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The fact that the United States is losing moral authority in the world is serious. Especially in these times, when democracies are being rapidly dismantled by potential autocrats.
The White House has sent terrible signals to freedom fighters on every continent. The fact that Joe Biden is willing not only to resume negotiations with Iran but to lift all the sanctions that Trump imposed on the ayatollahs’ regime is a worrying statement against a key ally like Israel.
As former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says: “The Biden Administration cannot give the Iranian regime billions of dollars in exchange for a deal that won’t protect Americans or our friend, Israel.”
Coupled with that, reports that John Kerry, a man closely tied to Biden’s time in the White House when Obama, leaked classified information from Israel to Iran, is not only serious. It’s treasonous. And Biden has said nothing about it.
Washington cannot ask for loyalty and consistency among its partners in the world when it turns its back on a fundamental ally, such as Israel, the retaining wall of so much in the Middle East.
Another example of this is Taiwan. Shortly after being taken over by a power-hungry China, it seems that the country will be left helpless. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told NBC in an interview that, faced with the possibility of an invasion, the U.S. hopes that “Taiwan will have the ability to defend itself.”
Hong Kong, for its part, has already lost its freedom.
Then there are the clearly authoritarian gestures of this new Democratic Party, increasingly influenced by fundamentalist positions. The idea of overcrowding the Supreme Court, promoted by the most socialist and anti-democratic wing of the Party, is gaining momentum and looks very likely. Clearly, this is a very dangerous deformation of American institutions; but, in addition, it would be an action that would completely undermine the moral authority of the United States.
The arbitrary way in which the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, succeeded in getting the Congress, taken over by him, to dismiss Supreme Court justices aroused immense international concern. And one of the countries to warn about the excesses of submitting the Judiciary to the Executive was the United States. In a telephone conversation, Secretary Blinken shared his concern with Bukele. Vice-President Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter that “an independent judiciary is fundamental to a healthy democracy and a strong economy.”
The arbitrary and forced removal of the Salvadoran justices from the Salvadoran judiciary does not dissent much from the Democratic Party’s desire to expand the number of Supreme Court justices.
In a column for the Wall Street Journal, Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes: “If Democrats pack the U.S. Supreme Court, they will do irreparable damage to the institution. But the harm wouldn’t end there. President Biden’s commission to study the idea is already undermining U.S. moral authority on the rule of law and the separation of powers in Latin America.”
Biden entered the White House assuring that the United States was back at the drawing board. He is referring, of course, to the handshaking with Iran and China; to the presence in organizations hostile to freedom, such as the United Nations or the World Health Organization; to participation in flawed agreements such as those of Paris.
This is not a board in which the United States leads a world in which it is a model of respect for the rule of law, institutions, and freedoms. This is a board in which Washington no longer has moral authority.
Orlando Avendaño is the co-editor-in-chief of El American. He is a Venezuelan journalist and has studies in the History of Venezuela. He is the author of the book Days of submission // Orlando Avendaño es el co-editor en Jefe de El American. Es periodista venezolano y cuenta con estudios en Historia de Venezuela. Es autor del libro Días de sumisión.