanction you. That’s the so-called “severe” and “enormous consequences” Mr. Biden is talking about when warning Moscow not to invade Ukraine. Sanctions, sanctions, sanctions. 

Well, last week, Russia’s ambassador to Sweden, Viktor Tatarintsev, made it clear that Mr. Putin “doesn’t give a s—- about sanctions.” Damn right, he doesn’t. Mr. Putin cares about power. 

The Russian president thrives from displaying power in the grandiose, chauvinist fashion. This is why he orders his jets to buzz our warships and challenge our fighter pilots into virtual dogfights while flying long-range strategic bombers into the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone. 

Mr. Putin was apparently paying close attention in 1964 when Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power by Leonid Brezhnev’s hardline coup. Soviet hardliners began plotting their move shortly after Mr. Khrushchev made a secret deal with President John F. Kennedy to dismantle PGM-19 Jupiter missiles in Italy in Turkey as a way to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy secretly made that concession to Moscow, but the world saw the U.S. triumph over the Soviet Union. 

As Secretary of State Dean Rusk whispered to National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy, “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.” 

Not really. But to the world, the crisis was a turning point that immortalized America’s position as the victor, and two years later, Mr. Brezhnev successfully removed Mr. Khrushchev from power. As Mr. Atwater said, “perception is reality.” The perception was America was the winner, and the Soviets were losers, which was unacceptable. 

Mr. Biden could not have sent a worse signal to the Kremlin when he stupefied the world by saying there was no scenario in which he would send in U.S. forces into Ukraine to rescue Americans. “We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world,” he said. “It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly. … That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another.”

That may be true, but Mr. Biden’s public concession was the “implied warranty that there was no real scenario in which the U.S. would challenge Russian forces.” This is why Sen. Roger Wicker made a point to say in December the U.S. should not take any options off the table. If your enemies don’t think there’s any possibility you’ll use your forces, they present no deterrence. They become what Mao Zedong called a “zhilaohu,” or a “paper tiger.”

Ironically, as Mr. Putin continues to fulfill his destiny rebuilding the Soviet Union, Mr. Biden’s America is eerily assuming the global perception post-Soviet Russia once did. Once Ukraine falls, other dominos will follow, and the world will see a new Soviet Union arising from the ashes of history. Tyrants no longer fear the once-great American liberator and guardian of the free world, and to that effect, Mr. Biden’s foreign policy is unmistakably the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”

• Jeffrey Scott Shapiro is the former director of the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting, a practicing lawyer and the assistant commentary editor for The Washington Times.