{"id":91090,"date":"2021-12-07T17:05:55","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T15:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=91090"},"modified":"2021-12-03T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T09:05:00","slug":"28-05-67","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=91090","title":{"rendered":"Europe&#8217;s Migrant Crisis Demonstrates Biden&#8217;s Weakness"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/images\/gatestone-logo-1000.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"50%\"><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/17956\/europe-migrant-crisis-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Europe&#8217;s Migrant Crisis Demonstrates Biden&#8217;s Weakness<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> Con Coughlin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\">\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\">\n<li>Mr Xi&#8217;s confidence that he has nothing to fear from Mr Biden was clearly reflected in the patronising tone he adopted towards the US leader from the outset of their three-and-a-half hour meeting, referring to Mr Biden as his &#8220;old friend&#8221;, when he is clearly no such thing.<\/li>\n<li>By contrast Mr Biden proved unwilling to raise any issues that might prove uncomfortable for the Chinese leader, such as Beijing&#8217;s role in causing the Covid-19 pandemic that has wrought havoc throughout the world.<\/li>\n<li>The Russian autocrat [Putin] is also well aware of Mr Biden&#8217;s weak disposition as a result of the three-hour summit the two leaders attended in Geneva last June, the most notable outcome being the American President&#8217;s utter capitulation to Moscow on long-standing arms control demands.<\/li>\n<li>Consequently, the only winners from Europe&#8217;s latest migrant crisis are likely to be Mr Putin and his thuggish Belarusian ally&#8230;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/1767.jpg\" width=\"100%\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>Nothing better illustrates the ability of rogue states to take advantage of Joe Biden&#8217;s pitifully weak leadership than the role Belarusian despot Alexander Lukashenko (pictured) has played in creating a migrant crisis in the heart of Europe. (Photo by Maxim Gucheck\/Belta\/\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Nothing better illustrates the ability of rogue states to take advantage of Joe Biden&#8217;s pitifully weak leadership than the role Belarusian despot Alexander Lukashenko has played in creating a migrant crisis in the heart of Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">As Mr Biden&#8217;s unimpressive&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2021\/11\/biden-dithers-as-china-ups-its-nuclear-arsenal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performance<\/a>&nbsp;during his recent video summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping has graphically demonstrated, the US leader appears increasingly out of his depth on the world stage, to the extent that Washington&#8217;s&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/biden-summit-xi-but-no-strategy-for-china-taiwan-taipei-invasion-climate-kerry-cop26-11637165706\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">adversaries<\/a>&nbsp;see Mr Biden&#8217;s weakness as working to their advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Mr Xi&#8217;s confidence that he has nothing to fear from Mr Biden was clearly reflected in the patronising tone he adopted towards the US leader from the outset of their three-and-a-half hour meeting, referring to Mr Biden as his &#8220;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/old-friends-biden-china-xi-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">old friend<\/a>&#8220;, when he is clearly no such thing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Furthermore, Mr Xi demonstrated his evident feeling of superiority over his American rival by warning him that Mr Biden that he was &#8220;playing with fire&#8221; over the issue of Taiwan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">&#8220;Some people in the US intend to use Taiwan to control China. This trend is dangerous and is like playing with fire, and those who play with fire will get burned,&#8221; Mr Xi&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2021\/11\/16\/old-friend-joe-biden-xi-jinping-meet-start-virtual-summit-cool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>, according to Beijing&#8217;s readout.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">By contrast Mr Biden proved unwilling to raise any issues that might prove uncomfortable for the Chinese leader, such as Beijing&#8217;s role in causing the Covid-19 pandemic that has wrought havoc throughout the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Nor is China the only rogue nation that believes that the Biden administration&#8217;s inherent weakness gives them&nbsp;<i>carte blanche<\/i>&nbsp;to cause mischief in other parts of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Another example of rogue leaders taking full advantage of Mr Biden&#8217;s inept leadership is the deepening migrant crisis in eastern Europe, where Mr Lukashenko has been accused of deliberately stirring up trouble on the Polish and Lithuanian borders by&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/at-polish-border-migrants-say-belarus-waved-them-through-11637264445\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">encouraging<\/a>&nbsp;thousands of illegal migrants to try to seek asylum in the European Union.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">EU officials believe Mr Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is personally responsible for provoking the crisis,&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-59215769\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accusing<\/a>&nbsp;the Belarusian leader of adopting &#8220;an inhuman, gangster-style approach.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Mr Lukashenko&#8217;s reasons for provoking the crisis is aimed at blackmailing the EU into lifting the sanctions it imposed after his regime launched a brutal&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/international-news-ap-top-news-europe-72e43a8b9e4c56362d4c1d6393bd54fb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crackdown<\/a>&nbsp;against opposition activists following the country&#8217;s 2020 presidential elections, which were widely condemned as a sham.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Further sanctions were imposed after Mr Lukashenko ordered the Belarusian military to&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/23\/world\/europe\/ryanair-belarus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">intercept<\/a>&nbsp;a Ryanair passenger jet in May, which was diverted to Minsk so that the authorities could detain two activists who were travelling on the aircraft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">While Mr Lukashenko&#8217;s primary motivation in provoking the crisis is focused on getting the sanctions lifted, it is also abundantly clear that Mr Putin is keen to exploit the crisis as an opportunity to sow division and discord within the Western alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Russian autocrat is also well aware of Mr Biden&#8217;s weak disposition as a result of the three-hour&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/government-and-politics-joe-biden-europe-7993656455f5c0fc8600ac38285b21e7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">summit<\/a>&nbsp;the two leaders attended in Geneva last June, the most notable outcome being the American President&#8217;s utter capitulation to Moscow on long-standing arms control demands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Since then Mr Putin has made clear his unwillingness to take arms control issues seriously by conducting a number of provocative acts, such as its recent&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/science-environment-59307862\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demonstration<\/a>&nbsp;of its ability to destroy a satellite with a newly-developed missile.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Mr Putin is always looking for an excuse to weaken the Western alliance, and the latest migrant crisis in Europe has therefore presented him with the perfect opportunity to cause trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Kremlin has issued its customary denials that it is in any way responsible for the crisis, but this has been dismissed by countries such as Poland, which have&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/11\/17\/1056646761\/poland-has-accused-belarus-and-russia-of-trying-to-use-migrants-to-destabilize-t?t=1637340667488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accused<\/a>&nbsp;Russia of using the migrants as pawns in an attempt to further destabilise the EU.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">To judge by the increasingly acrimonious exchanges taking place between European leaders, the migrant crisis is having the desired effect of causing division among EU member states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">German Chancellor Angela Merkel&#8217;s decision, for example, to schedule a telephone conversation with Mr Lukashenko, the first contact the Belarusian despot has had with a Western leader since the 2020 elections, has provoked bitter criticism from a number of east European states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Poland, which is on the frontline of the crisis, has complained that it is being left out of discussions regarding its own border, while Lithuania, which has declared a state of emergency, has&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lrt.lt\/en\/news-in-english\/19\/1542838\/i-see-no-point-in-talking-with-him-lithuanian-fm-baffled-by-merkel-lukashenko-call\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accused<\/a>&nbsp;Mrs Merkel of playing into Mr Lukashenko&#8217;s hands by giving him the recognition he craves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Despite these tensions between member states, the EU is trying to present a firm line by resisting pressure to ease sanctions against Minsk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In normal circumstances, moreover, the EU would expect to receive support from the US in its stand-off with Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">On this occasion, though, Mr Biden&#8217;s inability to provide anything approaching clear and effective leadership has meant that the US has been required to take a back seat, a woeful state of affairs that will not be lost on Mr Putin, as well as other adversaries such as Mr Xi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">It is a measure of the Biden administration&#8217;s impotence that, despite Europe being one of Washington&#8217;s closest allies, the White House has still not managed to appoint new&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/belarus-migrant-crisis-exposes-tensions-within-european-union-11637083429\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ambassadors<\/a>&nbsp;to key European countries such as Britain, France, Germany and Poland, thereby severely limiting Washington&#8217;s ability to maintain high level contacts with its allies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Consequently, the only winners from Europe&#8217;s latest migrant crisis are likely to be Mr Putin and his thuggish Belarusian ally, while for Mr Biden it will only serve as yet further evidence that, while he may still be in office, he has absolutely no power when it comes to exercising influence in world affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><i><strong>Con Coughlin<\/strong> is the<\/i>&nbsp;Telegraph<i>&#8216;s Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\">\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Europe&#8217;s Migrant Crisis Demonstrates Biden&#8217;s Weakness Con Coughlin Mr Xi&#8217;s confidence that he has nothing to fear from Mr Biden was clearly reflected in the patronising tone he adopted towards the US leader from the outset of their three-and-a-half hour meeting, referring to Mr Biden as his &#8220;old friend&#8221;, when he is clearly no such [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91090"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=91090"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91125,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91090\/revisions\/91125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=91090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=91090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=91090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}