Ric Grenell Eviscerates Biden Administration’s Diplomatic Strategy During Fiery CPAC Speech – Opinion

The former acting director of United States National Intelligence Ric Grennell was a big hit with the audience at Saturday’s Conservative Political Action Conference. In his speech, Grenell criticized Biden’s failed diplomacy in relation to Russia and Ukraine. But his comments reflect a dreadful reality that seems to be sinking in with the American public: This president does not project the type of strength and decisiveness needed to be the nation’s commander-in-chief.

Grenell opened by saying that diplomacy should be supported by the willingness to use force, if necessary. “Diplomacy isn’t a weak option, but we all know that diplomacy without the credible threat of force invites contempt,” he said. “However, diplomacy that sees military force as the first option rather than a last resort will result in war. However, diplomacy that is done well can be the antithesis of war. This week, we’ve witnessed a total collapse of diplomacy.”

The Trump-era American Ambassador to Germany continued to point out how Trump broke his promise to use effective diplomacy in order to avoid any military confrontations. “President Biden told us that he was going to bring diplomacy back. Instead, it’s on its back,” Grenell pointed out. “We desperately need new, creative, visionary diplomacy, muscular diplomacy to secure meaningful peace when a conflict arises. Last summer, we watched helplessly as our credibility, our deterrence, and our national honor crumbled in the retreat from Afghanistan.”

Grenell then described how Biden and Trump were confronted with the same Afghan situation and compared their different approaches to solving this problem. “The difference is that President Trump had an unapologetic pro-American diplomacy with a credible military option behind him,” he said. “It’s clear that the Taliban respected and feared President Trump. He sought to withdraw on his terms, leaving a delicate but viable order behind while reading the situation on the ground and adjusting his plans when necessary.”

Grenell recounted the tragedy that was the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. He then turned his attention towards the current situation in Ukraine. Grenell stated that Biden had made a mistake not to have sanctions placed on Russia before their invasion. Grenell said that:

“They think sanctioning Russia before an invasion in Europe is reckless, and they pretend that Donald Trump’s unpredictability was harmful. Well, I saw firsthand that having a President putting the American people first and calling out the Germans for their hypocrisy and not telling our enemies what our strategy is that made America and Europe”

Grenell argued that if the U.S. wished to avoid military hostilities, it needed “to impose crippling sanctions before the war starts” and cease dependency on the Kremlin for oil. Grenell said that:

“The key to the Ukraine conflict and the symbolic core of the growing turmoil in Europe has always been energy, and specifically the Nord Stream Two pipelines. It’s a pipeline that will carry natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. It is actually a conduit of influence. It is a pipeline that makes Germany and Europe dangerously dependent on Russia for its energy.”

He continued, noting that “the Nord Stream Two pipeline is still not operational,” and that “it is still our most important leverage point over Putin.” Unfortunately, the Biden administration decided not to exploit that particular piece of leverage, and it created “the precise moment Putin saw American weakness,” according to the former acting director.

Grenell was one of several speakers at CPAC who savaged Biden’s White House for its failure to project strength while dealing with Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem also criticised the administration for failing to take stronger actions towards the Kremlin.

It is not surprising that Biden’s team and those in his office are failing to deliver on this issue. The president never had to deal with a foreign situation that was beyond his capabilities. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was only a sneak preview into how badly the White House will handle overseas problems, and it seems to be nothing more than a continuation of former President Barack Obama’s abysmal foreign policy. This incompetence will be a problem for America at least through 2024.