The Eclipse of Davos Man

You might have heard of a little corner of Switzerland called Davos. You might know that the world’s grandees have been meeting at Davos these past few days in order to help midwife a world government, preferably with them in charge.

Davos men are globalists. They convoque to bemoan all the hurt we are visiting on our blessed planet. They call themselves the World Economic Forum.

If you are looking for a silver lining among the clouds, consider this. The Swiss press assures us that the arrival of Davos man has been a boon for the business of prostitution. All local escorts are booked up for the duration of the meeting.

In principle, Davos man, as he is called, much prefers the Biden administration, what with its internationalist yearnings, to the truculent nationalism of Republicans, especially of a certain Republican former president.

Anyway, Davos man is anything but stupid. He has figured out that the Biden administration has brought war and disorder to the world. And he does not like it. 

So, Joe Biden sent his two senior foreign policy hands, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Davos, to assure the assembled grandees that it had the situation firmly in hand. 

For those who prefer a lighter touch to their commentary, we point out that Antony Blinken, noted for running up frequent flier miles to the Middle East, without accomplishing anything, was stranded in Davos when mechanics discovered that his jet, a Boeing production, was unfit to fly.

What is it with those Boeing planes? Rumor has it that whereas competitor Airbus is managed by engineers, Boeing is being directed by accountants. What could possibly go wrong?

As for the great Jake Sullivan, touted as something of a foreign policy genius, his reputation suffered a severe decline when he wrote an essay for the highly prestigious journal, Foreign Affairs, wherein he was about to state, a couple of days before October 7, that the Middle East had found peace.

Apparently, the October 7 Hamas massacre in Southern Israel caused him to rewrite his essay. 

Walter Russell Mead explains in the Wall Street Journal that Davis Man is none too happy with the new world disorder. He explains:

With war in Ukraine, tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, Israelis fighting Hamas in Gaza, and missiles flying through the skies from the Red Sea to Pakistan, Davos Man wants to know how Uncle Sam plans to restore order. 

And this is before we get to America’s non-existent border. A nation that is being invaded by hordes of third world people is not very well placed to restore any semblance of order.

Mr. Blinken was at his diplomatic best, reassuring listeners that despite the occasional flare-up and awkward headline, the Biden administration has matters in hand. Russia is on the back foot, Kyiv is moving forward with economic and political reforms, and Ukraine’s reliance on Western aid will diminish over time.

Despite their differences, the U.S. and China are stabilizing their relationship and both sides are determined to ensure that their competition doesn’t boil over into conflict. As for the Middle East, Mr. Blinken says Israel and its neighbors are closer than ever to agreements that will achieve both Palestinian statehood and regional peace.

Most World Economic Forum attendees surely hope that Mr. Blinken turns out to be right about the state of the world, but the doubts one hears here about the wisdom and competence of the Biden administration won’t be easily laid to rest.

Davos man sees the Biden administration producing a string of failures. He is not likely to be impressed by the fact that Blinken and Co. are pressuring Israel to allow Palestinians to have their own state. The Israeli government has rejected the notion out of hand.

Worse yet, Davos Man had the honor of hearing Jamie Dimon, the CEO of America’s major bank, tell them to cut out the trash talk about Donald Trump.

The indignity of it all.

The situation in Yemen, and in the Red Sea feels like something of a joke. Aside from taking Yemen’s Houthi rebels off of the terrorist watch list, the Biden team has been highly reactive to the Houthi harassment of Red Sea shipping.

As for Iran policy, the Biden team has been in suck-up mode, in a posture that does little to enhance its reputation as the world’s peacekeeper.

So, an administration that fearlessly chastised Saudi Arabia for fighting against the Houthis in 2021 is now engaged in a pinprick war against the same Houthis.

Great job, Joe.

Mead ironizes about the current administration:

While the Biden administration was congratulating itself on the intellectual sophistication and gratifying success of its Middle East policy, America’s regional opponents were preparing their next wave of attacks. They used the time well, and the U.S. finds itself confronting a multifaceted and sophisticated array of enemies across the region.

Somehow or other, Iran is not on the list. 

For that matter, Middle Eastern policy is thoroughly incoherent. Do you know whether the Biden administration is supporting Israel or pressuring it to go easy on Hamas? And, when it comes to the Houthis, will Biden ever admit that he erred in removing it from the terrorism watch list?

Now, the Biden administration has offered the Houthis a lesser designation, with a thirty-day grace period before it imposes something like sanctions on them. The new designation allows Houthi fighters to travel to the United States, among other things.

Mugged by reality, Mr. Biden has switched direction, relabeling the Houthis a specially designated global terrorist group and launching an escalating series of retaliatory attacks across the Middle East. Israel and Saudi Arabia are now the pillars of our regional policy, and the road to solving the Palestinian issue is seen to pass through Riyadh. Like his predecessor, Mr. Biden is now arming Israel while promoting the Abraham Accords.

With foreign policy, the proof is in the outcomes. And, this administration has no positive outcomes to show for its efforts.

Messrs. Sullivan and Blinken gave intelligent and insightful presentations. They did not, however, dispel the geopolitical gloom that hangs over Davos this year. The world needs results, which Team Biden has yet to provide.

At least now the adults are in charge.

You know you are in trouble when you have become the butt of jokes. The satirical Babylon Bee has the last word about Davos Man:

World Economic Forum Concludes Event With Virgin Sacrifice To Weather Gods To Prevent Climate Change

I now have some open consulting hours in my coaching practice. If you are interested contact me at StuartSchneiderman@gmail.com.