WASHINGTON, DC, Dec 20 — Robert Charles, commentator at the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC], recently sat down with Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto to discuss the clear and present danger posed by Russia as it threatens to invade the Ukraine and China as it continues to harass the independent island nation of Taiwan. Charles, who served under presidents Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 in key executive positions, described the increased tensions on both fronts as “a gut check moment.”
To put the situation into context, President Biden told reporters at the recent meeting of the Group of Seven economic powers in the U.K. that he’d spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning him that he and his country would pay “a terrible price” if Russia invades the Ukraine, that it would trigger economic consequences for his economy, consequences that will be “devastating. Devastating.”
As for China, it has mounted a campaign of threatening warplane overflights of Taiwan as a means of scaring the non-communist Republic of China into submission to Communist Chinese control. And, Mr. Biden has brazenly and repeatedly stated that America will defend the island nation if attacked, but whether the U.S. is willing to engage in a shooting war in Taiwan’s defense is not clear under our long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity.” Meanwhile, China’s Foreign ministry warns it will “firmly oppose any form of official exchanges and military contacts between the United States and Taiwan, oppose US interference in China’s internal affairs, and attempts to provoke and stir up trouble.”
As for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in his interview with Cavuto, Charles questioned President Biden’s resolve. “We look at August 2012 where Obama-Biden said [to Russia] hey there’s a red line and if you cross it in Syria big things will happen and nothing happened … credibility is everything here and frankly the Biden administration’s credibility on this has got to hold … this is a very consequential moment … [does] the United states and NATO stand strong and say you cannot do this or is this another paper tiger.”
Cavuto posed the notion that China and Russia may be coordinating their mischief, with China saying, “you [Russia] keep him [Biden] busy in the Ukraine, and I’ll keep him busy in the South China Sea.”
Charles said he suspects “very strongly that Russian and Chinese diplomats and military personnel talk every day. There are a lot of chess pieces that have been moved around on this board already, and what you see, essentially, in Taiwan, is that the United States has provided the lethal defensive capability and is late to the party, a little too late, saying that we’ll defend them. I think this is a coordinated chess game, and just as Richard Nixon played the China card against the Soviet Union, I think Russia and China are very deftly playing their cards against us. And I think if we’re not smart enough to see that, if we’re not playing two moves ahead, we’re going to get cornered.
“They’ve looked at what we’ve done in the past. Number one, Biden is not a good coalition builder. Number two, his word has not been kept. Number three, look at how he behaved in Afghanistan. And so, they say he’s afraid of the Taliban why would he do anything to sort of put us in harm’s way. He hasn’t got the gumption to go forward, so you know I think this is a real test… this is a gut check moment.”
Charles went on to point out that the G-7 nations are dependent on Russian energy, asking “is this a realignment moment, is this a moment when these European countries say, is the United states with us, are they leading, are they going to guide this process or are they just gonna fall by the wayside and let Russia do what they want and ultimately let China do what they want.”