Enemies no longer fear US response after Biden botched Afghanistan, experts say amid balloon, drone clashes

America's credibility among its adversaries has dwindled under President Biden, with some experts arguing a line can be drawn from the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to more recent events such as the Chinese spy balloon and the downing of a U.S. drone by Russian forces. "I think the Biden administration's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan was a key catalyst for multiple trends that have undermined U.S. influence and deterrence," James Phillips, the senior research fellow for foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "U.S. allies were shocked by the naive assumptions behind the withdrawal, the speed with which Washington abandoned longtime allies, and the incompetence of the policymakers that supervised the withdrawal." Phillips argues that it was not just American allies who took note of the administration's hastily executed exit from Afghanistan, but also adversaries such as China and Russia, who no longer fear U.S. deterrence. "U.S. adversaries perceived the withdrawal from Afghanistan as a manifestation of U.S. weakness and a desire to rapidly exit the Middle East," Phillips said.