Undaunted

The Contrarian's weekly standout figure for democracy

Each week I will select a standout figure who stands up in defense of democracy, American leadership in the world, the rule of law, and truth. As MAGA Republicans parade a batch of ignorant, ethically-challenged nominees to degrade government and spew propaganda for the authoritarian regime, it is more important than ever to hold up examples of democratic excellence for others to emulate. This week’s pick is Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

It’s hard to remember—but when President Biden took office, the United States was mired in a pandemic and a recession and had plummeted to a low point in influence worldwide. The United General Assembly laughed at Donald Trump’s puffery, allies endured a barrage of his nasty rhetoric and preposterous proposals, and the State Department was and demoralized. Alliances had frayed; while dictators had received complimentary PR boosts by flattering Donald Trump’s massive ego.

Upon taking office, Blinken spoke to State Department employees, many of whom were remote and others that were masked due to the covid pandemic.

“We at State have a role to play in all of this, and I believe it starts with rebuilding morale and trust. This is a priority for me, because we need a strong department for the United States to be strong in the world.”

He was unapologetic about the need for diversity.

“[W]e have to invest significantly in building a diverse and inclusive State Department. We need the most talented people. We need the most creative workforce,” he said. “We cannot do our job of advancing America’s interests, values, and commitment to democracy without a State Department that is truly representative of the American people.”

He also defended the central mission of diplomacy:

The world is watching us intently right now. They want to know if we can heal our nation. They want to see whether we will lead with the power of our example, if we’ll put a premium on diplomacy with our allies and partners to meet the great challenges of our time – like the pandemic, climate change, the economic crisis, threats to democracies, fights for racial justice, and the danger to our security and global stability posed by our rivals and adversaries. . . .

America’s values are noble and powerful – and we will recommit to them.

And America’s leadership is needed around the world, and we’ll provide it, because the world is far more likely to solve problems and meet challenges when the United States is there. America at its best still has a greater capacity than any other nation on Earth to mobilize others for the better.

Perhaps Blinken’s greatest contribution was the reinvigoration of the State Department and of the art of diplomacy. Foreign policy guru Aaron David Miller tells me, “Trump really hollowed out” the State Department. By contrast, Blinken was “admired and respected,” Miller says, and truly revered for his “leadership and professionalism. Blinken’s role in restoring “values-based foreign policy” was critical.

Throughout his tenure, Blinken worked to defend U.S. interests and promote democratic values. He reintegrated the United States into the world by adeptly reviving alliance-building with new entities (e.g. AUKUS) and an expanded NATO. Focusing simply on the Middle East, he said this week, “We deepened and broadened the Abraham Accords. We spearheaded new coalitions like I2U2, bringing together India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States to tackle shared challenges.” He added, “We announced a groundbreaking economic corridor connecting India, the Middle East, and Europe. We worked with the UN to mediate a truce in Yemen. We continued to lead and strengthen an 87-nation counter-ISIS coalition.” If President Biden had the right instincts but sometimes bobbled the rhetoric, Blinken executed his vision and clearly articulated American policy.

At the Summit for Democracy in March 2023, Blinken declared that what distinguishes democracies is “our willingness to confront … challenges – out in the open, transparently; to acknowledge our shortcomings – not to sweep them under the rug, not to pretend they don’t exist.” He continued, “That is one of our greatest strengths. It’s what we mean in the United States when we commit to the enduring task of forming a more perfect union. We don’t believe that we hold all the solutions – far from it. But we do know that when we join together with our fellow democracies, we make one another stronger, more resilient, more responsive to our citizens, and better able to do what we’re here to do, which is to deliver for them – and, I hope, for the world.” And again at the Opening Ceremony of the Third Summit for Democracy in March, 2024, Blinken reminded us that “democracy doesn’t happen by accident.” Rather, “We have to renew it constantly.”

Recently, speaking at a ceremony awarding him the Légion d'honneur, Blinken extolled the great democratic-based friendship between the U.S and France, as well as “Our belief in liberty, in equality, in the human rights of all people – the rights of individuals and nations to choose their own path, to forge their own destiny. Principles for which generations of French and American men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice.” He continued:

That history impresses on us a special responsibility not merely to preserve the relationship that we inherited, but to build on it, to make it ever stronger.

Especially in this moment, as our republics are being challenged both from inside by growing polarization, a declining faith in democratic institutions; and from the outside by adversaries who are bent on tearing down the system of rules and rights that preceding generations have sacrificed so much to shape and uphold.

If we are to emerge stronger from this time—as we have so often in the past—the United States and France must continue to adapt, to learn from each other, to work together, to make each other better.

Blinken repeatedly framed America’s national security challenges both in terms of self-interest and moral imperatives. In December, Blinken could rightly claim that the U.S. had been able “to re-engage, re-energize, rejuvenate, and in many ways reimagine our alliances and partnerships…because we’re stronger at home, because we’ve restored and in many ways rethought our partnerships around the world.”

While some in the White House tried to grab credit, it was Blinken and Brett McGurk together with William Burns, director of CIA, sources tell me, who constructed a multi-faceted hostage deal to return dozens of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia. (“I told the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia that we would not forget them. I know there are many times over those years where they have wondered if our work would ever bear fruit. But I also know that they never gave up hope, and neither did we.”)

In the capstone of his career, Blinken doggedly pursued for over 15 months a deal to end the Israel-Hamas war. Alternately defending Israel (and enabling it to decimate Hezbollah and render Iran the weakest it has been in decades) and pressuring it to increase humanitarian aid, spare civilian suffering, and end the war, Blinken finally hammered out a deal in the final week in office. The step-son of a Holocaust survivor, Blinken often spoke to the horror Israelis experienced on Oct. 7. But he refused to be blinded to the suffering of Palestinians. In a region infamous for all-or-nothing visions, Blinken believed both Israelis and Palestinians must coexist. Without the unflagging devotion, unbelievable patience, and technical skill that Blinken (as well as McGurk and Burns) brought to the challenge, we would not now be awaiting the return of hostages.

Blinken also deserves kudos in another respect. The White House’s bollixed exit from Afghanistan cannot be laid at his feet. But even in chaos, primarily the doing of other departments and advisers, Blinken remained calm, determined, and mission-driven. The State Department’s emergency airlift from an Afghanistan spiraling under chaos saved tens of thousands of lives.

Parsing out credit for successes and apportioning blame for failures is difficult in any administration, particularly one in which the president had no peer in the foreign policy realm and took a hands-on approach to it. (Other figures such as Burns played an extraordinary role behind the scenes in the Middle East and elsewhere.) However, as America’s chief diplomat, the man who articulated the president’s vision on the world stage, and the leader of a large, unwieldy workforce, Blinken excelled by any standard.

The legacy of the Biden administration’s foreign policy remains open to debate. Much will depend on how the Trump administration plays the strong hand it has been dealt. But few would argue that Blinken was the most honest of brokers, a stalwart defender of democracies and the world order, and a tireless, consummate professional.

He remained undaunted.