National Interest: His bold move confirmed that he was not confused and showed real courage

Biden's visit to Kiev directly escalates his confrontation with Putin

Biden during his meeting with Zelensky in Kiev. A.B

The American writer, Jacob Hilborn, editor-in-chief of the American magazine "National Interest", believes that US President Joe Biden, by visiting Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, directly escalated his confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with his critics from the Republican Party in his country.

It can be said that Biden is completely on the side of Ukraine against Russia's war with this country. His visit not only to Kiev, but also to Warsaw, the capital of Poland, where he gave a speech on the war, is a pivotal moment. Now more than ever, Biden is showing himself a "war boss."

A brave man

In an analysis published by the National Interest, Hilborn adds that Biden's critics like to portray him as an old man, who has nothing to do with contemporary realities. Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott recently called him "confused," but Biden's bold visit to Kiev made it clear that there was no confusion, it showed real courage.

Not only that, the visit underscored Biden's diplomatic savvy. As a product of the Cold War era, Biden understands that he can only exercise leadership to strengthen the Western alliance, which collapsed but never disintegrated during the confrontation with the Soviet Union, no matter how much pressure the Kremlin put on him. The alliance is back in the future, and Moscow is once again trying to divide NATO, hoping to establish its own new anti-Western world order.

Hilburn says Biden is not budging from his position: He campaigned to revive American democracy, but ended up defending it even more abroad. The Ukraine crisis tickled his strengths, allowing him to exploit the atrophied diplomatic and military forces of the Western alliance to consolidate American hegemony once again.

Hilborn explained that the Polish Consul General in New York, Adrian Kubick, told him that "President Biden's visit to Ukraine, followed by his visit to Poland, reaffirms the strong commitment of the United States to continue its support for Ukraine and the Ukrainians, in the war with Russia. The visit also sends an important message to Poland and other allies from NATO's eastern flank: the security of the region is a shared priority for us."

There is an opportunity for Poland and the nine Bucharest countries to discuss with President Biden what actions NATO needs to take to enhance defense capabilities and security. This historic visit is an important step forward towards the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Hilborn adds that Biden's emergence as a strong leader does not appeal to his critics on the political right, who scramble to portray his visit as misled, or even worse.

US Representative Marjorie Taylor tweeted about the visit: "This is a grave insult. From now on, the president of the United States has chosen Ukraine, to take priority over America, while forcing the American people to pay money to the government of Ukraine and its war. I can't say how many Americans hate Joe Biden."

Biden Counters Russia

Hilborn said this was a false choice: Biden does not favor Ukraine over America, but is cautiously countering Vladimir Putin's ambition to create a new Russian empire that would directly threaten Europe. In any case, the idea that the war is the "Ukraine war", says the deputy, is false. He pointed out that Representative Taylor is making up a fictional narrative, that Ukraine is the bad country responsible for the outbreak of war through its troubled behavior. Since when is the mere preservation of existence a reason to be attacked?

Hilborn stressed that the Ukraine war will create a major rift among the Republican Party, as Senator Mitch McConnell will support the war against Ukraine. Presidential candidates, such as Nikki Haley and (supposedly) Mike Pompeo, will attack Biden for being too lenient on foreign policy, but others in the Republican Party have no courage to support Kiev. Donald Trump, for example, will promote a cowardly policy toward the Kremlin, accusing Biden of complicating matters by not seeking a diplomatic solution, i.e., handing Ukraine over on a silver platter as an integral part of Russia's legitimate sphere of influence.

Hilborn said capitulating to Putin's paranoid desire to wipe Ukraine off the map would likely mean declaring the end of NATO. Putin's grip on power within Russia will be impregnable, and the Baltic states will be next on his list of attacks. On the other hand, China will be immune in its ambition to devour Taiwan and drive America as far away as possible from the Asian stage.

Biden is right in what he did, showing through his visit to Kiev, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Ukrainian-Russian war, that America is not absent, but rather on the battlefield.

As a product of the Cold War era, Biden understands that he can only exercise leadership to strengthen the Western alliance, which collapsed but never disintegrated during the confrontation with the Soviet Union, no matter how much pressure the Kremlin put on him.

The Ukraine crisis has tickled Biden's strengths, allowing him to exploit the atrophied diplomatic and military forces of the Western alliance to consolidate American hegemony once again.