Biden’s press conference and the war hysteria of American imperialism

Media commentary following US President Joe Biden’s press conference on Thursday was dominated by discussion about whether he will be able to maintain his position as the Democratic Party’s candidate in the 2024 elections.

Far more significant than Biden’s semi-senility, however, is the political madness that is expressed in his policies and statements. But this madness is shared by the entire ruling class political establishment and the establishment media.

Biden began the press conference with an eight-minute warmongering rant under the banner of NATO, the military alliance that spearheads American imperialism’s global war. He called the NATO summit in Washington a great success and praised its leadership.

The summit effectively ended the illusion that NATO was not directly at war with Russia. A NATO command based in Germany was set up, NATO officers were sent to Kyiv, and an agreement was reached to station long-range missiles in Germany that are capable of hitting major cities in the heart of Russia, including Moscow.

Referring to Putin, Biden declared: “Once again, a murderous madman was on the rise.” The only solution to confront this “monster,” Biden said, was massive military escalation. In fact, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was provoked by the unstoppable expansion of NATO. It was used, as Biden himself boasted, to increase the membership of the military alliance and bring it even further to Russia’s doorstep.

At one point, in response to Ukraine’s use of weapons in attacks on Russian territory, Biden stated: “We have authorized Zelensky to use American weapons in the near future,” but it would “make no sense” for Ukraine to use them to attack the Kremlin.

Not that a decision to attack Moscow with long-range weapons would trigger a nuclear war and the deaths of millions, if not billions, of people. But at this point, the decision doesn’t “make sense” and would “not be the best use of the weapons he has.” No one in the media bothered to ask what Biden is doing to prevent the war from escalating into a nuclear apocalypse.

In fact, the entire US policy, endorsed by the other NATO powers at the summit, appears to be aimed at provoking a reaction from the Putin government that could serve as justification for further escalation – including the direct deployment of NATO troops into the conflict.