{"id":60081,"date":"2020-11-07T20:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T20:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/07\/where-president-elect-joe-biden-stands-on-national-security-issues\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:29:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:29:52","slug":"where-president-elect-joe-biden-stands-on-national-security-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/11\/07\/where-president-elect-joe-biden-stands-on-national-security-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Where President-elect Joe Biden stands on national security issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 After five days of counting votes, former Vice President Joe Biden has been declared the winner<\/a> of the U.S. presidential election, unseating President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden, who was elected to the Senate exactly 48 years ago to the day he was named winner of the presidential election, is no stranger to international leadership and has a long track record on international relations and national security issues. Here are a few of his selected positions and how they differ from Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense budget:<\/b> Biden has said that Trump \u201cabandoned all fiscal discipline when it comes to defense spending,\u201d and while he doesn\u2019t foresee major U.S. defense cuts if elected, he will be facing<\/a> pressure from the left to scale back. To affordably deter Russia and China, Biden said he would shift investments from \u201clegacy systems that won\u2019t be relevant\u201d to \u201csmart investments in technologies and innovations \u2014 including in cyber, space, unmanned systems and artificial intelligence.\u201d He also wants to boost neglected nonmilitary investments, such as \u201cdiplomacy, economic power, education, and science and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal relationship to the military: <\/b>Biden, a Blue Star father whose son deployed to Iraq while he served alongside President Barack Obama, made national unity and international cooperation key tenets of his campaign, along with a vow to better handle the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has killed more than 250,000 Americans. In recent weeks, he also promised better treatment and more respect for troops and veterans, arguing that Trump has dismissed and devalued their sacrifices through his actions in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran:<\/b> Biden has vowed to bring U.S. combat troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, likely leaving residual counterterrorism forces. His camp favors small-scale operations (maybe led by special operations forces) rather than large, open-ended troop deployments, which he agrees would require the informed consent of the American people. Biden, who voted for the Iraq War when he was a senator, said during the recent campaign that he played a key role in the Obama administration\u2019s drawdown of 150,000 U.S. forces from Iraq. On Iran, he said he would commit to preventing the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon, offer a diplomatic path while maintaining targeted sanctions, and work closely with Israel to ensure the American ally can defend itself against Iran and its proxies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO and Europe: <\/b>Biden and his advisers have drawn a contrast with Trump, pledging to rehabilitate frayed alliances. Biden hit Trump for straining relations between the U.S. and Europe. He said the next president must \u201csalvage our reputation, rebuild confidence in our leadership, and mobilize our country and our allies to rapidly meet new challenges,\u201d pledging that he would \u201ctake immediate steps to renew U.S. democracy and alliances, protect the United States’ economic future, and once more have America lead the world.\u201d Biden plans to review troop movements out of Germany if he takes office, according to a top foreign policy aide.<\/p>\n\n\n\t