Staff Reports
President Biden has chosen an interesting moment to drop a national security memorandum, apparently designed with the incoming Trump administration in mind. As Donald Trump prepares to reclaim the Oval Office, this new advisory could serve as a convoluted “how-to” manual for navigating America’s increasingly hostile neighborhood populated by China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. It seems the Biden administration is acknowledging the need for some coherent strategy, albeit in its roundabout way.
The genesis of this memorandum can be traced back to a summer brainstorming session among Biden’s top aides. One can only imagine the ambiance—probably a mix of PowerPoint presentations and half-hearted coffee cups. The memo aims to provide recommendations for the incoming administration, focusing on how to deal with the tightening alliances of America’s primary adversaries. It’s almost like they realized that quality international relations can’t be cultivated simply through Twitter diplomacy.
Biden approves national security memo on China, Iran, North Korea and Russia ahead of Trump’s return https://t.co/Vjb4zIZT7h pic.twitter.com/Rr99OrvSlv
— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) December 11, 2024
This classified document is cloaked in its own level of secrecy, as Biden’s aides have opted not to release it publicly due to its sensitive nature. Talk about being mysterious! The memo outlines four key recommendations. It highlights the necessity for improved cooperation within U.S. government agencies—because who doesn’t love bureaucratic paperwork? It also suggests expediting information sharing with allies, a novel concept considering how often the Biden administration has fumbled in its international engagements.
The memo also points out the need to calibrate the use of sanctions and economic measures, presumably because the current strategy has seen more misses than hits. It’s a good reminder that economic tools should be wielded with the finesse of a skilled craftsman, not the flailing arms of someone trying to swat away a persistent fly. Lastly, it emphasizes preparing for multiple crises at once, which may come in handy since part and parcel of this world politics game is batting away incoming challenges like a game of whack-a-mole.
For years, the world has watched in horror as these adversaries have strengthened their ties, particularly following Russia’s chaotic antics in Ukraine. The Harris administration has taken note of the fact that isolation often breeds cooperation—who would have thought, right? Russia is cozying up to Iran, trading drones for missile tech, while North Korea is supplying Russia with artillery. In this new age of alliances, countries that once stood on opposite sides are now playing the geopolitical version of musical chairs, and after eight years of Biden’s presidency, it looks like the U.S. is always going to be on the outside looking in.
While Trump and Biden’s worldviews clash like Carter's in a high-stakes negotiation, both parties have hinted at an effort to coordinate on national security issues during the transition. Perhaps Biden hopes this memo will provide a soft landing for an incoming administration that’s ready to roll back some of the previous administration’s foreign policy blunders. Nevertheless, Trump is no stranger to retooling strategies on the fly. The Biden administration’s attempt to assist the transition is commendable, but given the propensity for creative diplomacy in the past, one has to wonder if this road map will be followed or tossed into the surrounding chaos.
