Vice President Harris made an unusual statement after greeting recently released former Russian prisoners at Joint Base Andrews. Among the freed prisoners were Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter; Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine; and two others. Harris’s statement was intended to compliment absent-minded President Biden’s vast knowledge of diplomacy.
“I’m very grateful for our president. … This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in the understanding of the significance of diplomacy and strengthening alliances,” Harris said with a somnambulistic Biden, mouth agape, standing beside her. It is likely that Biden’s reported cognitive decline has been hastened by listening to Harris talk.
An important political message to voters from this Harris “jumble speak” about diplomacy could be that by complimenting Biden about his understanding of diplomacy, she is signaling that she has learned “valuable lessons” about how to conduct diplomacy if she becomes president. Diplomacy requires accuracy and precise meaning in communications. To date, Harris has not demonstrated the skills to conduct serious diplomacy.
“Word salad” is often used to describe Harris’s speaking style. Her public statements about administration policy are not examples of clear communication. Harris’s jumble-speak word salads in diplomatic settings could be humiliating for America. Worse, her imprecise language, lack of clarity and an unusual penchant for laughing could lead to diplomatic disasters.
While Russia’s exchange of prisoners is a relief for their families and a welcome moment for our country, Harris’s comment about “strengthening alliances” deserves scrutiny, considering the Biden-Harris ill-timed announcement of a U.S. plea deal with the mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 Americans died in the attacks and the plane crash in Shanksville, Pa.
Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the 2001 terror attacks await justice in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They agreed to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty.
After public outrage over the plea deal, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rescinded the decision. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, has announced hearings to investigate who in the administration allowed the terrorists to escape the death penalty. The families and friends of those lost on September 11 deserve to know how this happened and who is accountable. Americans deserve answers.
In 2021, Reuters reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken considered a special envoy tasked with closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Critics of the prison say it represents U.S. “excesses,” such as torture, in the war on terror. If Blinken had a role in striking the plea deal with terrorists, he should not be leading the State Department.
The plea deal with the September 11 terrorists is bad timing, bad messaging, and bad politics. Biden and Blinken, in a rush to establish serious diplomatic credentials for Harris, have created a huge political problem that won’t likely disappear before the election.
The Biden-Harris outrageous and dangerous plea deal with terrorists is a gift to Donald Trump. It is also a gift to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. It will likely help them to increase GOP numbers in Congress.
The bloody diplomatic wasteland of Biden and Harris encompasses the world: The Russia-Ukraine War. The Hamas terror attack in Israel. Iran’s likely pending war against Israel. Conflict in Venezuela. The border crisis with Mexico. Central American gangs murdering and terrorizing Americans.
Their understanding of diplomacy has led Biden and Harris to allow a plea deal with the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. When Harris confusingly complimented Biden for “strengthening alliances,” could she have been talking about strengthening the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia? The U.S. alliance with terrorists?
Could the plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed have been at the request of the Saudis, the Iranians, the Russians, the State Department, and the “Squad” members of Congress? These are questions Rogers needs to ask. His fellow Alabamian, the defense secretary, needs to give Americans the answers.
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