Biden: 'America's Back'

In a sweeping new speech designed to lay out the Obama administration’s priorities before the start of a major Asian security conference, Vice President Joe Biden declared the U.S. can turn toward Asia and the Pacific region without losing focus on a growing list of global security threats the administration already is embroiled.

U.S. troops are fighting in Afghanistan, there’s growing turmoil in the Mideast and North Africa, the ever-present nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran, the fear of a crippling cyber attack, mandatory budget cuts, and of course our new focus on Asia and the Pacific region.

Sounds like a lot for one nation to handle, but Biden declared Thursday that it’s no problem.

“There is no reason why we cannot bring greater focus to the Asia-Pacific and keep our eye on the ball in the Middle East,” Biden said at George Washington University before heading to India and Singapore next week.

“To use the vernacular, we can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said. “That's what big powers do.”

Biden dismissed criticism that after fighting two major ground wars, including the longest war in U.S. history, the Obama administration was retreating “to focus on nation-building here at home,” as the president has said.

“America’s back,” he said. “To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of our demise were very premature.”

Biden laid out the administration’s grand plans to help build and protect the Asia-Pacific region, as spelled out in the Pentagon’s 2012 Strategic Guidance review, otherwise known as “the pivot to Asia.”

“Our goal is to help tie Asia- Pacific nations together, from India to the Americas, through strong alliances, institutions and partnerships. For the past 60 years, the security we provided has enabled the region's people to turn their talents and hard work into an economic miracle,” Biden said during his 30-minute speech. “And now we want to hasten the emergence of an Asian-Pacific order that delivers security and prosperity for all the nations involved. In short, we want to help lead in creating the 21st century rules of the road that will benefit not only the United States and the region but the world as a whole.”

The “rules of the road” are as follows, according to Biden: “It's critical that all nations have a clear understanding of what constitutes acceptable international behavior. That means no intimidation, no coercion, no aggression, and a commitment from all parties to reduce the risk of mistake and miscalculation.”

Biden said while it’s “presumptuous for me to say because you never tell another leader what’s in their interests, never tell another country what to do,” he took direct aim at North Korea, telling the nuclear-armed nation to end their “nuclear march.”

“North Korea can have peace and prosperity like the rest of the region, but only -- only -- without nuclear weapons,” he said.

Despite the threat, Biden said the U.S. is willing to talk to North Korea. “We are open to engaging with any nation that’s prepared to live up to its international obligations.”

He also made a point to address Europe’s fears that the U.S. is abandoning it. “It should be clear in its face, we’re not leaving Europe,” he vowed. “Europe remains the cornerstone of our engagement with the rest of the world.”

That’s a pretty big agenda, and the unknown and unseen threats are still out there. Walking and chewing gum at the same time wasn’t that easy for previous Bush administration, which took their eye off Afghanistan when things heated up in Iraq. But Biden insists that the U.S. is up to the challenge of being the world’s super power. “This is not a zero-sum game.”