Don't fold America's pocket aces

Op-Ed

We live in the greatest nation in the history of the world, and American exceptionalism is something we should never apologize for. In our 245-year history, our nation has risen from its humble beginnings to become a beacon of freedom and a force for good throughout the world.

Unfortunately, our nation's foreign policy at times has felt like a horribly played hand of Texas Hold 'em, wasted away by apologetic, weak leaders who are ashamed and embarrassed by just how great of a country they were elected to lead.

Texas Hold 'em is a card game in which each player is dealt two cards before five community cards are turned over in the middle of the table. The player with the best five-card hand wins. Statistically, the best two cards a player can be dealt initially are two aces, referred to as "pocket aces." The worst two cards a player can be dealt are a 2 and a 7 of different suits, referred to as "the 2-7 offsuit."

U.S. presidents are, by virtue of their office, leaders of the free world and commanders in chief of the greatest military in the world -- not because of their own greatness but because of the generations who came before them, rose to the occasion, made sacrifices, and risked everything in defense of freedom and liberty. In essence, the president inherits pocket aces.

There are some very serious threats to our country abroad. Nations like Iran and terrorist groups like the Taliban come to mind. They are among the worst of the worst. But they come to the table weak, sitting on the 2-7 offsuit.

For some bizarre reason, when the Obama administration was sitting down with Iran in 2015, President Barack Obama needlessly offered to swap our great hand for their weak hand. In 2021, the Biden administration made the same mistake with the Taliban. Both of these baffling strategies left Americans and our allies scratching their heads and asking, "Why?"

Those pocket aces were paid for by the blood and sweat of our military, as well as scientists, doctors, nurses, engineers, construction workers, bus drivers, teachers, and others -- every American worker for 250 years who also contributed to our national greatness. So why give up our inherited advantage?

The last two Democratic presidents and their administrations have consistently and inexplicably chosen to operate from a position of weakness and apologize for American exceptionalism on the world stage. They have wasted our leverage and left us behind to play the weaker hand.

When Obama negotiated the fatally flawed Iran nuclear deal in 2015, he gave up all of our leverage without addressing any of Iran's nonnuclear bad activities. Sunset clauses locked in temporary Iranian concessions in exchange for permanent U.S. concessions. He provided Iran with a jackpot of sanctions relief that it could use to fund terrorism. The agreement's verification process was flawed and ineffective, and the Obama administration was willing to turn a blind eye to Iranian cheating.

Unsurprisingly, the Iranians don't respect weakness. And sadly, President Joe Biden has decided to show even more of it. He has abandoned former President Donald Trump's successful maximum pressure campaign against Iran, unilaterally waiving sanctions and wrongly obsessing about restoring the Iran nuclear deal at almost any cost.

We witnessed another disastrous example in Afghanistan, where an untold number of Americans were stuck behind enemy lines and desperate to get out, where billions of dollars in U.S. weapons and equipment fell into the hands of the Taliban. Thirteen blue star families became gold star families because of Biden's poor planning, and terrorist groups such as the Taliban, al Qaeda, and ISIS returned to prominence to threaten our national security.

The failed withdrawal from Afghanistan is just one example of Biden's weakness and feckless deference when dealing with adversaries. In July 2021, the Biden State Department invited the United Nations racism envoy -- despite that organization's shameful record of failing to condemn human rights violations by genuine bad actors such as China, Russia, Iran, and others around the world -- to accuse the United States of being a racist nation. Biden also rescinded sanctions against Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline into Germany, allowing Russia to expand its corrosive influence and become a prominent energy provider in Europe. It took a full-blown invasion of Ukraine for Germany to snap out of it and halt the project.

This absurd groveling toward adversaries and these disgraceful displays of weakness weaken our country and reduce our standing in the world. This terrible approach to foreign policy should never be a consideration, let alone actually implemented. Biden must recognize that he has inherited pocket aces thanks to great sacrifices by others. He should learn how to play those cards like a champion and win the hand against the opponent's weak hand without apologizing for our own, swapping it for a poor hand, or just folding.

Source