Newsman: President Joe Biden delivered the message to US allies and rivals alike that ‘America is Back.’ Biden at the Munich Security Conference Friday morning reaffirmed the US position of global leadership, the power of its alliances and the resilience of democracy in the United States and abroad. Biden pledged to work with Europe and stop at nothing to ensure democratic values prevail around the world. He announced he was halting a withdrawal of troops from Germany that Trump had demanded, framing the decision as critical to bolstering Europe’s defenses. And he voiced support for NATO and its Article 5 commitment to collective defense, something Trump sometimes appeared reluctant to affirm during his years in office.
Paired with his first virtual session of the G7 a few hours earlier, Biden’s back-to-back diplomatic engagements centered on his attempt to affirm what he said was the “cornerstone of all we hope to accomplish”: America’s ties with its most traditional allies.
Biden made the case that the United States returns to the table. Biden said, “I’m a man of my word.”
“I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship,” he said, addressing the conference remotely from the White House East Room. “The US is determined to reengage with Europe. To consult with you. To earn back our position of trusted leadership.”
“Our partnerships have endured and grown through the years because they are rooted in the richness of our shared democratic values. They’re not transactional,” he said, rebuking the preferred worldview of his predecessor in favor of something more cooperative.
“I believe with every ounce of my being that democracy must prevail,” Biden said.
Appearing on-screen in a display of trans-Atlantic unity with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, Biden said democracy is under assault around the world and called on Western allies to “demonstrate that democracy functions and works and together there’s nothing we can’t do.”
Aware that many European countries came to doubt America’s commitment to collective NATO defense under former President Donald Trump, Biden insisted: “Let me erase any lingering doubt: The United States will work closely with our European Union partners and capitals across the continent.”
The president added that America’s commitment to NATO is “guaranteed” and that “an attack on one is an attack on all,” a sharp break from Trump, whose rhetoric on the trans-Atlantic alliance was dominated by haranguing member states about their relatively low levels of defense spending.
Biden sent toughest words for China and Russia.
Biden accused Beijing of perpetuating abuses that “undercut the foundations of the international economic system, “and insisted that “Chinese companies should be held to the same standards” of governance and transparency as Western companies.
Urging a strong NATO and EU, Biden insisted that only trans-Atlantic unity could contain Russia.
“It’s so much easier for the Kremlin to bully and threaten individual states than a strong and united trans-Atlantic community,” Biden said.
Speaking after Biden, Angela Merkel said that “the prospects of democracy are better “thanks to Biden’s trans-Atlantic commitments and promised her full support — with a subtle warning: “In Germany we say words are not enough, you have to do them, and that is true in trans-Atlantic cooperation.” Merkel said that Germany and U.S. interests would “not always converge” but those trans-Atlantic values are fundamentally the same.
Emmanuel Macron offered assurances that the EU’s push for “strategic autonomy” is not an effort to distance itself from the U.S., but to show that Europe can be a “reliable and responsible and credible partner,” instead of a continent dependent on the U.S. for security.
Macron called for western allies to immediately deliver 13 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to African nations to protect the continent’s health workers, before China and Russia fill the void.
President Biden made broad declarations about joining together to counter Russia and China.
He made passing reference to Iran, saying the US was ready to reengage in negotiations on the nuclear deal. He said the US remained committed to ensuring Afghanistan does not again become a safe haven for terrorists. His remarks were meant as a broad statement of support for US-Europe ties after four years in the wilderness.”The last four years have been hard, but Europe and the United States have to lead with confidence once more, with faith in our capacities, a commitment to our own renewal, with trust in one another,” he said.
Meeting earlier over video conference with the G7 from the White House Situation Room, Biden joined a club in which he’s long sought membership. In a brief photo-op, he was smiling and nodding along as the summit’s host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, made introductory remarks.
During the meeting, he unveiled a $4 billion US commitment to COVAX, the global effort to provide vaccines to poor countries. The President plans to announce $2 billion contribution to the fund and commit to spending another $2 billion, contingent on contributions from other nations.
The session also marked the United States’ official return to the Paris climate accord, 30 days after Biden announced he would re-enter the US in the pact during his first day in office.
