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Commentary
Wall Street Journal

Biden Weakens America’s Global Clout

Step one: renew respect with a serious defense budget. Step two: kill some crows.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
President Joe Biden greets President Xi Jinping before a meeting in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
President Joe Biden greets President Xi Jinping before a meeting in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

With Niger’s gross domestic product at a miserable in 2022, the United Nations ranks the landlocked country as one of the five on the planet.

Over the weekend Niger’s government responded to American accusations that it was negotiating to sell uranium to Iran by with the U.S. The decision is another win for ’s effort to extend Russian power, a welcome boost to Iran, and a serious blow to America’s plans for combating the return of jihadist violence across a swath of Africa.

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