"America is unable to decide on war against Russia, and therefore the US will not be a decision-maker in international politics." — Musa Abu Marzouk, member of the Hamas "politburo," Twitter, February 26, 2022.

As far as Hamas is concerned, the weaker the US the greater are their chances of fulfilling their goal of replacing Israel with an Islamic state.

Articles 13 of the Hamas Charter states "There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad."

Washington's image in the Arab world has been battered to the point at which even its allies are beginning to challenge its policies and decisions, Atallah said.

"Biden [in his State of the Union speech] ignored the Afghanistan issue, especially in light of the confused [US] withdrawal. He was also cautious not to talk about relations with China so as not to provoke it. Biden's speech confirms with full clarity the loss of a consistent strategic vision with regard to central issues globally. This is a sign of the loss of the prestige of the great country [the US]. Biden's speech was a message of a historical recognition of the upcoming political defeat and the beginning of the birth of a new international order." — Hassan Asfour, former Palestinian Authority minister, Khbrpress.ps, March 2, 2022.

"When two Gulf countries refuse to support the US, this means the image of America in the region is deeply tarnished, and that there is a changing mood." — Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas official, Khbrpress.ps, March 4, 2022.

The Americans need to understand that no matter how many gifts they give to the Palestinians, that will not stop Hamas and many others from continuing to hate the US and look at it as an enemy.

Some Arabs hate the US because of its support for corrupt Arab dictatorships and its war against Islamist terrorist groups. Others see the US as a country that represents the anti-Muslim "infidels" in the West.

The only way for the Americans to deal with these Muslim extremists is by not showing any sign of weakness or appeasement. The weaker you are and the more you try to appease them, the bigger their appetite becomes to fight against the US.

Such voices coming from the Palestinians corroborate claims of the erosion of the US standing, especially among the Arabs. They are responding to an anemic US under the Biden administration that has forfeited its credibility as well as its capacity to stand behind its allies and friends. This US approach does not bode well for the future of the region. The pattern of weakness and inaction are being interpreted as a sign of cowardice posing as "caution," and as a green light to pursue jihadi and terrorist schemes and establish yet another Islamic fundamentalist state.

As for the biolabs in Ukraine, the U.S. has its own explanations. After the fall of the Soviet Union, according to PolitiFact, the U.S. Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program has provided technical support to public health labs in Ukraine similar to our CDC. The labs are run by the host countries, contrary to claims, and the people quoted by PolitiFact say the accusations are pure propaganda from Russia and China without any basis.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party has been clear about its own intentions to develop and potentially use bioweapons... Chinese military scientists even suggest that World War III will be fought with biological weapons.

[T]he major world powers must become more transparent and forthright regarding biomedical research.... A simple misstep or miscalculation, however, could subject the world to a frightening pandemic that may create much greater damage than the COVID-19 virus or the current war in Ukraine. Now is the time for world leaders to respond to this emerging threat with greater transparency. Tomorrow may be too late.