With two months left, Biden escalates NATO war on Russia

In a menacing shift of U.S. policy with less than two months left in office, President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles for strikes deep within Russian territory, potentially engaging in a direct NATO war on Russia.

The authorization, reported on Nov. 17 by the New York Times, explicitly permits Ukraine to employ the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) — a long-range missile designed for support of ground troop incursions — against both Russian forces and North Korean troops allegedly operating in Russia’s Kursk region.

Kim Jong Gyu, North Korea’s vice foreign minister, described the dispatch of Korean People’s Army forces to Russia as a “rumor.” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, at a news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, seemed to admit this when he said that “we’ve not seen” any North Korean troops in combat.”

So, while there are no North Korean troops active in combat in Russia, the Biden administration’s authorization for ATACMS missiles specifically says North Korean troops are a target, according to the New York Times.

The missile authorization also opens the door for U.S., British, and French long-range weapons to target Russian cities far from the front lines, including potentially Moscow itself. 

This development crosses what Russian President Vladimir Putin has explicitly labeled a “red line.” This can be taken as an act of war by NATO, not the Ukraine proxy army.

The Biden administration had delayed the authorization until after the presidential election, hoping a victory for Vice President Kamala Harris would provide a mandate for escalation. 

A recent White House meeting between Biden and Trump ostensibly focused on ensuring a “smooth transition” of power, including “cordial” discussions about Ukraine. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized Biden’s intention to use his remaining 70 days to continue the proxy war against Russia. Biden promised to extend arms and other resources to the war effort.

On Nov. 8, just days after the defeat of Kamala Harris (the defeat was in part a refusal to vote for the Gaza siege and her pro-war message — “I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world”), the Biden administration lifted a de facto ban on U.S. military contractors deploying to Ukraine to help the country’s military maintain and repair U.S.-provided weapons systems, particularly F16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems. This sets up a potential tripwire scenario should U.S. military contractors be casualties of Russian airstrikes, which could serve as a justification for significantly escalating U.S. military involvement in the war.

The Biden administration’s significant escalation occurs against the backdrop of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, intensified Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and attacks on Iran, with growing talk in the U.S. media about the possibility of a “Third World War.”

Politico had declared this the World War III election. George Will wrote in the Washington Post that World War III is already underway. “Beginning Jan. 20, 2025, the next president will cope with today’s axis: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” Will says.

Although Trump says he will end the Ukraine war quickly, he never says how. His is a “strongman” boast, not an anti-war message. In his first term in office, Trump’s administration laid the groundwork for escalating NATO intervention. In 2019, Trump became the first U.S. president to authorize large-scale shipments of lethal weapons to Ukraine, a move seen as integrating the country’s military into NATO, which eventually provoked Russia’s Special Military Operation against NATO expansion. 

In 2018, the Trump administration’s national security strategy marked a pivot for U.S. foreign policy. It emphasized “great power competition” over the previous focus on combating terrorism, explicitly identifying China and Russia as the central priority of U.S. national security efforts. Trump comes now not to end war but to expand the war efforts.