Joe Biden, US President is definitely scoring major geopolitical wins these days, almost inarguably. Though on some issues, like on cluster bombs and continuing to throw other deadly weapons into the Ukraine war caldron are not looked as positive by India, no doubt and much of the South.
However, first, the West’s and NATO’s leader deserves high praise. His enthusiastic strengthening of ties with the world’s largest democracy, India, strongly facilitated by the wisdom of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in support by his foreign policy team, headed at Foreign Affairs by Minister, S. Jaishankar, represent brilliance in statecraft and strategic thinking between the two nations. Added to this, is Biden and his team showing realism in rejecting Ukraine joining NATO for the foreseeable future. This, all despite recent pleas, almost insistence by the Ukrainian president that the process must proceed quickly to get Ukraine membership in the western alliance, or he would not attend the next major meeting of NATO in Vilnius. This may be one too many examples these days of Kiev trying to act as the “tail wagging” Washington and the Brussels “dog” on how best to forge peace in Ukraine. This is all happening while the US has many other issues and areas in the world to focus on, such as China and its own overall, varied national interests.
As Russia sees Ukraine joining NATO as a redline that if it was allowed, would lead Russia to joining no peace negotiations, the Biden announcement that Kiev joining NATO is not on, is progress. A likely negative is that the US position still remains that it supports an open door for Kiev to join some years in the future. Nevertheless, Kiev seems to have been warned by Biden’s pointing out how democratic a potential member is, will be taken into serious consideration in what he and others in NATO have said can be a lengthy membership deciding process. This message though seems to have less penetrated NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg and NATO headquarters in Brussel. But as Biden said about the leadership in NATO member states, there is not unanimity to fast track or accelerate Ukraine joining the alliance. But given Washington”s strong impact, even if there were a large majority against its position, it likely has the leverage to turn such a majority to a minority if it seems necessary. So, Ukraine head, Zelenskyy may have thought he had enough votes to get his way at the Vilnius meeting, but now with Biden’s pronouncement, it is clear that he very likely will not. And Biden has clearly shown he is not fooling around with representing US interests and his ideas on NATO and Ukraine by deciding its seems to veto the “candidacy” of Ben Wallace, UK, Defence Secretary to become the next NATO Secretary General.
This is all to remember that America has its own perspectives on foreign policy that is even not congruent all the time, be it with the Poles and Baltics who seem to indulge too often in Russophobia, given their own histories with Moscow, or with the British establishment who seem more aggressive to push more dangerous arms into Ukraine, including longer range missiles that could escalate the war badly.
While some may want to shame Europe as being vassals to Washington, a thought that the US may actually act as a restraint more than occasionally, against hot-heads that some accuse Zelenskyy of at times, or over eager Poles to lend their soldiers directly into the fight, which might initiate World War III. And it is the US Pentagon, not the Europeans so much warning Brussels that maybe Kiev with its military has done all it could be asked to against Russia and cannot be asked to make many more horribly bloody sacrifices.This was largely said or implied by the outgoing US general in chief, Mark Milley. It has to be also remembered among many in Washington and in most European capitals, Zelenskyy’s demands, are often taken on as having “halo glows” that more often than not, end up in his getting what he wants. But the US president by saying no to this major demand by Ukraine to fast track its NATO membership, shows US presidential leadership and not willingness all the time to play to the Zelenskyy gallery. It is one with considerable fans he has in the media and star celebrity he still has even if diminishing somewhat in the West. Or, more recently by his forcefully talking down and greatly against the leadership of Bulgaria a NATO member, saying it has no more spare armaments to give to Ukraine. Also a consequence, if not fully intended of the US president and his foreign policy support on the NATO question and Ukraine is that the South wounded by this war, sees that the US is taking leadership in trying to find sizeable solutions to ending it. If Biden’s motto was as he entered office is “America is back” on world matters, his achievements recently on India and Ukraine are indicative of such though, of course, not fully conclusive.
Now in the really bad column, unfortunately, the US having started to run out of regular artillery shells has stated through the US president that it will supply cluster bombs to Ukraine. But so deadly are these weapons that the United Nations has been thoroughly against their use as stated by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres with a reminder that a treaty signed about 15 years ago has pushed for the end of their use.
According to ABC news, “The unexploded rounds (of cluster bombs), which often litter battlefields and populated civilian areas, cause unintended deaths” … Added ABC, “U.S. officials have said Washington will provide thousands of the rounds, but provided no specific numbers.” Even Jake Sullivan, Nation Security Advisor to Biden admitted according to the same, main US news organization, “We recognize the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance.”
All in all, both US President Joe Biden and India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their foreign affairs and security teams in support have generated major recent wins. However, New Delhi will still need to work to get the warring parties in Ukraine to stop dumping very dangerous weapons into the war zone that are leaving a terrible legacy. That will include US cluster bombs, a type of weapon, known to explode and kill many innocents too often, including children.
Peter Dash, an educator, writes extensively on humanitarian and geopolitical matters.