WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden declared on Friday the “transatlantic alliance is back” in a powerful speech seeking to re-establish the United States as leader of the West against what he called a global assault on democracy.

The address to the annual Munich Security Conference — held by video link because of the pandemic — dovetailed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming of a return to “multilateralism” after the confrontational years of Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.

Making his first major international address on foreign policy since becoming president last month, Joe Biden said traditional US allies should once again have confidence in Washington’s leadership.

“I’m sending a clear message to the world: America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back,” he said from the White House.

Democracy under ‘global assault’, the US president says in an address to the Munich Security Conference — his first on foreign policy since entering White House

“The United States is determined, determined to re-engage with Europe, to consult with you, earn back our position of trusted leadership,” he said.

Biden, who earlier spoke to leaders from the G7 club of wealthy democracies, said his administration was again stressing alliance building, in contrast to Trump’s isolationist policies and abrasive treatment of US partners.

“Our partnerships have endured and grown through the years because they are rooted in the richness of our shared democratic values. They’re not transactional. They’re not extractive,” Biden said in clear reference to Trump’s emphasis on redefining allies as economic rivals.

Collective strength, Biden said, is the only way to succeed when a worldwide contest between democracy and autocracy is at an “inflection point”.

“In too many places, including in Europe and the United States, democratic progress is under assault,” Biden said.

‘Inflection point’

“Historians will examine and write about this moment. It’s an inflection point. And I believe with every ounce of my being that democracy must prevail.” Biden said he was not seeking a return to “the rigid blocs of the Cold War”, insisting that the international community must work together on issues like the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, even where deep disagreements exist on other issues.

The return of the United States — effective on Friday — to the Paris climate agreement was proof of Washington’s intentions, he added.

“We can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change,” Biden said.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2021