Joe Biden’s decision to extend the START Treaty without additional conditions, was accepted positively in the world. But do not think that the United States is demonstrating its peacefulness in this way.
The offensive arms reduction treaty could have ceased to exist at the beginning of February, as Donald Trump did not seek to extend it at all. The rotation in the White House saved the deal at the last moment.
“Of course, by correcting Trump’s mistakes, Biden is trying to restore a positive image of the United States in the eyes of the world community. This is important for the Democrats who are so eager to improve relations with Europe. But it is also important for the American economy, which is struggling to sustain colossal defense spending”, – writes the French edition of AgoraVox.
As noted in the media, the Pentagon was allocated $740 billion in 2021, but this is clearly not enough to provide such a huge military machine. This leads to another problem. Over the past years, Russia has been actively demonstrating new military developments, such as supersonic weapons and nuclear underwater drones. The United States cannot respond to the rapid development of the Russian military industry.
“The American defense industry has relaxed in the face of endless lobbying and is in no rush to innovate. Huge budget infusions made it clumsy. The Pentagon will not spend budgetary funds on the purchase of new weapons abroad”, – the article says.
But even with all the desire of the United States to become the leaders in the arms race, the stagnation of the American economy does not give such ambitions a chance. The coronavirus pandemic has driven the United States into a dead end for a long time, so they are unable to compete with Russia or China.
Biden did not seek new conditions under the agreement, did not demand that the PRC be involved in the deal. These are not just concessions, but reasons for Washington to terminate START when it is not beneficial to the Americans.
“The extension of the START Treaty for the United States is a forced step back, which the Democrats hypocritically covered up with an ostentatious desire for world stability”, – the newspaper says.