Ukraine ping
Biden’s refusal to supply Ukraine with urgently-needed equipment has likely given Xi Jinping the reassurance he needs that Biden will not intervene over Taiwan. Which means the remaining years of Biden’s term will afford Xi Jinping the best chance he’ll have in his own lifetime to improve his standing in the pantheon of Chinese rulers, by doing what Mao could not - add Taiwan to the Chinese empire. Carter lost Nicaragua and Iran. Biden will lose Afghanistan, Ukraine *and* Taiwan.
Based on Biden’s past record prior to becoming president, Xi would be quite justified in assuming that Biden’s 3 assertions - that he will come to Taiwan’s defense, if China invades - are empty threats.
Biden advised Obama against the bin Laden operation.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/12/barack-obama-memoir-joe-biden-bin-laden-raid
When a high level Chinese official with direct connections to the Politburo attempted to defect to a US consulate, Biden ordered the State Department to hand him back to the Chinese.
A Republican president - or even a Democratic one who’s not Joe Biden - might not be as accommodating.
$40B ain’t chump change. Especially when it’s not our circus and not our monkeys.
That’s $40B of our money.
Biden has been schmiered up to his wind pipe by the Chinese so they’ll have smooth sailing.
Did you see their wish list? The US military is a COIN force at this point. Ukies want half to all the stuff of the US inventory on some systems (which the Russians are going to obliterate in a couple weeks).