Biden Says The US Doesn't Want A New Cold War But There Are Some Reasons It Might

(MENAFN- The Conversation)

“We do not seek a Cold War,” declared President Joe Biden on Sept. 21, 2022. He continued that America was not asking“any nation to choose between the United States or any other partner.”

But that's likely . Despite Biden's protestations, foreign policy observers are between the U.S. on one side and Russia and China on the other ” in which . Moreover, in a March 2022 poll more than 6 in 10 American adults said than it was five years earlier.

To be clear, there is no reason to question Biden's personal sincerity. But as a , I think it is legitimate to ask whether the“no return to Cold War” position is wholly representative of Washington's foreign policy establishment, given that the Cold War presented advantages and opportunities to the U.S. Moreover, I believe that if Americans were really being honest on the issue, some might concede they actually miss the Cold War.

From World War II's end in 1945 to the Berlin Wall's collapse in 1989, seemingly offered advantages to successive U.S. administrations and the wider American public that have disappeared since.

Perhaps most importantly, the United States could justify during the Cold War era. In faraway places ranging to , the U.S. presented itself as a benevolent superpower assisting fledgling democracies against an expansionist communist threat, real or perceived.

Supporting allies, whether or , made sense when Moscow, in words, had moved“beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations” and was using“armed invasion and war.”

Proxy wars, where the superpowers fought one another through local allies, were far more palatable when one's enemy could be deemed an ideological global menace.

The Cold War also offered a form of cultural capital to its champions, allowing Americans to embrace a virtuous national identity, contrasting it to the evils of godless communism. In this framing, Americans were the moral defenders of universal democratic principles. Communists, conversely, were the antithesis to such ethical doctrines.

In the popular 1947 comic“ ,” for instance, children were taught that the communists' rise to power relied on the tools of“starvation, murder, slavery, [and] force.” There was little ambiguity when painting Moscow's henchmen in bloody red strokes.

Given such threats, those working within the found a straightforward, and popular, rationale for increased defense spending. In – from 1948 to 1949 – Congress approved a 20% increase in defense appropriations.

The , the , the and – all of which took place in 1949 – portended a future in which Americans needed a potent military machine to protect their security and their interests. Of course, the growth of U.S. military meant power and sway on global stage, an added benefit of burgeoning defense budgets.

While serving national security purposes, the Cold War also could promote certain interest groups and individuals across the political landscape of the United States.

Not surprisingly, opportunistic politicians could profit from wartime rhetoric by claiming they alone were defending the nation's security.

Wisconsin Sen. proved the most infamous, even pitting his fellow citizens against one another to gain populist approval ratings. In 1950, McCarthy described the world as being in two“hostile armed camps” and exhorted the nation to become“a beacon in the desert of destruction.”

His public notoriety – though perhaps not his – showcased how Cold War fears could be exploited and then translated into political rewards.

And, as McCarthy's suggested, perceived threats of domestic communism also could be used by conservative social critics to force consensus upon a rapidly changing postwar American society. In just one example,“” maliciously claimed that the had been infiltrated by communists and that the larger civil rights movement was a front for anarchist Marxists.

Could today's conservatives similarly find use for the threat of the“other” to promote an Americanism that seeks to promote unity over individual identities, rights and broader immigration? Those arguing for a return to a“” certainly believe so.

The 1990s, however, hinted that Cold War triumphs came with unintended consequences. Not only was the stability of the international system seemingly shattered in the post-Cold War world, the lack of a unifying enemy appeared to leave U.S. citizens turning on each other.

Americans engaged in raucous at home, with critics complaining of a stifling“political correctness” that trampled upon their freedom of speech and expression. Meanwhile, the U.S. armed forces were cast adrift abroad seeking a viable after their decadeslong commitment to containing communism ended.

Political scientist even argued at the Cold War's end in 1990 that Europe was“reverting to a state system that created powerful incentives for aggression in the past.” Not coincidentally, Mearsheimer also that the post-Cold War push by NATO into former Soviet countries is to blame for the current war. Perhaps the Cold War indeed had offered a sense of stability as much as it did dread.

For a moment, the post-9/11 global war against terrorism offered promise of a new threat, one existential enough on which to build a new American grand strategy for the 21st century. In his 2002 State of the Union address, President declared the United States was facing“an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.”

Yet for all its menace, the axis and its“terrorist allies” could not seem to muster enough fear to sustain America's attention as long as Cold War communists. True, the United States remained in Afghanistan for , but the threats there seemed more local than existential.

Putin's Russia today prefigures a possible return to a global Cold War – a new struggle pitting“good” against“evil.” Thus, given President Biden's contention that he is not seeking one, Americans should reflect deeply on what a 21st-century Cold War might actually look like.

The Cold War in myth and memory may have seemed a more idyllic time, when united Americans led in a fairly stable international system. Yet these decades were far more violent, far more contentious both at home and abroad, than Americans might like to concede.

Some in Washington might indeed be happy to return to a new Cold War. But policymakers should think twice before committing the nation to a decadeslong conflict that relies more on an imagined past than a critical reading of that history.

MENAFN04102022000199003603ID1104967237

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.