July 12, 2023
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
JUL 13

Today, in Vilnius, Lithuania, President Joe Biden spoke before a crowd at Vilnius University to champion democracy and the strengthening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“If I sound optimistic,” he told the crowd, “it’s because I am.”

“NATO is stronger, more energized, and, yes, more united than ever in its history,” he said and continued, “It didn’t happen by accident.” Faced with a threat to “democratic values we hold dear, to freedom itself” when Russian president Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine in a rejection of the rules-based international order, the United States, NATO, and all our partners stepped up to stand behind the brave people of Ukraine.

“After nearly a year and a half of Russia’s forces committing terrible atrocities, including crimes against humanity, the people of Ukraine remain unbroken…. Ukraine remains independent. It remains free. And the United States has built a coalition of more than 50 nations to make sure Ukraine defends itself both now and…in the future as well.”

“[O]ur commitment to our values, our freedom is something…[we] can never, never, ever, ever walk away from,” Biden said. “It’s who we are.”

“[A]s I look around the world today, at a moment of war and peril, a moment of competition and uncertainty, I also see a moment of unprecedented opportunity—unprecedented opportunity—opportunity to make real strides toward a world of greater peace and greater prosperity, liberty and dignity, equal justice under the law, human rights and fundamental freedoms which are the blessing and birthright of all of humanity.”

“My friends, at the most fundamental level, we face a choice…between a world defined by coercion and exploitation, where might makes right, or a world where we recognize that our own success is bound to the success of others."

“When others do better, we do better as well—where we understand that the challenges we face today, from the existential threat of climate change to building a global economy where no one gets left behind, are too great for any one nation to solve on their own, and that to achieve our goals and meet the challenges of this age, we have to work together.”

“The world is changing. We have a chance to change the dynamic.”

“That’s why I’ve been so focused as president on rebuilding and revitalizing the alliances that are the cornerstone of American leadership in the world,” Biden said. He recounted the strengthening of the relationship between the U.S. and Europe, as well as the U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific region with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and India, saying that “we’re bringing major democracies of the region together to cooperate, keeping the Indo-Pacific free and open, prosperous, and secure.”

“[W]e’re working to deepen connections between the Atlantic and Pacific democracies so they can better work together toward the shared values we all seek: strong alliances, versatile partnerships, common purpose, collective action to meet our shared challenges….

“We have to step up together, building the broadest and deepest coalition…to preserve all the extraordinary benefits that stem from the international system grounded in the rule of law.

“We have to come together to protect the rights and freedoms that underwrite the flow of ideas and commerce and which have enabled decades of global growth. Yes, territorial integrity and sovereignty, but also principles like freedom of navigation and overflight, keeping our shared seas and skies open so that every nation has equal access to our global common space.

“And as we continue to explore this age of new possibilities, an age enabled by rapid advances in innovation, we have to stand together to ensure that the common spaces of our future reflect our highest…aspirations for ourselves and for others…so that artificial intelligence, engineering, biology, and other…emerging technologies are not made into weapons of oppression but rather are used as tools of opportunity.

“We’re working with our allies and partners to build…supply chains that are more resilient, more secure, so we never again face a situation like we had during the pandemic where we couldn’t get critical goods we needed for our daily lives….

“[W]e all must summon the common will to…address the existential threat of accelerating climate change. It’s real. It’s serious. We don’t have a lot of time. It is the…single greatest threat to humanity.

“And it’s only by working together that we’ll prevent the worst consequences of climate change from ravaging our future and that of our children and grandchildren.

“We also have to recognize our shared responsibility to help unlock the enormous potential that exists in low- and middle-income…[countries] around the world—not out of charity, [but] because it’s in our own self-interest. We all benefit when more partners stand together, working toward shared goals. We all benefit when people are healthier and more prosperous…. We all benefit when more entrepreneurs and innovators are able to pursue their dreams for a better tomorrow….

“[W]e stand at an inflection point, an inflection point in history, where the choices we make now are going to shape the direction of our world for decades to come. The world has changed.

“Will we turn back naked, unchecked aggression today to deter other…would-be aggressors tomorrow? Will we staunch the climate crisis before it’s too late? Will we harness the new technologies to advance freedom or will we diminish it? Will we advance opportunity in more places or allow instability and inequality to persist?

“How we answer these essential questions is literally going to determine the kind of future our children and grandchildren have.”

“I believe that with ambition, with confidence in ourselves and one another, with nations working together for common cause, we can answer these questions,” Biden said. “We can ensure the vision we share and the freedoms we cherish are not just empty words in a troubled time, but a roadmap…a plan of urgent action toward a future we can reach, and we’ll reach if we work together.

“[T]he road that lies before us is hard. It will challenge us, summon the best of ourselves to hold faith in one another and never give up, never lose hope. Never.

“Every day, we have to make the choice. Every day, we must summon the strength to stand for what is right, to stand for what is true, to stand for freedom, to stand together.”

Biden met in Vilnius with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose concerns about not getting a firm timeline for Ukraine’s admission to NATO seem to have been assuaged by significant security guarantees. “We are returning home with a good result for our country, and very importantly, for our warriors,” he wrote. “A good reinforcement with weapons.”

Meanwhile, in the U.S., a new report shows that inflation has slowed dramatically, dropping back to about 3%, the rate of March 2021, while the jobs market remains strong. Wages are rising faster than inflation. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, says the report suggests that the sharp inflation of the past sixteen months was, in fact, a result of supply shocks from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as administration officials said.

Other advanced economies continue to struggle with high inflation, and observers noted that U.S. inflation began to fall just after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

In Washington, D.C., today, the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), questioned FBI director Christopher Wray for six hours to try to prove that the FBI is attacking Trump Republicans while giving Hunter Biden a free pass. It didn’t go particularly well. Wray is a lifelong Republican and member of the right-wing Federalist Society and was appointed by former president Trump. “The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background,” Wray said.

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin summed up the day’s news when she tweeted: “3% inflation. NATO growing and more solid than ever. huge investment in tech and infrastructure. And Rs? Screeching about Hunter Biden's laptop and defunding the FBI. Simply pathetic.”