Ending the Administration’s Hopium Habit
By Christine Leah & Curtis McGiffin , Adam Lowther
March 17, 2023
A.Savin
In response to Vladimir Putin’s suspension of Russian participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty and his promise to strengthen the Russian nuclear arsenal last week, the Biden administration’s Victoria Nuland, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, spoke to the media in order to encourage Russia to return to the Treaty. For many Russia hands, this weak response was dumbfounding. It was yet another illustration of what happens when a presidential administration develops a “hopium” habit.
If the October 2022 release of the National Security Strategy and its associated documents (National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, and Missile Defense Review) were not already indication enough of the administration’s penchant for being hooked on hopium at the expense of dealing with reality, then Nuland’s statements certainly should offer a clear indication. It is worth noting that hopium addiction is as serious as any addiction to illicit drugs because it not only puts the addict at risk but the entire nation. Sadly, the Biden administration turned the White House into a hopium den where staff breath in idealism deeply as an escape from a world that does not share their values.
The current administration is not alone in its addiction. President George H. W. Bush experimented with hopium as he sought to build a “New World Order” with a “thousand points of light.” In 2001, George W. Bush looked deeply into Vladimir Putin’s eyes, “got a sense of his soul,” and knew Putin was a man he could trust. President Bush’s hopium addiction would get so bad that his administration thought the United States could impose democracy on any country in the world. It was merely the hopium clouding their judgement.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/03/17/ending_the_administrations_hopium_habit_887860.html
