Priorities for a Strong, Secure America in 2022

2021 was undoubtedly another difficult year for America.

Despite Joe Biden’s promises on the campaign trail, the health and economic crises brought on by the Coronavirus have not gone away – in fact, they have been exacerbated by feckless, overbearing action on the part of the Biden Administration, and we are no closer to uncovering the origins of the pandemic due to Team Biden’s refusal to seriously confront China.

The American military, under the direction of Team Biden, was forced to execute a hasty, dangerous withdrawal from Afghanistan which humiliated the United States on the world stage, emboldened the Taliban, and resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members.

Russia is ramping up its aggression in eastern Ukraine and could invade in early 2022. China dared to lecture U.S. diplomats about human rights at a summit in Anchorage, Alaska, without reprisal, the Chinese military tested hypersonic missiles, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues its genocidal activity in Xinjiang while threatening Taiwan with greater frequency and seriousness.  In short, 2021 was marked by weakness in America’s leadership.

With the new year now upon us, it is time to look ahead to the threats America faces, and what we can do to ensure a stronger, more secure America in 2022.  First, there is the issue of the Coronavirus pandemic.  It is encouraging that Team Biden seems to have finally realized that responsibility for making and enforcing rules and restrictions to keep the pandemic in check should rightly fall to state and local governments, not the federal government.  However, we are no closer to finding out the true origins of this deadly catastrophe due to this Administration’s unwillingness to confront the CCP.  In 2022, Congress must demand that the Biden Administration hold the CCP accountable and fully investigate the origins of the pandemic. (If you want to join the ACLJ in this effort, sign our petition.)  And just as urgently, we must focus on the upcoming midterm elections this year to ensure that the individuals serving in Congress are prepared to take this action.

The developing crisis in Ukraine demands American attention.  In 2014, the Obama Administration and the rest of the world allowed Vladimir Putin to invade and occupy Crimea. Now, similar patterns are showing themselves with respect to Putin and Ukraine.  The Biden Administration’s response to this aggression has been typically lackluster – reports from just this past month indicated Team Biden suggested that Ukraine cede its authority over the Donbass region (making it an autonomous zone rather than territory under the control of the Ukrainian government) in order to cool tensions with Russia. Such a concession is exactly what Vladimir Putin wants and is emblematic of American weakness rather than strength.  We should be doing what we can, within reason and suitable to American interests, to ensure both that Ukraine has the resources it needs to deter Russian military action and that our own sanctions on Russia are in place to deter such action.  If the Biden Administration is instead unable to keep Russian aggression in check, then Americans must make them pay at the polls for their failures, in 2022 and beyond.

Aside from investigating the origins of the pandemic, China continues to pose the single greatest threat to freedom and the post-World War II international order. This threat will only become more urgent in the coming years.  The naïve engagement of America and our allies with the Chinese Communist Party must come to an expedient and necessary end.

The CCP has disappeared reporters writing about the Wuhan virus and doctors telling the truth about CCP labs.  They disappeared Peng Shuai, a professional tennis player who challenged their authority.  They’ve disappeared Hong Kongers and the head of Interpol.  They’ve tested hypersonic missiles, menaced their neighbors and American allies, and threatened the security of Taiwan with impunity.

It’s time the world holds them accountable.  Unfortunately, even as the CCP continues to perpetrate acts of genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, Western leaders (including the Biden Administration) have been unwilling to fully boycott the upcoming winter Olympics in Beijing. They have instead settled for a half-measure – a diplomatic boycott – signaling to the CCP that we are either unserious, unwilling, or unable to confront it.   We should move the Olympics from China and hold it in a place the world can be proud of, and we must continue to demand a full boycott of the Olympics in Beijing.

Of course, there are many other immediate threats and priorities on our horizon that demand our attention as well.  Doing all we can to ensure the Biden Administration does not resuscitate the failed JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal), advocating on behalf of ironclad support for Israel, promoting religious freedom around the world, ensuring the integrity of our democratic elections, and keeping Marxist indoctrination from entering our classrooms are all fundamentally important as well.  But putting America First and establishing American strength in our dealings with adversaries of freedom will be of paramount importance in the coming year.  That means standing up to Putin and standing up to the Chinese Communist Party. If the Biden Administration is unable to do this, we should defeat them in 2022.

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