President Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy was perceived as paranoia by Democrats during his tenure.
In fact, Democrats built their election campaign against his nationalist agenda of America first and its associated slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
However, now President Biden’s America First policy is telling the same story in two policy measures, at least.
The first and foremost is America’s nationalist withdrawal from Afghanistan and the second is the COVID vaccination.
How is Joe Biden’s America first policy a threat to globalization? Let’s see.
US Left Modern Weapons for Taliban in Afghanistan: Nationalism in Action
America’s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan triggered a humanitarian crisis in the country, as desperate people fled to the capital’s airport to leave the country by hook or by crook.
Those who found the opportunity boarded the planes; many others had to adapt alternate options, the most gruesome of which was hanging on to the wheels of the flying aircraft.
At least two Afghanis died as they fell down after hanging from the plane’s exterior, as the viral video suggested.
As the Afghan Taliban conquered the country, the protesters and the insurgent group even came face to face, an event which was marked by bloodshed as the Taliban opened fire on the protesters.
The rise of the Afghan Taliban is creating an unprecedented identity crisis within the general public.
The latest skirmish between civilians and the armed group is over the flag of the country, in which the armed outfit is weaponizing the protests.
As the twenty years of America’s gains were reversed in less than a month, had Biden not walked the “America First” ideology, the result could have been different, with better negotiations.
The humanitarian crisis could have been avoided by adopting a better strategy instead of rushing out the military from the troubled region.
It is true that America did spend more than $2 trillion funding the war in Afghanistan, not to mention that almost 2000 soldiers died.
However, abandoning Afghanistan just like Vietnam, without any future insight, is a classic example of nationalism.
The withdrawal was so hasty that instead of weakening the Taliban, US forces have empowered them even more.
Taliban fighters seized the valuable military equipment of the American forces, which has empowered the group even further.
It is due to Biden’s America First policy that the Afghan Taliban now owns fighter jets as well, which the US military did not bring back.
Even if the US did not intend to bring the twenty years of accumulated hardware back, destroying them before leaving Afghanistan was the sanest option instead of leaving it unattended for the insurgents.
These falsified policies have contributed to the increasing suffering of Afghan people.
The United States used cutting-edge weaponry in Afghanistan, and its occupation by the Taliban would certainly push the country into the doldrums.
When the US exploited the local fighters in Afghanistan against the USSR during Cold War, it successfully disintegrated the Soviet Union.
However, the US left the insurgents unattended with massive weapons in their hands, which resulted in the emergence of the Taliban on the national landscape, which later on challenged America’s national security.
Now, once again, the US did not bother about the local crisis while leaving the modern weaponry in Afghanistan. It just left the country without foreseeing the Taliban’s advancement.
Biden’s America First Policy to Vaccinate the Already Vaccinated People
Then comes President Biden’s efforts to give preference to the already vaccinated Americans over the unvaccinated global citizens.
The Biden administration is eyeing to give booster shots to already fully vaccinated people, prioritizing them over even the unvaccinated medical staff and older citizens of the far-off nations, where vaccination drives are being run at the snailing pace.
The success against the pandemic was equated to vaccine diplomacy and the efforts of the global powers to vaccinate the less privileged countries.
This policy is one of the reasons for the failure of COVAX, a global initiative in which America is a frontline partner.
Even the World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief has called for a moratorium to halt the booster doses until at least the end of September to make vaccines accessible to the unprivileged nations.
The threat of the vaccine apartheid was already real, and now, when the Biden administration is acting in purely American’s interest, it is posing an even greater threat to the globalized community.
Final Thoughts
The win of Biden was celebrated by the advocates of globalization who were disgusted by the rising nationalism under Trump’s tenure.
However, the unfolding events suggest the US approach is not driven by the true concepts of globalization.
President Joe Biden’s America First policy is, undoubtedly, not as severe as that of Trump, at least yet.
However, with just seven months in office, the events are not as welcoming as they should be, as they would not only create a dip in Biden’s own popularity but also pose a threat to the global coexistence.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.