President Joe Biden’s address at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) serves as a stark reminder of the divergence between his rhetoric and the actions of the United States.
Biden emphasized the United States’ pursuit of “a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people”, yet he made no mention of the US embargo against Cuba. This decades-long embargo has deprived the Cuban people of essential goods, services, and benefits, consistently condemned by the UN General Assembly for over thirty years.
While Biden acknowledged the dire situation in Haiti, he failed to underscore the US’s inability to provide effective assistance to a nation so close to its shores. Despite the U.S.’s self-proclaimed nation-building prowess, Haiti continues to grapple with instability and underdevelopment.
The President also recounted his recent visit to Vietnam but omitted any reference to the tragic legacy of Agent Orange, a devastating chemical agent employed by the US military during the Vietnam War. Biden expressed the belief that “adversaries can become partners, overwhelming challenges can be resolved, and deep wounds can heal” through concerted leadership and effort. However, the Biden administration has not shown any genuine efforts to engage with countries it deems adversaries, including North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, or Russia. Instead, it has contributed to international divisions, isolating Iran in the Middle East and attempting to sow discord between China and its Asian neighbors.
Biden’s comments regarding China were misleading. He asserted that none of the US’s partnerships aimed at containing any country, an apparent reference to China, and stressed a desire to responsibly manage competition to prevent conflict, emphasizing a preference for “de-risking, not decoupling with China”.
However, these statements contradict the US’s actions, as evident in its efforts to economically, technologically, and geopolitically contain China. This includes pressuring European allies to exclude Huawei from their telecom networks, restricting ASML’s exports to China, targeting Chinese tech companies, seeking to disrupt global technology supply chains, and a recent executive order banning investment in China’s high-tech sector.
Biden also mentioned cooperation with China on climate change. Still, these positive sentiments are contradicted by US actions, such as its crackdown on Chinese solar panels and discrimination against Chinese electric vehicles, which undermine global climate change mitigation efforts.
The President highlighted the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII). However, this initiative, launched in 2022, has been viewed as a geopolitical tool aimed at countering China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has focused on infrastructure development in the developing world. If Biden’s intentions align with his words, he should steer his administration and persuade other G7 members to collaborate with China and other nations on infrastructure projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, fostering development rather than geopolitical strife.
Furthermore, Biden called for global unity on issues like the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Still, the actions of his administration reflect a new Cold War mentality that has divided the world, following previous US military engagements in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya that led to chaos and hardship in those nations. While many countries have resisted joining the U.S. and the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia, they have advocated for cease-fires, dialogue, and diplomacy to resolve the conflict—stances that the US and NATO have thus far rejected.
President Biden’s UNGA speech reveals a significant contradiction between his lofty rhetoric and the actual policies and actions of the United States, highlighting the need for coherence and consistency in America’s global approach.
