Who is Tony Blinken?

You can learn a lot about a person by carefully observing them in action. The American public had that opportunity over the last two days, as Anthony Blinken, the American Secretary of State, was called upon to answer to Congress concerning the ill-conceived and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, in which 13 military servicemen and women were needlessly killed, and an as yet uncertain number of Americans were left behind, as potential hostages for a terrorist led Islamic State.

Blinken is an attractive man who exudes a charismatic boyish charm, similar to other Democratic elites-Gavin Newsom, Bill Clinton, John Kennedy, all come to mind, to name just a few. During the hearings, Blinken appeared, at times, dazed, confused, chastened, and emotionally absent. His politeness, even under harsh criticism, was evident. He is clearly a civilized man, socialized, one might argue to a fault.

The psychoanalyst C.G. Jung referred to a common personality type of the puer aeturnus, i.e., an eternal boy. Blinken is such a man. He appears to move through an alternate reality, one removed from the actual world that the rest of us inhabit. His is a world of abstract ideology, in which one is free to construct whatever reality one chooses to without consequences. But that world collapsed for Tony Blinken this week.

Like so many other elites, he has had a charmed life. Born to wealth, schooled at Dalton, Harvard, and Columbia, and in Paris, he found a place in the Obama administration, although some voices in Congress warned against his playing any substantive role at State. But courtesy of Joe Biden, he is now America’s Secretary of State.

This week, Blinken was unable to answer many of the critical questions posed by Congress. He could not explain why armed forces were pulled out of Afghanistan before civilians, or why the Bagram Air Force Base was abandoned. He seemed unconcerned about leaving billion of dollars of advanced military equipment behind for our enemies, or that thousands of unvetted and unvaccinated Afghans were being resettled in America. He does not know how many Americans were left behind and hasn’t a clue as to how they will be rescued.

He admitted to having supplied the Taliban with names of people who had worked with our government in Afghanistan, and people are likely to lose their lives due to that error in judgement. But the most blatant statement of his naivete and ineptitude was his assertion that America would continue to have leverage over the new Afghan regime, because otherwise they would risk losing the approval of the civilized “world community.” To suggest that a government of terrorists, devoted to religious fundamentalism and Shariah law, might be concerned about the acceptance of the elite secular world, indicates no comprehension as to who the enemy is nor what we have been fighting for the last 20 years. Undoubtedly, Blinken cannot imagine living without the approval of others, but he is not one of the mujahadin. Indeed, he appeared to be genuinely confused as to why so many in Congress are angry with him. After all, he is a “nice” man.

But here is the wake up call for Anthony Blinken and his fellow “woke” Progressives. The world is a dangerous place that must be seen clearly for what it is, especially when you are the American Secretary of State. Those who voted to remove a competent President and Secretary of State in 2020 because of “mean tweets” are beginning, hopefully, to recognize that there may be worse dangers facing America than “micro-aggressions.” Blinken like many others of today’s pampered ruling class is a naive “man-child.” Obviously, he should resign, but not because he deserves to be “held accountable.” Rather, he should leave office because he is not fit for any job that requires a clear-eyed assessment of world reality. Unfortunately, he is just one of many in the Biden administration, who are not sufficiently competent to get the job done. It is a dangerous world, and we are only six months into the current administration. But we, as well, must be clear-eyed about expecting more of this administration, because it is by its nature unable to get the job done. The lesson that should have been learned from Donald Trump is that today’s elite is simply too immature, self-absorbed, and lacking in the common sense necessary to deliver for the American people