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The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump
The inside story of Biden’s foreign policy team and their struggle to restore America’s global influence in the aftermath of Trump
When Joe Biden assumed the United States presidency, he brought with him a team of all-star talent, perhaps the most experienced ensemble of policy experts in modern U.S. history. Their repair America’s damaged reputation abroad and decide the course of its global future.
The challenges and risks could not have been greater. Around the world, adversaries were consolidating power, allies were drifting away, wars were raging, and climate change was accelerating, all while Russia was disrupting democracies and China was seeking to replace the U.S. as the world’s preeminent power. Now for the first time since World War II, the United States risked falling from its unrivaled position. If Biden and his team failed, it would likely mark the end of an American era and the rise of a fractured and autocratic world order.
In The Internationalists , acclaimed national security reporter Alexander Ward takes us behind the scenes to reveal the struggle to enact a coherent and effective set of policies in a time of global crisis. Against the failure of Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden’s all-star team-of-rivals must band together against incredible odds. Their successes, and their failures, will decide not just Biden’s presidency. They will decide the very course of America’s global future.
As The Best and The Brightest chronicled the smoke-filled rooms of the Kennedy Administration, and The Rise of The Vulcans detailed the inner workings of George Bush's war machine, The Internationalists takes readers behind the scenes as Joe Biden and his cabinet embark on some of the most ambitious foreign policy initiatives of any president since Richard M. Nixon.
Thanks to rigorous reporting and sources in the rooms where it happened, Ward delivers the first draft of history, the first definitive, unvarnished account of the Biden Doctrine, from the Fall of Kabul to the Rise of Kiev.
When Joe Biden assumed the United States presidency, he brought with him a team of all-star talent, perhaps the most experienced ensemble of policy experts in modern U.S. history. Their repair America’s damaged reputation abroad and decide the course of its global future.
The challenges and risks could not have been greater. Around the world, adversaries were consolidating power, allies were drifting away, wars were raging, and climate change was accelerating, all while Russia was disrupting democracies and China was seeking to replace the U.S. as the world’s preeminent power. Now for the first time since World War II, the United States risked falling from its unrivaled position. If Biden and his team failed, it would likely mark the end of an American era and the rise of a fractured and autocratic world order.
In The Internationalists , acclaimed national security reporter Alexander Ward takes us behind the scenes to reveal the struggle to enact a coherent and effective set of policies in a time of global crisis. Against the failure of Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden’s all-star team-of-rivals must band together against incredible odds. Their successes, and their failures, will decide not just Biden’s presidency. They will decide the very course of America’s global future.
As The Best and The Brightest chronicled the smoke-filled rooms of the Kennedy Administration, and The Rise of The Vulcans detailed the inner workings of George Bush's war machine, The Internationalists takes readers behind the scenes as Joe Biden and his cabinet embark on some of the most ambitious foreign policy initiatives of any president since Richard M. Nixon.
Thanks to rigorous reporting and sources in the rooms where it happened, Ward delivers the first draft of history, the first definitive, unvarnished account of the Biden Doctrine, from the Fall of Kabul to the Rise of Kiev.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published February 20, 2024
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1962 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Ward
1 book15 followersAlexander Ward is a national security reporter at POLITICO and anchor of “National Security Daily.” Previously, Ward was the White House and national security reporter at Vox. He was an associate director in the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security where he worked on military issues and U.S. foreign policy. He also wrote the #NatSec2016 newsletter for War on the Rocks where he covered the 2016 presidential election and the candidates’ views on national security. He lives in Washington, D.C.
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March 11, 2024
Today Ukraine burns and Republicans in the House of Representatives dither. The Speaker, Mike Johnson has emerged as a puppet of Donald J. Trump and refuses to bring to the House floor a bill passed by the Senate that would provide funding for the Kyiv government which would assist in preventing any further Russian gains on the battlefield. This seems to be part of Trump’s election strategy of not allowing any “Biden Political Wins” in addition to his commentary that when he resumes his presidency after the November election he would either withdraw from NATO and/or refuse to honor Article 5 of the NATO charter. He has further stated that if a NATO state were attacked his decision would be based on whether that country had “paid its bills.” In addition, the former president has encouraged Russian President Putin to attack any country of his choosing. This is where Mr. Trump stands today, but it is not much different from the attitude he espoused during his four years in the White House.
When Joseph Biden assumed the presidency in January 2021 he sought to undo the damage that the Trump administration had done to NATO and relations with our allies in general. The process of returning US foreign policy to its traditional post-World War II strategy, as the Biden administration was confronted with the growing isolationist wing of the Republican party is the main topic of Alexander Ward’s new book, THE INTERNATIONALISTS: THE FIGHT TO RESTORE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AFTER TRUMP. The post-war strategy as developed by Jake Sullivan, Biden’s National Security advisor would evolve into a new approach that centered on a “return to fundamentals: a healthy middle class powered by a humming industrial base, a humility about what the US military alone can accomplish, a solid cadre of allies, attention to the most existential threats, and a refresh of the tenets that sustain American democracy…an old road map to a new future.”
Ward, a national security reporter for Politico relies on interviews with the most important decision makers in the Biden administration and its allies and his own incisive analysis to offer the definitive account of American foreign policy from the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to the current war in Ukraine initiated by Moscow. It reads as a first draft of history and its subject matter is of the utmost importance as Biden and his team were able to stabilize and reconstruct what Trump had damaged. What is clear is that should Trump regain the presidency all the work of the Biden administration will have been for nought, and America’s national security will clearly be endangered.
Ward begins with the understanding between individuals like Ben Rhodes, an Obama national security advisor, and Jake Sullivan, a Hillary Clinton advisor that to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 they needed to come together and create a “Shadow Foreign Policy Cabinet” to flush out a coherent foreign policy strategy which would become the basis for an infrastructure for the next presidential election. After delving into the career path of both men and Anthony Blinken, an advisor to Joe Biden since his Senate days Ward shifts his focus to the prevailing problems that Biden would face at the outset of his presidency – Afghanistan, Israeli-Hamas conflict, the war in Ukraine, the relationship with Russia, and a number of other critical issues.
Overall Biden receives high marks from Ward except for the handling of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Relying on interviews with key players who argued for leaving a military presence in Afghanistan and those who favored a complete withdrawal. Biden’s position was clear from the get-go – an immediate withdrawal. Though he was hampered by Trump’s deal with the Taliban that stated that US forces would leave by May 1, 2021, Biden reopened negotiations with the Taliban in the hopes of obtaining their cooperation to facilitate the American departure. The Biden administration operated on the assumption that they had 18-24 months leeway before the Kabul government would collapse and the Taliban taking over. As events played out that intelligence was faulty and way off the mark as the Taliban would reach the outskirts of Kabul within weeks of the American drawdown.
The Biden administration argued that we built and trained a 300,000 man army over a twenty year period and now many would not fight, allowing the Taliban to quickly march on Kabul. This created another problem in that there were at least 2500 individuals who worked for US forces over the years who would be in grave danger once the Taliban took over. The issue became SIVs (strategic immigrant visas) that were needed for the US military to transport them out of their country. Ward examines all aspects of the crisis that ensued which I can only crudely describe as a “cluster fuck” as American policy makers oversaw chaos and Biden’s greatest fear a visual similar to the April 1975 exit from South Vietnam as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong captured Saigon. Biden would blame the Afghan military and its corrupt government in Kabul for the images of Afghans trying to escape the Taliban as they entered Kabul. There is no other description of Biden rationalizations and what transpired as humiliating. Biden firmly believed that the US would no longer commit itself to wars in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and it should use its influence and power to concentrate on the Russian and Chinese threat, but in reality Biden’s Afghan policy was “a failure of process and foresight.”
Ward’s examination of the Ukrainian crisis reflects a president who wanted to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia since Putin’s seizure of Crimea in 2014. He recreates the Biden-Zelensky relationship which did not get off on a strong footing. The former Ukrainian television personality believed that Biden was not taking the Russian threat seriously enough to allow Ukraine access to the sophisticated equipment that the current war proved was needed. Biden held back armaments and did not show the respect to Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian president believed he was entitled to. Relations deteriorated in 2021 as the US supported the completion of Nord Stream 2, a pipeline that would circumvent Ukraine and cost Kyiv over $2 billion a year in revenue. A Zelensky visit to Washington in September 2021 did little to improve Kyiv’s view of the Biden administration. Insufficient military aid and Biden’s full agenda with other world problems did not move Ukraine higher on the US foreign policy agenda. The Biden administration did so in order to rebuild relations with Germany which would benefit the most from the new pipeline because of Trump administration policies. No matter whose feelings were hurt it was clear by October 2021 with thousands of Russians troops on its border along with a massive amount of equipment according to US intelligence Putin was about to invade. The American response was to educate the world as to what Putin was planning and not be presented with a Russian fait accompli as they had been in 2014 over Crimea. As General Milley told Biden “We’re looking at a significant land invasion sometime in the coming months…The plan is to take down the country of Ukraine. It was the Russian version of shock and awe.”
In his discussion concerning Ukraine Ward focuses on President Zelensky. Despite repeated evidence of the coming invasion from December 2021 to February 24, 2022, Zelensky, according to Biden aides, was in “la-la land” in refusing to accept how dire the situation had become. Zelensky had convinced himself that no invasion was about to take place and the Biden administration’s public release of intelligence warning the world of Putin’s intentions was hurting the Ukrainian economy and scaring people to leave their country. This aspect of the book is important based on the west’s public posture of support toward Zelensky after the invasion took place when reality finally sunk in.
An early theme in Biden’s presidency was that the US needed to show democracy delivered for its people and could do the same for people worldwide by “steeling the liberal world order and curbing China’s growing influence….and keeping an aggressive Russia at bay.” The key was to rebuild relationships with European allies before it could confront Putin’s expansionism – Putin needed to know that the US and its allies were now working in concert. Biden’s message to Putin was that “confrontation and competition where needed, cooperation where policy” was the American approach. Once the two leaders met, Putin’s harangue about Ukraine and the fact that their people and the Russian population were one, NATO was a threat to Russian borders, and that American sanctions were not acceptable was clear. The key as mentioned was Germany and the recalibration of NATO even if Kyiv thought it was a betrayal.
Ward’s approach to dealing with Israel and his analysis is dead on. Biden had to overcome his past support for Israel that went back decades in the Senate and his personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden did not want Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to be drawn into the cauldron of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as had occurred under John Kerry in the second Obama administration. Biden argued that it took too much air out of the room and left little for other prominent issues. The confrontation between the two sides at the outset of the administration was a precursor to the current war in Gaza. Biden wanted to stay out of clashes in East Jerusalem and he opposed the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Biden had difficulty accepting the evictions of Palestinians from the West Bank and correctly warned that Hamas could only benefit. Under pressure from the left wing of the Democratic Party Biden finally came out and supported a two-state solution and the rights of Palestinians.
The events of October 7, 2023, proved that Netanyahu’s policies were faulty and designed to keep him in power and away from criminal prosecution. Biden’s abhorrence of what Hamas perpetrated on that day and public support was unquestioned. However, as Israeli disregard for Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the actions of settlers in the West Bank brought domestic and international pressure, Biden has had to put his unequivocal support for the Jewish state behind him and come out publicly for humanitarian aid, a two state solution, and criticizing Israel that its policies were detrimental to its future security needs.
As Ward tries to explain the underlying principles of Biden foreign policy he describes the personal and emotional platform of the president’s decision making. The role of his son, Beau’s death from cancer at the age of 46 always played a significant role in his father’s mindset. Biden firmly believed that the “burn pits” in Iraq contributed to his son’s death because of his service in Iraq. Biden deeply felt his son’s demise and did not want other parents to experience what he had – this mantra is ever present in Biden’s comments in the White House, the campaign trail, and general conversation.
Ward focuses on the Biden foreign policy team’s attempt to foster a new world view and how circumstances making such course corrections make it difficult. For the Biden team they were not blessed with the best of circumstances having to deal with Bibi Netanyahu. Vladimir Putin, and a corrupt and incompetent government in Kabul. The book itself relies heavily on sources in the State Department and the White House, and less so the Pentagon. The result is that the book is skewed toward staffer’s eye views and provides too much emphasis on Israel, Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan and less so China, climate change , Iran, immigration and supply chain issues.
The book illustrates the strength and weaknesses of personal diplomacy which Biden relies on heavily. His inability to influence Netanyahu, Putin, and former Afghan President Mohammad Ghani points to the need for greater reliance on a collective policy vision as personal ties are not always identical with national interests or political ones. This is clear as Biden could not influence Netanyahu’s right wing government or Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine.
Ward’s monograph is an important work of history in that it lays the groundwork for events he delves into that have continued today. These events have proven detrimental to Palestinians, Afghanis, and Ukrainians as the war in Gaza rages on, Russian indiscriminate bombing of Ukraine continues to foster terror, and the Taliban represses those who disagree with its harsh rule, especially women. As we move closer to the 2024 presidential election these issues will still be at the forefront of the news cycle and it will be interesting to see if Trump’s “America First “approach to international relations or Biden’s attempts to rekindle America’s place in the world will win out. No matter the result, the issue of democracy at home and a liberal internationalist agenda abroad are at stake.
When Joseph Biden assumed the presidency in January 2021 he sought to undo the damage that the Trump administration had done to NATO and relations with our allies in general. The process of returning US foreign policy to its traditional post-World War II strategy, as the Biden administration was confronted with the growing isolationist wing of the Republican party is the main topic of Alexander Ward’s new book, THE INTERNATIONALISTS: THE FIGHT TO RESTORE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AFTER TRUMP. The post-war strategy as developed by Jake Sullivan, Biden’s National Security advisor would evolve into a new approach that centered on a “return to fundamentals: a healthy middle class powered by a humming industrial base, a humility about what the US military alone can accomplish, a solid cadre of allies, attention to the most existential threats, and a refresh of the tenets that sustain American democracy…an old road map to a new future.”
Ward, a national security reporter for Politico relies on interviews with the most important decision makers in the Biden administration and its allies and his own incisive analysis to offer the definitive account of American foreign policy from the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to the current war in Ukraine initiated by Moscow. It reads as a first draft of history and its subject matter is of the utmost importance as Biden and his team were able to stabilize and reconstruct what Trump had damaged. What is clear is that should Trump regain the presidency all the work of the Biden administration will have been for nought, and America’s national security will clearly be endangered.
Ward begins with the understanding between individuals like Ben Rhodes, an Obama national security advisor, and Jake Sullivan, a Hillary Clinton advisor that to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 they needed to come together and create a “Shadow Foreign Policy Cabinet” to flush out a coherent foreign policy strategy which would become the basis for an infrastructure for the next presidential election. After delving into the career path of both men and Anthony Blinken, an advisor to Joe Biden since his Senate days Ward shifts his focus to the prevailing problems that Biden would face at the outset of his presidency – Afghanistan, Israeli-Hamas conflict, the war in Ukraine, the relationship with Russia, and a number of other critical issues.
Overall Biden receives high marks from Ward except for the handling of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Relying on interviews with key players who argued for leaving a military presence in Afghanistan and those who favored a complete withdrawal. Biden’s position was clear from the get-go – an immediate withdrawal. Though he was hampered by Trump’s deal with the Taliban that stated that US forces would leave by May 1, 2021, Biden reopened negotiations with the Taliban in the hopes of obtaining their cooperation to facilitate the American departure. The Biden administration operated on the assumption that they had 18-24 months leeway before the Kabul government would collapse and the Taliban taking over. As events played out that intelligence was faulty and way off the mark as the Taliban would reach the outskirts of Kabul within weeks of the American drawdown.
The Biden administration argued that we built and trained a 300,000 man army over a twenty year period and now many would not fight, allowing the Taliban to quickly march on Kabul. This created another problem in that there were at least 2500 individuals who worked for US forces over the years who would be in grave danger once the Taliban took over. The issue became SIVs (strategic immigrant visas) that were needed for the US military to transport them out of their country. Ward examines all aspects of the crisis that ensued which I can only crudely describe as a “cluster fuck” as American policy makers oversaw chaos and Biden’s greatest fear a visual similar to the April 1975 exit from South Vietnam as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong captured Saigon. Biden would blame the Afghan military and its corrupt government in Kabul for the images of Afghans trying to escape the Taliban as they entered Kabul. There is no other description of Biden rationalizations and what transpired as humiliating. Biden firmly believed that the US would no longer commit itself to wars in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and it should use its influence and power to concentrate on the Russian and Chinese threat, but in reality Biden’s Afghan policy was “a failure of process and foresight.”
Ward’s examination of the Ukrainian crisis reflects a president who wanted to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia since Putin’s seizure of Crimea in 2014. He recreates the Biden-Zelensky relationship which did not get off on a strong footing. The former Ukrainian television personality believed that Biden was not taking the Russian threat seriously enough to allow Ukraine access to the sophisticated equipment that the current war proved was needed. Biden held back armaments and did not show the respect to Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian president believed he was entitled to. Relations deteriorated in 2021 as the US supported the completion of Nord Stream 2, a pipeline that would circumvent Ukraine and cost Kyiv over $2 billion a year in revenue. A Zelensky visit to Washington in September 2021 did little to improve Kyiv’s view of the Biden administration. Insufficient military aid and Biden’s full agenda with other world problems did not move Ukraine higher on the US foreign policy agenda. The Biden administration did so in order to rebuild relations with Germany which would benefit the most from the new pipeline because of Trump administration policies. No matter whose feelings were hurt it was clear by October 2021 with thousands of Russians troops on its border along with a massive amount of equipment according to US intelligence Putin was about to invade. The American response was to educate the world as to what Putin was planning and not be presented with a Russian fait accompli as they had been in 2014 over Crimea. As General Milley told Biden “We’re looking at a significant land invasion sometime in the coming months…The plan is to take down the country of Ukraine. It was the Russian version of shock and awe.”
In his discussion concerning Ukraine Ward focuses on President Zelensky. Despite repeated evidence of the coming invasion from December 2021 to February 24, 2022, Zelensky, according to Biden aides, was in “la-la land” in refusing to accept how dire the situation had become. Zelensky had convinced himself that no invasion was about to take place and the Biden administration’s public release of intelligence warning the world of Putin’s intentions was hurting the Ukrainian economy and scaring people to leave their country. This aspect of the book is important based on the west’s public posture of support toward Zelensky after the invasion took place when reality finally sunk in.
An early theme in Biden’s presidency was that the US needed to show democracy delivered for its people and could do the same for people worldwide by “steeling the liberal world order and curbing China’s growing influence….and keeping an aggressive Russia at bay.” The key was to rebuild relationships with European allies before it could confront Putin’s expansionism – Putin needed to know that the US and its allies were now working in concert. Biden’s message to Putin was that “confrontation and competition where needed, cooperation where policy” was the American approach. Once the two leaders met, Putin’s harangue about Ukraine and the fact that their people and the Russian population were one, NATO was a threat to Russian borders, and that American sanctions were not acceptable was clear. The key as mentioned was Germany and the recalibration of NATO even if Kyiv thought it was a betrayal.
Ward’s approach to dealing with Israel and his analysis is dead on. Biden had to overcome his past support for Israel that went back decades in the Senate and his personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden did not want Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to be drawn into the cauldron of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as had occurred under John Kerry in the second Obama administration. Biden argued that it took too much air out of the room and left little for other prominent issues. The confrontation between the two sides at the outset of the administration was a precursor to the current war in Gaza. Biden wanted to stay out of clashes in East Jerusalem and he opposed the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Biden had difficulty accepting the evictions of Palestinians from the West Bank and correctly warned that Hamas could only benefit. Under pressure from the left wing of the Democratic Party Biden finally came out and supported a two-state solution and the rights of Palestinians.
The events of October 7, 2023, proved that Netanyahu’s policies were faulty and designed to keep him in power and away from criminal prosecution. Biden’s abhorrence of what Hamas perpetrated on that day and public support was unquestioned. However, as Israeli disregard for Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the actions of settlers in the West Bank brought domestic and international pressure, Biden has had to put his unequivocal support for the Jewish state behind him and come out publicly for humanitarian aid, a two state solution, and criticizing Israel that its policies were detrimental to its future security needs.
As Ward tries to explain the underlying principles of Biden foreign policy he describes the personal and emotional platform of the president’s decision making. The role of his son, Beau’s death from cancer at the age of 46 always played a significant role in his father’s mindset. Biden firmly believed that the “burn pits” in Iraq contributed to his son’s death because of his service in Iraq. Biden deeply felt his son’s demise and did not want other parents to experience what he had – this mantra is ever present in Biden’s comments in the White House, the campaign trail, and general conversation.
Ward focuses on the Biden foreign policy team’s attempt to foster a new world view and how circumstances making such course corrections make it difficult. For the Biden team they were not blessed with the best of circumstances having to deal with Bibi Netanyahu. Vladimir Putin, and a corrupt and incompetent government in Kabul. The book itself relies heavily on sources in the State Department and the White House, and less so the Pentagon. The result is that the book is skewed toward staffer’s eye views and provides too much emphasis on Israel, Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan and less so China, climate change , Iran, immigration and supply chain issues.
The book illustrates the strength and weaknesses of personal diplomacy which Biden relies on heavily. His inability to influence Netanyahu, Putin, and former Afghan President Mohammad Ghani points to the need for greater reliance on a collective policy vision as personal ties are not always identical with national interests or political ones. This is clear as Biden could not influence Netanyahu’s right wing government or Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine.
Ward’s monograph is an important work of history in that it lays the groundwork for events he delves into that have continued today. These events have proven detrimental to Palestinians, Afghanis, and Ukrainians as the war in Gaza rages on, Russian indiscriminate bombing of Ukraine continues to foster terror, and the Taliban represses those who disagree with its harsh rule, especially women. As we move closer to the 2024 presidential election these issues will still be at the forefront of the news cycle and it will be interesting to see if Trump’s “America First “approach to international relations or Biden’s attempts to rekindle America’s place in the world will win out. No matter the result, the issue of democracy at home and a liberal internationalist agenda abroad are at stake.
March 14, 2024
I’m impressed. I was admittedly skeptical - given that this is authored by a young, DC-based journalist - that this would just be a propaganda piece for the whole “foreign policy for the middle class” shpeel.
The focus of the book is far more narrow than the subtitle would suggest. It’s essentially divided into two distinct parts: Afghanistan and Ukraine. In a plainspoken Woodward-style report, it’s a pretty thorough chronicle of those two foreign policy efforts told through what amounts to be a biography of Jake Sullivan.
It hits the Biden administration hard on Afghanistan and is pretty laudatory on Ukraine, so on the whole it feels balanced on the merits. I hope this guy ends up writing more books.
The focus of the book is far more narrow than the subtitle would suggest. It’s essentially divided into two distinct parts: Afghanistan and Ukraine. In a plainspoken Woodward-style report, it’s a pretty thorough chronicle of those two foreign policy efforts told through what amounts to be a biography of Jake Sullivan.
It hits the Biden administration hard on Afghanistan and is pretty laudatory on Ukraine, so on the whole it feels balanced on the merits. I hope this guy ends up writing more books.
April 6, 2024
An intimate portrait of the self-important bureaucrats at the helm of an empire in decline. The book reads like the author is obsessed with Jake Sullivan. Several pivotal moments are held up as exemplars of Biden’s farsighted leadership, but the description makes a far more convincing case for the opposite: diminishing US hegemony and increasing constraints on the presidency. The book's narrative is mediocre and is of little analytic use.
As far as assessing the Biden legacy, everything in this book is already eclipsed by the genocide in Gaza.
As far as assessing the Biden legacy, everything in this book is already eclipsed by the genocide in Gaza.
September 12, 2024
I have once again decided to embark on a mission to read a number of books on subjects that will be of great importance to the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Election. This was a great success as I prepared for 2020, with an outcome at the polls (and antics by both candidates up to Inauguration Day) that only a fiction writer might have come up with at the time! Many of these will focus on actors and events intricately involved in the US political system over the last few years, in hopes that I can understand them better and, perhaps, educate others with the power to cast a ballot. I am, as always, open to serious recommendations from anyone who has a book I might like to include in the process.
With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.
This is Book #27 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.
Alexander Ward presents a poignant book about US foreign policy and how the Biden Administration sought to rectify what it called a disastrous four years under President Trump. What makes this read all the more interesting is that, as the 2024 election is on the horizon, Trump is seeking to paint the Biden Administration (of which he paints Kamala Harris as a prime decision maker) with a brush of ineptitude and complete disaster on the world scene. Trump has hammered down that he would never have let things get to this point and could have ‘easily’ solved things. I use Ward’s book and some general knowledge to test this theory to see just hw bad things might have been on to significant fronts, namely Afghanistan and Ukraine. Ward delivers a strong piece that kept me highly intrigued as I learned more about each foreign event and how the Biden team sought to create their own solution. A well-paced and thoroughly detailed book that left me wanting to know a great deal more.
As with many shifts in administration, Joe Biden entered the White House as president in January 2021 with a group ready to tackle many things to better the country. One of the main areas was to fix the tarnished foreign relations that America had suffered under Trump, where the 45th President sought to cater to his friends and put America in a great deal of trouble. Biden had strong political and military people ready to work hard and ensure that America could actually claim to be great once more, without the xenophobia, rhetoric, or name-calling.
The first major foreign relations policy was to handle extrication from Afghanistan, a war the country had been carrying around as a painful yoke for the past two decades. Many presidents had planned to find a way out, but none had actioned anything, leaving Biden to vow that this would be his priority. As Ward explores, the decision was not met with full support, either within the West Wing or by the leaders of Afghanistan. Worries that the Taliban were lurking and ready to strike could be heard in many meetings, but Biden remained convinced that the training wheels had to come off and that it was high time to make the move. The landing was anything but simple and found Biden left in many difficult spots, but he vowed not to backdown. The execution of the results proved highly troubling and left Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as Secretary of Defence Lloyd Benson, scrambling to make sense of it all. Both had to ensure their people were ready and worked with the Afghan government to secure a transition. That it was a messy end to American presence in the region was something everyone expected, though it surely did show as being somewhat disastrous, as Ward explains in thorough the book.
The other major issue that faced Biden and his team was the precarious situation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin had long had an eye on Ukraine and used some of his past military actions to chip away at the Ukrainian border, something that was never properly handled by the Obama Administration in 2014. However, Obama’s vice-president, one Joe Biden, vowed that Russia would no longer push to expand its territory by leaving sovereign states in peril was one that could have some significant importance in 2021. When Ukraine’s newly-elected president arrived and sought help, Biden was willing to listen, though Ward posits that it was only going through the motions. Putin had not only the Americans wondering, but many of the NATO country leaders had ties to Russia they did not want to obliterate with American aggressive stances. As Ward explores, both the UK and Germany were leery of helping out too much, but they respected that Russian aggression against Ukraine could not be left to develop without some response. Biden was ready and when Putin struck, it was a wait and see approach, though American military weapons and technology began finding its way into Kyiv and surrounding areas with ease.
As Alexander Ward explores these two areas, he makes clear that neither were stellar international situations, nor did Biden and his team show American strength when it was needed most. Was this solely for inept reasons, or could there have been a part that was based on inherited weakness that needed to be cleansed up before moving along? Ward discusses both options and uses his journalistic integrity to dig deeply into an analytical assessment for all to see. While neither ending the Afghan mission or the commencement of the Russia-Ukrainian War proved complete successes for Biden, they could not be called unmitigated disasters, as some would call them. Ward presents a sentiment that some of the issues were inherited from the Trump Administration, though it cannot solely be left at the feet of those ho came before. There were issues, discrepancies, and even shortcomings, but nothing in the realm of foreign policy or international politics is ever completely smooth. Additionally, there was no ‘dropping the ball’ when it came to Kamala Harris, as Trump tried to paint in the September 10, 2024 presidential debate. Perhaps associated guilt and accusations, but Ward does not offer any support to that hypothesis.
A book of this nature can be somewhat difficult to assess, as one has so many factors for which an account is necessary when offering a final result. Biden inherited some of the foreign policy decisions made by the Trump Administration, though how he chose to handle them falls solely on him. Biden did find himself in some gaffes of a sort, with the extrication from Afghanistan appearing to be a messy situation in which the Taliban rushed to fill the void and the Afghan government fleeing before the dust settled. The Putin attack on Ukraine could and was seen before it happened though trying to negotiate with someone who is hell-bent on something is difficult. One must also remember that trying to push too hard against someone with nuclear weapons is not the best approach.
Alexander Ward presents well-researched piece of writing that proves to be a highly educational piece for the curious reader. There is so much going on in the book that the reader will have to stay attuned with the ever-changing situation in foreign policy development and delivery. Each chapter builds on the last and provides the reader with some insightful aspects of the evolving situation. Ward offers up some great anecdotes and sidebars about what was going on, using some of his key sources to develop a complete view of what was going on. Ward seeks less to toss blame around than to tackle what was going on and make sense of it. While Trump seems to want to hammer home how Biden and Harris were solely to blame for any foreign policy issues, I cannot see that here, nor does Ward appears to shield them from any responsibility. It was unfortunate how something’s came to pass and one can hope that there is not a blatantly different approach in January 2025, whomever is sitting behind the Resolute Desk.
Kudos, Mr. Ward, for a great piece that taught me so much.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.
This is Book #27 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.
Alexander Ward presents a poignant book about US foreign policy and how the Biden Administration sought to rectify what it called a disastrous four years under President Trump. What makes this read all the more interesting is that, as the 2024 election is on the horizon, Trump is seeking to paint the Biden Administration (of which he paints Kamala Harris as a prime decision maker) with a brush of ineptitude and complete disaster on the world scene. Trump has hammered down that he would never have let things get to this point and could have ‘easily’ solved things. I use Ward’s book and some general knowledge to test this theory to see just hw bad things might have been on to significant fronts, namely Afghanistan and Ukraine. Ward delivers a strong piece that kept me highly intrigued as I learned more about each foreign event and how the Biden team sought to create their own solution. A well-paced and thoroughly detailed book that left me wanting to know a great deal more.
As with many shifts in administration, Joe Biden entered the White House as president in January 2021 with a group ready to tackle many things to better the country. One of the main areas was to fix the tarnished foreign relations that America had suffered under Trump, where the 45th President sought to cater to his friends and put America in a great deal of trouble. Biden had strong political and military people ready to work hard and ensure that America could actually claim to be great once more, without the xenophobia, rhetoric, or name-calling.
The first major foreign relations policy was to handle extrication from Afghanistan, a war the country had been carrying around as a painful yoke for the past two decades. Many presidents had planned to find a way out, but none had actioned anything, leaving Biden to vow that this would be his priority. As Ward explores, the decision was not met with full support, either within the West Wing or by the leaders of Afghanistan. Worries that the Taliban were lurking and ready to strike could be heard in many meetings, but Biden remained convinced that the training wheels had to come off and that it was high time to make the move. The landing was anything but simple and found Biden left in many difficult spots, but he vowed not to backdown. The execution of the results proved highly troubling and left Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as Secretary of Defence Lloyd Benson, scrambling to make sense of it all. Both had to ensure their people were ready and worked with the Afghan government to secure a transition. That it was a messy end to American presence in the region was something everyone expected, though it surely did show as being somewhat disastrous, as Ward explains in thorough the book.
The other major issue that faced Biden and his team was the precarious situation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin had long had an eye on Ukraine and used some of his past military actions to chip away at the Ukrainian border, something that was never properly handled by the Obama Administration in 2014. However, Obama’s vice-president, one Joe Biden, vowed that Russia would no longer push to expand its territory by leaving sovereign states in peril was one that could have some significant importance in 2021. When Ukraine’s newly-elected president arrived and sought help, Biden was willing to listen, though Ward posits that it was only going through the motions. Putin had not only the Americans wondering, but many of the NATO country leaders had ties to Russia they did not want to obliterate with American aggressive stances. As Ward explores, both the UK and Germany were leery of helping out too much, but they respected that Russian aggression against Ukraine could not be left to develop without some response. Biden was ready and when Putin struck, it was a wait and see approach, though American military weapons and technology began finding its way into Kyiv and surrounding areas with ease.
As Alexander Ward explores these two areas, he makes clear that neither were stellar international situations, nor did Biden and his team show American strength when it was needed most. Was this solely for inept reasons, or could there have been a part that was based on inherited weakness that needed to be cleansed up before moving along? Ward discusses both options and uses his journalistic integrity to dig deeply into an analytical assessment for all to see. While neither ending the Afghan mission or the commencement of the Russia-Ukrainian War proved complete successes for Biden, they could not be called unmitigated disasters, as some would call them. Ward presents a sentiment that some of the issues were inherited from the Trump Administration, though it cannot solely be left at the feet of those ho came before. There were issues, discrepancies, and even shortcomings, but nothing in the realm of foreign policy or international politics is ever completely smooth. Additionally, there was no ‘dropping the ball’ when it came to Kamala Harris, as Trump tried to paint in the September 10, 2024 presidential debate. Perhaps associated guilt and accusations, but Ward does not offer any support to that hypothesis.
A book of this nature can be somewhat difficult to assess, as one has so many factors for which an account is necessary when offering a final result. Biden inherited some of the foreign policy decisions made by the Trump Administration, though how he chose to handle them falls solely on him. Biden did find himself in some gaffes of a sort, with the extrication from Afghanistan appearing to be a messy situation in which the Taliban rushed to fill the void and the Afghan government fleeing before the dust settled. The Putin attack on Ukraine could and was seen before it happened though trying to negotiate with someone who is hell-bent on something is difficult. One must also remember that trying to push too hard against someone with nuclear weapons is not the best approach.
Alexander Ward presents well-researched piece of writing that proves to be a highly educational piece for the curious reader. There is so much going on in the book that the reader will have to stay attuned with the ever-changing situation in foreign policy development and delivery. Each chapter builds on the last and provides the reader with some insightful aspects of the evolving situation. Ward offers up some great anecdotes and sidebars about what was going on, using some of his key sources to develop a complete view of what was going on. Ward seeks less to toss blame around than to tackle what was going on and make sense of it. While Trump seems to want to hammer home how Biden and Harris were solely to blame for any foreign policy issues, I cannot see that here, nor does Ward appears to shield them from any responsibility. It was unfortunate how something’s came to pass and one can hope that there is not a blatantly different approach in January 2025, whomever is sitting behind the Resolute Desk.
Kudos, Mr. Ward, for a great piece that taught me so much.
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March 26, 2024
Really great read for insight into the Administration’s policy thinking (focus on Biden and Sullivan), with deep-dives of the decision processes around Afghanistan and Ukraine (with some Israel foreshadowing). Despite the subtitle, it’s very factual/ non-partisan (except for the focus on Biden Admin)
February 25, 2024
While I gave this book five stars, that rating was a reflection of the history associated with the events underpinning recent US foreign policy and “Bidenism” and not a reflection on the effectiveness of recent US foreign policy and its allies who have hewed to Biden’a policy.
US foreign policy has been a mess in my opinion since Vietnam. What we should have learned from World War II is that isolationism just puts off, and makes much more expensive (in both treasure and blood) the eventual cost of an eventual conflict. World War II clearly reflected that and, frankly, our current isolationist tendency will result in the same in Ukraine and Europe with regard to Russia’s aggression. We’ve seen that under several presidents with disastrous consequences: Obama’s unwillingness to stand up to Putin in 2014 with regard to Crimea as well as his drawing a red line in the sand in Syria and then letting Putin assist the Syrian regime in the slaughter of its people as well as Biden’s reluctance or shall I say fear in standing up fully to Putin in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Together, we (as the only country to have used nuclear weapons) have shown our weakness at the mere threat of their use for by an aggressor state.
Conversely, our forays into the Middle East have been a disaster as well. Going back to empire building in Iran, pursuing non-present weapons of mass destruction in Iraq because Saddam Hussein threatened Bush I, and an absolutely stupid war in Afghanistan after watching the Soviet Union get its butt kicked only 10 years earlier, a myopic vision of foreign policy in Israel and perpetuation of the results of British empire mismanagement for Palestine. Finally, a foreign policy regarding Saudi Arabia who are actually our enemies and whose Sunni extremists actually were responsible for 9/11.
In the Middle East we’ve sought to sow democracies in constituencies who have no concept of democracy and who do not want to fight for their freedom. Conversely, we defeated fascism and nazism and rebuilt a vibrant, free, democratic Europe. Now, our isolationism and leaning toward a far right autocratic and arguably fascist constituency has us back again failing to help a democratic Ukraine actually beat their and our enemy. Biden and Obama before him should have strongly stood up to the bully on the block. The isolationists say Ukraine can’t beat Russia! Wrong! They just need the weapons that are on parity with what Russia is attacking them with. Long range rockets, cruise missiles, aviation assets to strike to and beyond the Russian lines consistent with the distance within Ukraine that Russia can attack. That means naval assets or cruise missile attacks on the Kerch bridge to deny Russia access to Crimea, long range missile to deny Russia occupancy and supply lines to Russias rear lines, bunker busting weapons and airpower to break through to the Black Sea, carpet bombing of Russian defensive positions within Ukraine. Give Ukraine the tools of war to beat the Russians back into Russia and make it clear to Russia that Sabre Rattling use of nuclear weapons for a conventional war is something that would immediately destroy them as well.
Finally, we have treaty obligations to defend Ukraine. If Ukraine still had nuclear weapons it is likely they could have developed methods for their use and meaningful deterrence to Russia.
Instead, our foreign policy is to bleed Ukraine and risk Ukraine losing this war to an aggressor who has stated by words and actions that he will attack the Baltic republics and Poland to re-establish an empire Putin thinks Russia deserves. If we do not act we will be fighting a world war across Europe again. Defend Ukraine and Europe will have a flourishing democracy, one for which they’ve fought and died, as a buttress against and empire seeking megalomaniac and his puppets.
US foreign policy has been a mess in my opinion since Vietnam. What we should have learned from World War II is that isolationism just puts off, and makes much more expensive (in both treasure and blood) the eventual cost of an eventual conflict. World War II clearly reflected that and, frankly, our current isolationist tendency will result in the same in Ukraine and Europe with regard to Russia’s aggression. We’ve seen that under several presidents with disastrous consequences: Obama’s unwillingness to stand up to Putin in 2014 with regard to Crimea as well as his drawing a red line in the sand in Syria and then letting Putin assist the Syrian regime in the slaughter of its people as well as Biden’s reluctance or shall I say fear in standing up fully to Putin in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Together, we (as the only country to have used nuclear weapons) have shown our weakness at the mere threat of their use for by an aggressor state.
Conversely, our forays into the Middle East have been a disaster as well. Going back to empire building in Iran, pursuing non-present weapons of mass destruction in Iraq because Saddam Hussein threatened Bush I, and an absolutely stupid war in Afghanistan after watching the Soviet Union get its butt kicked only 10 years earlier, a myopic vision of foreign policy in Israel and perpetuation of the results of British empire mismanagement for Palestine. Finally, a foreign policy regarding Saudi Arabia who are actually our enemies and whose Sunni extremists actually were responsible for 9/11.
In the Middle East we’ve sought to sow democracies in constituencies who have no concept of democracy and who do not want to fight for their freedom. Conversely, we defeated fascism and nazism and rebuilt a vibrant, free, democratic Europe. Now, our isolationism and leaning toward a far right autocratic and arguably fascist constituency has us back again failing to help a democratic Ukraine actually beat their and our enemy. Biden and Obama before him should have strongly stood up to the bully on the block. The isolationists say Ukraine can’t beat Russia! Wrong! They just need the weapons that are on parity with what Russia is attacking them with. Long range rockets, cruise missiles, aviation assets to strike to and beyond the Russian lines consistent with the distance within Ukraine that Russia can attack. That means naval assets or cruise missile attacks on the Kerch bridge to deny Russia access to Crimea, long range missile to deny Russia occupancy and supply lines to Russias rear lines, bunker busting weapons and airpower to break through to the Black Sea, carpet bombing of Russian defensive positions within Ukraine. Give Ukraine the tools of war to beat the Russians back into Russia and make it clear to Russia that Sabre Rattling use of nuclear weapons for a conventional war is something that would immediately destroy them as well.
Finally, we have treaty obligations to defend Ukraine. If Ukraine still had nuclear weapons it is likely they could have developed methods for their use and meaningful deterrence to Russia.
Instead, our foreign policy is to bleed Ukraine and risk Ukraine losing this war to an aggressor who has stated by words and actions that he will attack the Baltic republics and Poland to re-establish an empire Putin thinks Russia deserves. If we do not act we will be fighting a world war across Europe again. Defend Ukraine and Europe will have a flourishing democracy, one for which they’ve fought and died, as a buttress against and empire seeking megalomaniac and his puppets.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2024
A very good, well-reported book, taking the Biden team through its first two years of foreign policy challenges, principally Afghanistan and Ukraine.
The account of the withdrawal from Afghanistan is graphic and painful. I am of the school that believes there was no way to conduct the operation flawlessly. It was bound to be ugly. The effects of a 20 year war, the fact that Afghanistan is barely a country, and the condition in which the Trump team left not only the negotiation with the Taliban but also the State Department’s visa operation, all contributed to the chaos. Most astonishing were intelligence failures, wildly underestimating the pace at which the Taliban would take over Kabul, effecting the end of the Ghani government and the end of the Afghan armed forces. Despite everything, over 120,000 individuals were airlifted out of Kabul. That, too, is astonishing. But the whole experience was brutal, and this book covers it well.
There is lots of interesting detail about how difficult it was to persuade Zelensky that the Russians were going to invade Ukraine. Right up to the end, he felt that he was being undermined by the Biden team predicting the invasion. Recovering from its mishaps managing the Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden team did a splendid job putting together the resources and the alliance of friends Ukraine desperately needed, but, of course, the efforts, imagination and heroism of the Ukrainians themselves were the key ingredients in not being quickly overrun. Once again, western intelligence was quite wrong, overestimating Russia’s war-fighting capabilities. It’s not clear to me how a U.S. intelligence budget as large as it is can be fooled by Russian propaganda to the effect that Russia’s military had been thoroughly modernized.
What is clear to me is that Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, was the author’s prime source—but far from his only source. This led to the book opening with Sullivan’s concerns about fashioning a foreign policy supportive of the U.S. middle-class and closing with Sullivan’s preoccupation with the same topic. Biden himself and SecState Blinken don’t get much credit for strategic vision. This could be a stronger book if it examined more broadly the strategic aspects of Biden and Blinken’s efforts. One is left with the notion that Sullivan is the key figure in the administration in terms of looking to a future that does not succumb to the constant undercurrents of U.S. isolationism.
But all said and done, this is an interesting account of events and personalities in the first two years of Biden’s time in office.
The account of the withdrawal from Afghanistan is graphic and painful. I am of the school that believes there was no way to conduct the operation flawlessly. It was bound to be ugly. The effects of a 20 year war, the fact that Afghanistan is barely a country, and the condition in which the Trump team left not only the negotiation with the Taliban but also the State Department’s visa operation, all contributed to the chaos. Most astonishing were intelligence failures, wildly underestimating the pace at which the Taliban would take over Kabul, effecting the end of the Ghani government and the end of the Afghan armed forces. Despite everything, over 120,000 individuals were airlifted out of Kabul. That, too, is astonishing. But the whole experience was brutal, and this book covers it well.
There is lots of interesting detail about how difficult it was to persuade Zelensky that the Russians were going to invade Ukraine. Right up to the end, he felt that he was being undermined by the Biden team predicting the invasion. Recovering from its mishaps managing the Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden team did a splendid job putting together the resources and the alliance of friends Ukraine desperately needed, but, of course, the efforts, imagination and heroism of the Ukrainians themselves were the key ingredients in not being quickly overrun. Once again, western intelligence was quite wrong, overestimating Russia’s war-fighting capabilities. It’s not clear to me how a U.S. intelligence budget as large as it is can be fooled by Russian propaganda to the effect that Russia’s military had been thoroughly modernized.
What is clear to me is that Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, was the author’s prime source—but far from his only source. This led to the book opening with Sullivan’s concerns about fashioning a foreign policy supportive of the U.S. middle-class and closing with Sullivan’s preoccupation with the same topic. Biden himself and SecState Blinken don’t get much credit for strategic vision. This could be a stronger book if it examined more broadly the strategic aspects of Biden and Blinken’s efforts. One is left with the notion that Sullivan is the key figure in the administration in terms of looking to a future that does not succumb to the constant undercurrents of U.S. isolationism.
But all said and done, this is an interesting account of events and personalities in the first two years of Biden’s time in office.
Read
October 23, 2024I find myself incredibly torn about how to rate and feel about this book. On the one hand, Alexander Ward's journalism and narrative are exceptional; however, there is also incredible bias and "fanboying" for Sullivan and Blinken.
While I appreciate the behind-the-scenes insights into the foreign policy decisions that have defined the Biden Administration and contributed to his legacy after 50+ years in the public eye, it has also amplified my frustrations. I must say I am keenly awaiting the retirement, exit, or even forced removal (by congressional vote, of course) from public service of many foreign-policy-aligned individuals whose long tenures in public administration have led them to believe that the only reality is war, having been teens at the start of 'Nam.
The book's epilogue describing 47-year-old NSA Jake Sullivan states: "[Jake, who] due to his young age, could serve as an ideological leader within the Democratic Party for decades to come." This underscores my emotion, with the prospect of change, even in a new admin, being slim to none. With that, an enormous sigh of disappointment.
While I appreciate the behind-the-scenes insights into the foreign policy decisions that have defined the Biden Administration and contributed to his legacy after 50+ years in the public eye, it has also amplified my frustrations. I must say I am keenly awaiting the retirement, exit, or even forced removal (by congressional vote, of course) from public service of many foreign-policy-aligned individuals whose long tenures in public administration have led them to believe that the only reality is war, having been teens at the start of 'Nam.
The book's epilogue describing 47-year-old NSA Jake Sullivan states: "[Jake, who] due to his young age, could serve as an ideological leader within the Democratic Party for decades to come." This underscores my emotion, with the prospect of change, even in a new admin, being slim to none. With that, an enormous sigh of disappointment.
April 4, 2024
A fascinating and incredibly timely account of the Biden administration's foreign policy from 2o21-2024. It is rather stunning that Ward got this to print so quickly considering both the level of sensitivity of some of the conversations and details in the book as well as the fact that so much of the book covers current events like Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes making of Biden's (read: Jake Sullivan's) foreign policy doctrine, this is a must-read. The book also has the most comprehensive and authoritative account of the U.S.-led coalition's withdrawal from Afghanistan that I have seen anywhere to date. Ward had incredible access to senior government sources. This is a really commendable book.
March 17, 2024
This book provides a decent insight into the transition from the Trump-Biden view of international relations (from America First to increased global engagement) Especially interesting profile on the struggles with the Biden Admin and the current Ukrainian conflict. That being said, the book is somewhat sycophantic and gives Biden on pass on several mistakes, often accepting their rose-colored interpretation of past events without much objective analysis. Increased focus on these areas (and there are many to choose from) would lend this book more credibility.
September 20, 2024
If you have any interest in U.S. foreign policy or the state of international affairs in the post-Trump era, READ THIS BOOK! Ward's unbiased account of President Biden's foreign policy is both informative and eye-opening, especially as it relates to the administration's decision to pull out of Afghanistan and support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
October 12, 2024
This is a well-written with a narrative-driven account of the Biden administration’s first two years of foreign policy, necessarily focused on the Afghanistan withdrawal and Ukraine war. While the author paints a slightly favorable picture of Biden and his foreign policy team, there are enough facts to draw your own conclusions about their decisions.
February 21, 2024
Restore our foreign policy AFTER Trump? 🤣 How about restoring it back to where it was before Sleepy Joe's incompetence let the world break out into total chaos?!
Nobody with a fair mind could possibly take this book seriously!
Nobody with a fair mind could possibly take this book seriously!
March 12, 2024
One of the best examples of this type of book I've read. It is concise, compelling, insightful, detailed, clear, and instructive. It has nuance that many books of this ilk lack, but it doesn't suffer from too many competing themes. Highly recommended.
April 4, 2024
This book reveals the inner workings of the Biden Administration's foreign policy team during the first 2 years of the his presidency. It chronicles Biden and some of his key players as they grapple with post Trump world politics, and the role their past experiences played in their decision making.
August 4, 2024
Objective, insightful look at the key international policy decisions made in the first two years of the Biden Administration. Appreciate this read and found it helpful to peek behind the curtain to get a better understanding at the many dynamics at play.
September 6, 2025
It's okay for what was there, but inadequate in scope or insights. It ended before halfway through the Biden admin and covered only two international situations. It was silent on Israel and China. It was a part of a portion of a story that just stopped and felt entirely unfinished.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2024
Incredibly insightful read on the inner workings of President Biden’s foreign policy shop.
March 5, 2024
An eye-opening look into the devastation of our foreign policy during the egomaniac Trump's reign.
March 14, 2024
Despite its title, I found this book to be pretty fair (not one-sided). It definitely helped me understand Biden‘s foreign-policy strategies.
March 29, 2024
It’s like a really long NatSec Daily. So it’s great
April 18, 2024
Impressive work and well laid-out analysis.
I’m most stunned by how state dept failed to pay its staff whom they sent to Kabul to facilitate withdrawal on time. 💀
I’m most stunned by how state dept failed to pay its staff whom they sent to Kabul to facilitate withdrawal on time. 💀
May 18, 2024
Alexander Ward is a very good writer who is writing about one of the major international events of this decade - the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
I look forward to reading what Ward writes next.
I look forward to reading what Ward writes next.
July 16, 2024
Jake Sullivan apologist
May 30, 2024
Sort of mad about the branding for this book. Wish they were just honest about this being about the decisions prior to the Ukraine war and Afghanistan pullout. There were small sections about other topics such as China and Israel, but the book centered on two subjects primarily. I wanted it to be something else, but the book was still interesting nonetheless.
September 2, 2024
Manufactured Trilogies #45: Ways to Understand the Modern Moment - Politics Edition
- The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump (Ward)
- Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics (Reeve)
- Autocracy Inc. (Applebaum)
- The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump (Ward)
- Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics (Reeve)
- Autocracy Inc. (Applebaum)
March 16, 2024
Looking forward to this book by one of my favorite journalists
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews