OPINION:
President Biden has presided over a security slump that is endangering the nation. In two short years, Mr. Biden has managed to degrade the U.S. military, whose responsibility is to defend the nation from its enemies, while pulverizing measures meant to prevent uncontrolled penetration of the U.S. border. Seldom have Americans been left so vulnerable by a president’s fumbling of the fundamentals.
The U.S. military is meant to stand aloof from the push and pull of politics. Under the Biden administration, the infiltration of woke politics into the ranks has become rampant. New polling conducted by The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank, shows 68% of active-duty military members have witnessed politicization in their service branches, and 65% of them say they are somewhat or very concerned about the trend.
The impact of radical racial and gender politics — and an accompanying focus on climate change rather than readiness — is alienating patriotic young people and crushing recruitment. “It’s more clear than ever that Americans are losing faith in what should be America’s most trusted institution, and the current recruitment crisis facing our military is evidence of that,” Rep. Mike Waltz, Florida Republican, told an audience at a recent Heritage-sponsored panel on military service and readiness.
The Army suffered its worst recruitment shortfall in 2022 since its switch to an all-volunteer force in 1973, falling 15,000 soldiers below its target. The Marine Corps started fiscal 2023 with only 30% of its target met rather than the customary 50%, and both the Air Force and Navy stood at 10% of their goals rather than the usual 25%.
While military service is crumpling under Mr. Biden’s Pentagon leadership, his immigration policies have crippled border security. In December, a record 250,000 illegal immigrants from 140 nations reportedly arrived at the U.S. border. An equal inflow during the remainder of the president’s term — coupled with the 5 million who have entered since he took office — would saddle the U.S. with more than 11 million immigrants, an unprecedented surge of humanity.
The uncontrolled influx of men, women and children drawn by economic opportunity is not to be equated with the depredations of an invading army. Still, the dangerous cartel-sourced opioids that accompany them are claiming twice the number of U.S. lives annually that were lost in the entire Vietnam War. America’s so-called war on drugs is now a drug war on Americans.
It is unsurprising, then, that a generation-spanning Gallup Poll taken since 1993 has shown that the number of Americans favoring increased immigration started declining in 2020, and continues to fall.
In 2013, Hillary Clinton offered a partial preview of America circa 2023 when speaking to an audience of Latin American bankers: “My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders.” She didn’t mention the chaos and death that befalls a nation whose borders are left undefended.
The government’s paramount duty is to deploy military and border security forces sufficient to maintain the safety for its people. Sadly, Mr. Biden has fumbled the fundamentals, making Mrs. Clinton’s dream Americans’ worst nightmare.
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