National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in an interview Sunday that Russia, China and Iran are “weaker” and the United States is “more secure” after four years under President Biden’s leadership. insisted.
“Our alliance is stronger than it was four years ago,” Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to President-elect Trump’s first term. “They are stronger than they have been in decades. NATO is stronger, more purposeful and bigger. Our alliances in the Asia-Pacific are at an all-time high, and our adversaries and Competitors across the board are getting weaker. Russia is weaker, Iran is weaker, China is getting weaker, and all the while we’ve kept America out of the war. ”
“I think the American people are safer and the country is in a better place than it was four years ago, and we’re passing that on to the next team and keeping the engine of American power humming,” Sullivan said. . “Our economy, our technology, our defense industrial base, our supply chain. So America is stronger and more secure, and our competitors and adversaries are weaker and more under pressure. There is.”
As the Pentagon monitors the growing threat of Islamic extremism around the world, Biden’s presidency will be dominated by the failure to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The attack sent them into a quagmire.
Trump-appointed special envoy to Ukraine and Russia sets timetable longer than “24 hours” to end war
Many of Trump’s promises to voters during his campaign for a second term in 2024 included justice for the families of the 13 U.S. servicemen killed at Abbey Gate and peace through force on the world stage. It was all about promises.
Sullivan on Sunday defended Biden’s handling of the withdrawal.
Jake Sullivan during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Monday, March 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“If we were still in Afghanistan, Americans would be fighting and dying, Russia would have more influence over us, and our ability to respond to the major strategic challenges we face would be diminished. It would have gone down,” Sullivan said.
“The investigation continues, but we do not see any connection between the Afghan and New Orleans attackers,” he added, referring to the New Year’s Day truck ramming attack on Bourbon Street. “Right now, the FBI continues to look for foreign connections, and maybe they’ll find them, but what we’ve seen is evidence of President Biden’s statements that the threat of terrorism is becoming more diffuse, and domestic extremism is becoming more widespread.” Here in the United States, not only under President Biden, but also under President Trump’s first term, that’s why we’re focusing on the hot topic in Afghanistan. It’s part of the reason we had to move from war to larger counterterrorism operations around the world. ”
In the final weeks of his presidency, Biden poured billions more into U.S. aid to Ukraine before Trump took office.
Israeli demonstrators take part in weekly anti-government protests calling for a ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 11, 2025. (ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the Republican president-elect insisted that the Ukraine war never broke out under his leadership and promised to broker a deal to end the fighting between Moscow and Kiev.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office denies report that Hamas has forwarded list of hostages to be released in case of agreement
At a press conference last week at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, President Trump told Hamas terrorists that “all hell is going to break out” in the Middle East if the remaining hostages are not released before he takes office. I warned you. January 20th.
Regarding the status of the negotiations, Sullivan said, “We’re very close, but very close still means we’re far away, because until we actually cross the finish line, Because we haven’t gotten there yet.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Sullivan emphasized that President Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGuirk, was in Doja for a week and was “working out the final details of the document to be submitted to both sides with the mediators.”
“And we remain determined to spend every day of our tenure getting this done,” Sullivan said.
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Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, told reporters last week that progress was being made in hostage negotiations, but a deal needed to be reached by Inauguration Day. “If the hostages don’t come back — I don’t want to jeopardize negotiations — if they don’t come back by the time I take office, there’s going to be hell in the Middle East,” Trump said from Florida. “And it’s not good for Hamas, and frankly it’s not good for anyone. All hell is going to break out.”
Daniel Wallace is a breaking news and political reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and X: @danimwallace.
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