Remembering "Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden"

The Only Thing I Want to Hear From Them is an Apology

It got a lot of attention. It was a full-page advertisement in prominent newspapers. “Former Republican National Security Advisors for Biden.” If you didn’t see it, you heard about it. The website, natsecforbiden.com, is still up.

Thing is, while never having been deeply involved in national security issues, I know a lot of these people. Former Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ); Philip Zelikow, the talented chief of staff for the 9/11 commission who was intolerable during the 1992 GOP national platform deliberations; Former US Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), with whom I worked on the board of the Congressional Management Foundation, and is a wonderful and decent person; and especially former Ambassador and China expert Frank Lavin, who I consider a friend and briefly served as President Reagan’s chief political advisor. Frank is a very smart guy and a great author I first would turn to if looking to understand and do business in China or the orient.

The ones I know are decent people. Well-intended. Loyal Americans. Experts in their field.

And they all owe us an apology. Each and every one of them. Have you seen or heard one? They’ve all been eerily silent this past week. I wonder why?

They spent their credibility, apparently fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome, to help elect Joe Biden as President of the United States. It is fair to assume they knew what they were doing despite a horrendous if not incompetent record on foreign policy matters going back for 40 years.

Never-Trump Republican and former Bush speechwriter Peter Wehner, who gushed about Biden’s “empathy” in 2020, has suddenly informed us of Biden’s bad judgment going back to the Vietnam withdrawal during the Ford Administration. Reading both of Wehner’s posts will make your head spin. He’s a great writer, but he long jettisoned his credibility to opine on Biden. As a Biden endorser, he also owes us an apology. I’m still waiting. And don’t hold your breath for one anytime soon. Pride is a big feature of Washington's elitist opiners. They never admit when they’re wrong. And they’re wrong a lot.

Samples of Wehner’s work are found below, both in support of Biden and now - suddenly! - aghast at his “bad judgment.” You can’t make this stuff up.

“But watching Biden conduct himself during this campaign, which has been superbly run, and learning more of his story, has changed how I view him.

“In a different time, with a different president, Biden would not stand out. But Trump’s particular maladies have created a moment in which Biden’s greatest strengths as a person are most needed by the nation. Things like decency, honor, respect, and, yes, empathy are on the ballot. From the start of this election, Biden understood the theory of the case. He understood what the nation was thirsting for.

“This doesn’t mean Biden won’t make mistakes if he is elected president; he most certainly will. It doesn’t mean that I won’t disagree with some of what he does; I most certainly will. But what it does mean is that some measure of integrity and dignity will return to the presidency; that the unprecedented, intentional effort by an American president to divide us will end; and that a person who has experienced grief and grace in his life can use what he’s learned to help bind up our wounds.”

Now read this gem from Wehner this week and tell me where his apology is for helping foist this imbecile into the presidency (hint: you won’t find one). That’s because, as all these self-appointed experts should have known, was Biden’s well-known foreign policy record.

On national-security matters, President Biden lacks some of the most important qualities needed in those who govern—discernment, wisdom, and prudence; the ability to anticipate unfolding events; the capacity to make the right decision based on incomplete information; and the willingness to adjust one’s analysis in light of changing circumstances.

To put it in simple terms, Joe Biden has bad judgment.

Hey, thanks, Biden endorser. Maybe we can have Afghan refugees now arriving at Washington’s Dulles Airport drop by your home to collect your apology.

We are just beginning to understand the utter disaster, both humanitarian and in foreign policy, our imbecilic president has foisted upon us with his impertinent, ill-advised, and incompetently planned withdrawal from Afghanistan. Both former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US General David Petraeus (Ret.) have spoken and written brilliantly on what has transpired. Please read their wise observations.

Terror attacks are sure, now, to come our way.

Our allies no longer trust us.

How is that going to work out?

Spare me the stuff about Trump. I’m not going to relitigate the Trump Presidency. I voted for him reluctantly in 2016 and enthusiastically in 2020. His deportment at times was cringeworthy and I disagreed with a lot of his policies. But the results outweighed the optics and the mean tweets.

Unfortunately, some 80 million “voters” felt differently. Presto, Afghanistan, inflation, international disgrace, incompetence, immigration, and so much more. And we’re less than 9 months into this rolling disaster. It makes me wish for Jimmy Carter again. I hope we can survive this rickety roller coaster. We are being tested, severely.

If you voted for Biden, this disaster, these disasters, and all that will befall our great country, our families, and children ahead are on you.

Especially you “Republican National Security Experts” for Biden. I’m still waiting for your apology. And I want a promise from every GOP candidate running for President in 2024 that none of these people will consult their campaigns or be allowed in the doors of the White House, Pentagon, or State Department complexes during their presidencies.

You have plenty of other experts at your disposal.