A US war president: America faces a historic moment

DURING his address to the nation last Thursday (Oct 19), US President Joe Biden told Americans that their country is now facing a new world of threats, an “inflection point”, and that as the commander-in-chief, he is ready to insert them into two wars in which America’s global leadership position would be tested – and in the process, his own role too as a war president.

The current White House occupant will probably be recalled as the last American president whose world-view was shaped by the events of World War II and the Cold War, in which America led the West towards victory over the enemies of freedom.

Now, he is asserting the country’s role in defending Ukraine against a nuclear-armed Russian aggressor and pledging assistance to Israel in its fight against the terrorists of Hamas.