It Is Time for America to Demonstrate Her Strength

Ambassador Robert C. O'Brien

When I was asked recently about world security environment around the globe, I responded that the world has not been this dangerous since 1938. We have gone from a peaceful and relatively stable Trump era to today where multiple wars rage throughout the world.

Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine continues.  The devastation wreaked upon the Ukrainian people is deplorable and it is difficult to anticipate how the conflict ends. Maintaining Western unity and a bipartisan consensus on Ukraine is important as we cannot return to an era of geopolitics where larger nations are permitted to conquer and subjugate their smaller neighbors merely because they can. As history has demonstrated, tyrants who are allowed to get their way by force or the threat of force are unlikely to stop on their own. I fear that if Russia’s expansionist strategy goes unanswered, the threat will only grow, and could require a far greater price of the United States in the future. In the face of this risk, there remains no Biden Administration plan to either win the war or negotiate a peace deal.

In the Middle East, Iran is becoming a regional hegemon. The Revolutionary Guard’s Quds force operates with relative impunity.  Iran’s ballistic missile program extends the reach of its missiles by miles each year.  The nation is spinning more centrifuges than the United States and is probably mere weeks away from being able to build a nuclear device. Israel has borne the brunt of Iran’s malign activities and is engaged in a fight for their own survival against Iran’s terrorist proxies. The Biden Administration’s policy of deescalating at all costs and starving Israel of arms has only emboldened the Ayatollah and his network of terror to challenge the U.S. and Israel further, leading to the conflicts we see today. It is evident that our weakness only invites further Iranian aggression.

Though it has not captured international attention in recent years, the North Korean regime persists in threatening our Korean and Japanese allies, and the wider Pacific region. The Kim regime will continue to do so unless the U.S addresses this threat with steadfast pressure. Our message must be clear and unequivocal, if you continue to threaten our security it will cost you greatly and if you dare attack the United States or our allies, it will be the last thing you ever do. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has sent no such message.  When Trump did, North Korea stopped testing nuclear weapons and entered into negotiation with the U.S.

Meanwhile, China is rapidly advancing its military capabilities as well as its economic tools in order to remake the world on the Chinese Communist Party’s terms. The threat we face from China is the greatest challenge America has faced since World War II. It will require a similar level of national determination to overcome. As China pours money into its military buildup, and stockpiles food and energy - clear preparations for a war with the United States over Taiwan – many Americans appear blissfully unbothered by these prospects or their catastrophic consequences. At the same time, Beijing is undermining U.S. economic security by stealing our technology to get ahead, killing American jobs and crippling American businesses along the way. Our country needs leadership in Washington that is not afraid to confront Xi Jinping on Beijing’s wide range of malign activities and stand up for American leadership in the world.  Such leadership is nowhere to be found in the Biden administration.

All of these adversaries are united in their desire to change the existing international system to their advantage and to weaken or destroy the United States of America. I used to repeat to my NSC staff weekly that “weakness or even the perception of weakness is provocative in international affairs.” 

Alternatively, Peace through strength works … it always has. After such a sobering survey of the dangers we face, know that I am an optimist about the future for America and her allies.  We remain a fundamentally strong country blessed by our Constitution, our geography, our natural  resources, our innovative and highly productive people and our likeminded allies.  It is why so many people still risk so much to come here. It is past time to start acting like a strong nation again.

Robert C. O’Brien served as the 27^th US National Security Advisor under President Donald J. Trump, from 2019-2021.

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