We can win the competition with China
: the next US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the colors at the start of the process of confirmation by the Senate of the members appointed by the elected President of the United States to join his government.
Above all, he acknowledged that the outgoing Republican president, who rarely finds favor in the eyes of Democrats, had was right to have a firmer stance against China
.
On the eve of leaving the White House, Donald Trump was surely able to appreciate this approval, he who made his strategy against Beijing one of the main strengths of his record.
We have re-energized our alliances and united the nations of the world to face China like never before
, said the billionaire during a farewell speech broadcast by the White House.
The United States is engaged in a merciless confrontation with the Asian giant, to which the hawk Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State until Wednesday, has given the appearance of a new cold war.
The American conservatives have multiplied the weak trials against Joe Biden, accused of being part of this ruling class which has for too long hoped to see globalization favor Chinese democratization.
Stand up to Beijing
Faced with these criticisms, therefore, the Democratic team assures that it will be able to stand up to Beijing. Antony Blinken said he shared the accusation of genocide
perpetrated by China against Uighur Muslims, made public Tuesday by Mike Pompeo.
We must tackle China’s abusive, unfair and illegal practices
in commercial matters, hammered on her side the future Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, also taking up accusations made by the Trump administration for four years.
Janet Yellen, future Secretary of the Treasury
Photo : Reuters / LEAH MILLIS
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As for the next director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, she admitted that the American approach to the Asian giant must evolve and respond to the reality of a more secure and aggressive China
.
I am in favor of an aggressive stance
, she assured, affirming that the Democrats had not been sufficiently under the administration of Barack Obama, of which Joe Biden was the vice-president, from 2009 to 2017.
However, Antony Blinken has promised a diplomacy opposite to that of Donald Trump, who jostled his allies, flirted with autocrats, broke international conventions and scorned multilateral circles.
We must face China from a position of strength, not of weakness
, he argued, ensuring that this involved working with allies instead of denigrating them, participating in and leading international institutions rather than disengaging from them
.
Same philosophy with regard to Iran
Several senators, Republicans but also Democrats, have expressed their concern about Joe Biden’s promise to return quickly to the 2015 international agreement on Iranian nuclear power, the door of which Donald Trump slammed, deeming it insufficient to contain Tehran.
The next Secretary of State affirmed that the exit of this agreement, denounced with constancy by the European allies of Washington, had reinforced the Iranian nuclear threat.
An Iran with nuclear weapons or on the verge of having the capacity to build one quickly would be an Iran even more dangerous than now
, he stressed.
The President-designate of the United States, Joe Biden, wants to re-enter the Paris climate agreement.
Photo : Getty Images / ANGELA WEISS
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What if he has confirmed that President Biden will join the deal again if Iran comes back within limits
of its nuclear commitments, from which it frees itself a little more every day, it has warned that it is not an end in itself.
We would use this as a starting point, with our allies and partners who would again be on the same side as us, to seek a stronger and more lasting deal.
, he added. He said this should include Iran’s ballistic missile program as well as its destabilizing activities
in the Middle-East.
Strengthen alliances
In addition to specific cases, Antony Blinken promised to invigorate
the fundamental alliances
United States to bring them back to First line
on the international scene.
American leadership still matters
, he said. Together, we are in a much better position to address threats posed by Russia, Iran and North Korea, and to defend democracy and human rights.
To set this to music return
of America, Joe Biden, upon his arrival at the White House on Wednesday, will reintroduce Washington into the Paris climate agreement.
And Antony Blinken has confirmed that he will try to negotiate with Russia an extension of the key treaty to disarm their nuclear arsenals New Start, which expires on February 5 – one of the Democratic administration’s very first diplomatic tests.
Lloyd Austin wants Washington to reopen the deal made with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Photo : Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla
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The Pentagon against extremism
The next Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, for his part, has pledged to fight extremism in the US military, after the participation of plainclothes soldiers in the assault on the Capitol by supporters of the president. outgoing Donald Trump.
The activities that we have recently witnessed in our ranks, in terms of potentially racist or extremist behavior, are in my opinion absolutely unacceptable
said Austin, 67, chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to become the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.
I will do anything to rid our ranks of racists and extremists
, he assured before the Committee of the Armed Forces of the Senate, as 12 soldiers of the United States National Guard were removed from the security device of the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden as part of a search procedure possible links with extremist groups.
The task of the Department of Defense is to protect America from our enemies, but we cannot carry it out if some of these enemies are hiding in our ranks.
, continued the former General of the Army, whose appointment has yet to be confirmed by the senators.
Mr. Austin has generally remained vague about his plans to head the US military, but in written responses submitted to elected officials, he said he intended to review the military withdrawals from Germany and Somalia wanted by Donald Trump .
On the other hand, he supported the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I would like to see this conflict end with a negotiated settlement
, he told senators, judging that focusing on counterterrorism operations in the future would be helpful
.
Asked about Iran, with which Joe Biden has said he would like to resume dialogue, Mr. Austin said Tehran remained a destabilizing element in the region
and that it would therefore be dangerous for the regime to have access to the nuclear weapon.
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