MSNBC rips Biden for Taiwan gaffe: Sign of ‘bumbling foreign policy,’ ‘incompetence’

MSNBC opinion columnist Zeeshan Aleem blasted President Joe Biden Monday for his latest "bumbling" foreign policy gaffe on Taiwan. 

Aleem bashed the president's claim that the U.S. would "militarily intervene" if China invades Taiwan that the administration had to walk back, saying it’s part of a "troubling pattern" that could "unwittingly" signal to U.S. adversaries that the country "is more inclined toward war than it is." He also slammed Biden’s words for revealing "a lack of clarity born of incompetence or indiscipline rather than a deliberate decision" on his part.

"The confrontational statement marked a sharp departure from the U.S. policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ on Taiwan that has prevailed for decades.

"But shortly after his remarks, Biden’s administration downplayed the statement, saying that the president had in fact not meant to signal a policy change, and that the usual U.S. posture on Taiwan remained intact," Aleem wrote.

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The author commented that these remarks from Biden and the subsequent White House walk backs are "becoming a familiar pattern: Biden makes a bold statement expressing a new degree of readiness for war with a rival or adversary like China or Russia, and then his own staff walks it back."

Aleem said this puts the nation in a precarious situation: "It’s also becoming a troubling pattern — while domestic audiences can laugh off Biden’s gaffes and missteps, there is no guarantee foreign powers will give him the benefit of the doubt." 

He then commented such statements are hurting Biden and marring the U.S.’s image on the world stage, "Biden is marring the credibility of his own speech, and potentially unwittingly causing the U.S.’s opponents to come to the conclusion that the U.S. is more inclined toward war than it is."

The columnist noted how during the Taiwan gaffe, Biden specifically told a reporter that militarily defending Taiwan from China was "the commitment we made." Aleem denounced the claim, writing, "That is in fact not the commitment the U.S. has made. The traditional posture of the U.S. is to deliberately not specify what the U.S. would do in response to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan."

"It’s a delicate, paradox-laden policy space that requires careful maneuvering and nuance — and one Biden should know well," Aleem added, dinging the commander-in-chief. 

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He also noted Biden and his administration walking back Biden gaffes on previous occasions. "The Biden administration has actually done this whole dance at least twice before on Taiwan, each time the president seeming to stake out a new, more bellicose position, and his staff doing clean-up after." He also mentioned Biden’s over-the-top rhetoric against Russia, when his administration had to clarify what he meant by saying, "Putin cannot remain in power."

Aleem called these foreign policy statements "unstrategic ambiguity," which he described as "a lack of clarity born of incompetence or indiscipline rather than a deliberate decision to keep the opponent guessing."

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He further wrote, "But unstrategic ambiguity signals a bumbling foreign policy apparatus. Biden weakens the gravity of his words if his remarks are constantly being mopped up and it’s evident that he isn’t able to stay on message."

"And worst of all, countries like Russia and China may perceive Biden as more of a saber-rattler than he intends to be, and in turn consider or pivot toward more confrontational policy regimes against the U.S. than they would have otherwise," he concluded.