Biden’s Foreign Policy Team Staggers into 2024 with Brandon Wiechert

Is 2024 going to be the year that determines whether the United States remains as the global superpower or whether it truly becomes a declining power surrounded by rising powers, especially China? Lots of strong views in this episode as Brandon Weichert again joins The Bill Walton Show to discuss geopolitics and national security. It’s filled with some dire warnings, as well as gallows humor. At one point during the conversation we wondered whether we’d need to put a warning label on the episode: “Beware gloomy scenarios. This is dire, children.” Just some of conversation:  The Houthi in Yemen have been lobbing every sort of drone and missile at shipping in the Red Sea. They’re also attacking US bases. And of course, we know they're backed by Iran, and we haven't responded, leading us towards a potential 21stCentury Suez Canal crisis. Biden, like his former boss, Obama, very badly wants to have an appeasement or accommodation to make a deal with Iran. There are deep and dark reasons for this that Brandon reveals in detail.  If we don’t respond, it’s likely the Israelis will, leading to a full scale conflagration in the region, drawing in dozens of participants, each with multiple and conflicting interests. From the beginning, the odds of Ukraine defeating Russia were vanishingly small, and it now looks like if they haven't already lost the war, they certainly are not going to win. Congress is likely to pull the plug on more money, further sealing their fate. How does that play out? Brandon’s new book titled “A Disaster of Our Own Making” is about US diplomatic blunders. The Ukraine/Russia conflict was never a morality tale. It’s about interests. When will Zelensky depart the stage? Is he a tragic figure? Brandon’s Amazon author page is here. Why chaos is a ladder for China’s interests. Homeland Secretary Mayorkas tells us border crossing “immigrants are fleeing climate change” The United States Space Force is now headed by a man who dresses as a woman. Our genius strategists ( Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Victoria Nuland and Tony Blinken) are thinking about seizing Russian dollar assets to the tune of almost $300 billion, jeopardizing the dollar’s reserve currency status. There’s much more in this lively conversation, yet we do manage to end on a positive note.  “The problems we face are massive--and growing--and while a new president will not solve all our ills, many of these foreign policy crises will be resolved if we get the right POTUS in November.” Would love to get your thoughts about this episode.