{"id":1560758,"date":"2024-03-19T02:26:27","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T02:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dissidentvoice.org\/?p=149014"},"modified":"2024-03-19T02:26:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T02:26:27","slug":"bidens-state-of-the-union-address-exposed-by-us-intelligence-threat-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/19\/bidens-state-of-the-union-address-exposed-by-us-intelligence-threat-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s State of the Union Address Exposed by US Intelligence Threat Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Biden used the bully pulpit of the annual State of the Union Address<\/a> to describe a world that significantly differed from the picture presented just a month earlier in the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Information fed to the general public is deliberately spun to sell the imperial project. In contrast, intelligence assessments for elite policy makers are designed to sustain the endeavor. That the president\u2019s pronouncements diverge from the conclusions reached by his own intelligence community highlights the chasm between what is foisted on the public compared to what is understood within the bowels of the state.<\/p>\n

Unlike Biden\u2019s bullish and bellicose pronouncements about \u201cour leadership in the world,\u201d the Assessment\u2019s view was less triumphal. It states: \u201cThe United States faces an increasingly fragile global order.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fraying US-imposed \u201crules based order\u201d and its discredited neoliberal economic system are more and more being challenged by \u201cstates engaging in competitive behavior,\u201d according to the Assessment. The report adds, fallout from the Gaza crisis, in particular, serves to \u201cundermine\u201d the US.<\/p>\n

Both pronouncements, however, have similar biases. Biden\u2019s address to the nation was overtly political, accusing Trump of \u201cbowing down\u201d to Putin. But the supposedly neutral and objective \u201ccollective insights of the Intelligence Community\u201d were likewise predisposed in favor of Democratic Party memes. Both blame Russian electoral interference for Trump\u2019s ascension to the Oval Office in 2016. As proof, the so-called intelligence community again offered nothing more than its own assessment, lacking<\/a> better evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmbitious\u201d China<\/strong><\/p>\n

Biden bragged in this address: \u201cFor years, all I\u2019ve heard from my Republican friends\u2026is China\u2019s on the rise and America is falling behind. They\u2019ve got it backward!\u201d Contrary to his bravado about \u201cwe\u2019re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China,\u201d the World Bank predicts<\/a> 4.5% GDP growth in China compared to 1.6% for the US in 2024.<\/p>\n

China has surpassed the US as the largest<\/a> world economy by purchasing power parity<\/a>. The Assessment forecasts slowed \u2013 but still greater than for the US \u2013 economic growth in what it labels as an \u201cambitious\u201d China.<\/p>\n

The Assessment reports that China \u201cnow rivals\u201d the US in DNA-sequencing and is the \u201cworld leader\u201d in voice and image recognition and video analytics. Biden\u2019s claim that, \u201cI\u2019ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can\u2019t be used in China,\u201d is contradicted by the Assessment\u2019s finding that China is \u201cmaking progress\u201d in producing advanced chips on its own.<\/p>\n

The Assessment notes: \u201cChina views Washington\u2019s competitive measures against Beijing as part of a broader US\u2026effort to contain its rise.\u201d In this context, the Chinese perceive an increased likelihood of a US first-strike nuclear attack, according to the Assessment. Nevertheless, China has shown growing \u201cconfidence\u201d in its nuclear deterrent capabilities against US aggression, also according to the Assessment.<\/p>\n

China is disadvantaged militarily, according to the Assessment, because it \u201clacks recent warfighting experience,\u201d something the US has in excess. US intelligence estimates that China will only \u201cfully modernize\u201d its national defense by 2035 and will not become a \u201cworld-class military\u201d until 2049.<\/p>\n

The Assessment anticipates increased Chinese push-back over Taiwan. Although Biden claimed that the US is \u201cstanding up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,\u201d the US has done the opposite by continuing<\/a> to destabilize and militarize the region. To wit, Biden said in his address, \u201cI\u2019ve revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConfrontational\u201d Russia<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Assessment labels Russia \u201cconfrontational,\u201d projecting Washington\u2019s own posture. In a fit of made-for-popular-consumption Russophobia, Biden warned in his address: \u201cPutin of Russia is on the march\u2026If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not!\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Assessment warns of many threats, Russian expansionism \u2013 as Biden fear mongered\u00a0 \u2013 is not one of them. In fact, the Assessment notes that Russia stepped down from intervening in neighboring Azerbaijan<\/a> regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh territory. The Assessment assures us: \u201cRussia almost certainly does not want a direct military conflict with US and NATO forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Assessment notes that Russia \u201cmaintains the largest and most diverse nuclear weapons stockpile.\u201d But it adds that Russia sees its stockpile as \u201cnecessary for maintaining deterrence\u201d (presumably from a US first strike). The Assessment, while describing Russia as a \u201ccapable and resilient adversary,\u201d takes the contrary view to Biden\u2019s, seeing Russia\u2019s posture as mainly \u201cdefensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the US proxy war<\/a> against Russia drags on, Biden continues to campaign for expanding the US funding for Ukraine with no hint of a peace. For its part, the Assessment does not contest what it describes as Putin\u2019s belief that Russia is winning the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Rather, the Assessment sees no victory in sight for the US: \u201cThis deadlock plays to Russia\u2019s strategic military advantages and is increasingly shifting the momentum in Moscow\u2019s favor.\u201d Not surprisingly, this huge admission of the futility of the US war effort in Ukraine coming from its own intelligence institutions has not been prominently reported by the follow-the-flag corporate press.<\/p>\n

The Assessment describes how Russia is strengthening and leveraging ties with China, Iran, and North Korea. Russia is mitigating the impacts of US-led sanctions, while \u201crebuild[ing] its credibility as a great power.\u201d Russia\u2019s deepening ties with China in particular have afforded it significant \u201cprotection from future sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite US-led coercive economic measures, the Assessment projects \u201cmodest\u201d Russian GDP growth. Moscow has \u201csuccessfully diverted\u201d its oil exports and largely evaded the US\/G7 price caps, retaining \u201csignificant energy leverage\u201d as the second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to Europe. In short, Russia is \u201coffsetting its decline in relations with the West\u201d with a pivot to the Global South.<\/p>\n

Other global flashpoints <\/strong><\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s policy of \u201ccontaining the threat posed by Iran\u201d is elaborated in the Assessment. US-led sanctions are credited with putting \u201cbrakes on\u201d Iran\u2019s economy. In response, the Assessment reports, Tehran has \u201cexpanded its diplomatic influence\u201d by improving ties with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.<\/p>\n

The Assessment correctly notes that Iran uses its nuclear program \u201cto build negotiating leverage and respond to perceived international pressure,\u201d pointing out that Iran would \u201crestore JCPOA limits if the United States fulfilled its<\/em> JCPOA commitments<\/a> [emphasis added].\u201d<\/p>\n

On the one hand, the Assessment preposterously accuses Iran of seeking to \u201cblock a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.\u201d On the other, Iran is absolved of orchestrating or having any foreknowledge of the Hamas attack on Israel. This is a notable admission.<\/p>\n

The Gaza conflict, according to the Assessment, poses the \u201crisk of escalation\u201d into regional interstate war. Uncle Sam\u2019s \u201ckey Arab partners,\u201d the Assessment laments, face hostile domestic sentiment because their citizens (correctly) see the US and Israel as responsible for \u201cthe death and destruction.\u201d Although the US is recognized as the \u201cpower broker\u201d that could \u201cend the conflict,\u201d the Assessment (also correctly) implies that the US has not played that role.<\/p>\n

The Assessment foresees Israel needing to confront \u201carmed resistance from Hamas for years to come.\u201d While acknowledging that Hamas enjoys \u201cbroad support,\u201d the Assessment questions Israeli President Netanyahu\u2019s \u201cviability\u201d and \u201cability of rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to the case of Iran, the Assessment explains, North Korea\u2019s nuclear program is pursued as a \u201cguarantor of regime security\u201d and to \u201cdeter outside intervention.\u201d North Korea\u2019s missile launches, the Assessment admits, are responses to counter hostile US-South Korea military exercises. North Korea\u2019s development of nuclear capabilities, the Assessment further acknowledges, are defensive to \u201cenhance second-strike capabilities\u201d in the contingency of a first strike by the US and its allies.<\/p>\n

In regard to immigration, Biden touts his \u201ccomprehensive plan to fix\u201d our system. Given the current dysfunction on the US border, claiming credit there sounds more like a Republican talking point than one favoring the incumbent. Largely ignored in Biden\u2019s address, the Assessment is concerned with global warming and its potentially destabilizing effect on the US-imposed global order by generating climate refugees.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoor socioeconomic conditions and insecurity\u201d further drive cross-border migration, warns the Assessment. While admitting that \u201clack of economic opportunities\u201d are among the factors that drive Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan emigration, the Assessment incredulously rejects blaming US sanctions for driving people away from their homelands.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike the upbeat \u201cgreatest comeback story never told\u201d of the State of the Union address, the Assessment cautions:<\/p>\n

\u201cStrains in US alliances and challenges to international norms have made it more difficult\u2026to tackle global issues\u2026. The world that emerges from this tumultuous period will be shaped by whoever\u2026 [is] most effective at advancing economic growth and providing benefits for more people, and by the powers\u2026that are most able and willing to act on solutions to transnational issues and regional crises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Assessment reports that Putin\u2019s \u201cRussia has increased social spending\u2026and increased corporate taxes.\u201d Also reported, Xi\u2019s China is prioritizing \u201ca more equitable distribution of wealth \u2013 replacing the focus on maximizing GDP growth.\u201d Back home, Biden promised in his address \u201cto end cancer as we know it\u201d and prophesized that he will \u201csave the planet from the climate crisis.\u201d (For starters, I would settle for just stopping the genocide in Palestine and a negotiated peace in Ukraine.)<\/p>The post Biden\u2019s State of the Union Address Exposed by US Intelligence Threat Assessment<\/a> first appeared on Dissident Voice<\/a>.\n

This post was originally published on Dissident Voice<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Biden used the bully pulpit of the annual State of the Union Address to describe a world that significantly differed from the picture presented just a month earlier in the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. Information fed to the general public is deliberately spun to sell the imperial project. In contrast, [\u2026]<\/p>\n

The post Biden\u2019s State of the Union Address Exposed by US Intelligence Threat Assessment<\/a> first appeared on Dissident Voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76433,190,287,25,82,51,76434,2037,473,72135,24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560758"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560758"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1560824,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560758\/revisions\/1560824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1560758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1560758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}