National security adviser Jake Sullivan paid a visit to the White House briefing room Thursday morning. In every way imaginable, he embodied the new administration’s about-face in priorities, tone and substance.
In emphasizing that Biden’s approach will be “foreign policy for the middle class,” Sullivan stressed that trade policy will be centered on American workers, not on international conglomerates’ investment in foreign markets. Sullivan did not go into details, but Biden’s initial reinstatement of tariffs on aluminum exported from the United Arab Emirates suggests a more protectionist stance than we saw in the Obama administration, which valiantly tried to open markets in Asia through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, only to be stymied by bipartisan protectionist fervor.
Perhaps the most dramatic shift from the prior administration was the association of foreign policy and human rights and the vow to hold Russia responsible for an array of “malign” activities. We are now on the side of Russian dissidents, not their oppressor, Sullivan made clear. Biden is expected on Thursday to sign executive orders regarding LGBTQ rights internationally and to end support for a Saudi-led offensive in Yemen.
Also noteworthy is the frequency with which Sullivan referred to coordination with allies, from the response to the coup in Myanmar to the reentry into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, from which the United States withdrew to the dismay of our allies that negotiated the deal. Allies are now seen as an asset, not a burden.
The emphasis on diplomacy as the primary tool for national security is significant, but so, too, is the addition of new priorities for the National Security Council (e.g., cybersecurity, democracy, combating domestic right-wing terrorism). The demeanor of our leading foreign policy officials is changing as well. Gone are the military faces (e.g., the H.R. McMasters). Gone are the fly-by-night, impulsive declarations of policy. Gone is the contempt, if not hostility, toward allies and multilateral organizations.
Sullivan exudes professionalism, stability, precision and rationality. Asked whether Biden is seeking to undo his predecessor’s policies (as the latter tried with President Barack Obama), he made clear that Biden is focused on threats to national security, regardless of the occupant of the White House. Taking personal hubris, petty resentments and ego out of the equation may be the most valuable contribution Sullivan and the rest of the foreign policy apparatus can make.
Instead of divining what irks or pleases a narcissistic president, allies and foes will be presented with coherent policies framed as defending U.S. interests. “America First” over the past four years was too often “America Alone” or “The Narcissist First.” That proved to be an invitation for foes to manipulate the ego of the commander in chief. It often baffled allies, whose futile efforts to inform Biden’s predecessor about basic concepts (e.g., how we fund NATO) went nowhere. Now they can expect U.S. policy based on rational analysis.
In reminding us that grown-ups are back in charge, Sullivan no doubt lowers the blood pressure of our allies and the entire national security community. Biden likes to say “America is back,” but a more accurate statement may be “American foreign policy is back.”
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