As the end of his administration’s term approaches, US President Joe Biden is facing a series of crises in… The Middle East It is likely to be difficult to resolve before he leaves office in January, and will almost certainly tarnish his foreign policy legacy, according to foreign analysts and diplomats.
Biden has struggled over the past year to balance support for Israel against… Hamas movement In Gaza and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, he attempted to contain civilian casualties and prevent the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East.
He has repeatedly faced the shortcomings of this strategy, the most recent of which was Israel’s rejection, on Thursday, of a proposal supported by the United States to declare a 21-day truce across the Lebanese border while Israel continues to launch strikes that killed hundreds of Lebanese.
“What we see are the limits of the United States’ power and influence in the Middle East,” said Jonathan Bannikov, the former deputy national intelligence officer for regional affairs in the US government.
Perhaps the most obvious example of this trend is Biden’s reluctance to exercise much influence WashingtonAs the largest arms supplier to Israel and its diplomatic shield at the United Nations, to subjugate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to its will.
For nearly a year, the United States has sought unsuccessfully to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to stop the fighting and free hostages taken by militants in their cross-border attack on southern… Israel On October 7, which sparked the latest war in Gaza.
Sources familiar with the matter say there is no progress imminent.
American officials are quick to blame Hamas for the failure of the negotiations, but some of them also pointed to Netanyahu’s change in demands.
During the nine visits made by the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken To the region since October 7, the American diplomat has found himself at odds several times with senior Israeli leaders.
On one occasion last November, Blinken urged Israel in a press conference to halt its military offensive in Gaza to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave. Moments later, Netanyahu rejected the idea in a televised statement in which he said he had made clear to Blinken that Israel would continue its operations “with full force.”
The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment on this report.
America’s credibility is at stake
Western leaders have credited Biden with revitalizing key US alliances, including with NATO and major Asian partners, after his predecessor Donald Trump called into question… Trump In the value of such relationships.
This was demonstrated in April when the Biden administration mobilized support from regional and European partners to help defend Israel from an Iranian drone and missile attack.
But some foreign diplomats say that Biden’s handling of the situation in… The Middle East The turmoil, especially in the way it responded to the Gaza war, weakened the credibility of the United States on the international stage.
“President Biden’s original mistake was to say that the United States would stand by Israel no matter the cost,” one Western official said. “And we have not recovered from that.”
A diplomat in the Middle East stated that American diplomacy “failed to intimidate opponents,” noting that Biden sent military assets to the region after October 7 as a warning to Iran and its allied groups, but it appears that this did not deter them at all.
The Houthis in Yemen continue missile attacks on commercial shipping in Red Sea Although Biden and other Western leaders have sent warships to reinforce protection.
Michael Mulroy, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Affairs during the administration, said Trump “It could have been quicker and more forceful in responding to these attacks by agents.”
American officials have repeatedly rejected such criticism, saying that their diplomacy has made a difference for the better and that the American military deployment in the region has so far helped avoid the expansion of the conflict in Gaza into a regional war.
Earlier this month, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that “diplomacy requires hard work and effort, and unfortunately it takes time. And it has not failed.”
And at the United Nations, where the Security Council in June supported Biden’s proposal to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza In exchange for the release of the hostages, there are signs that patience with American diplomacy in the Middle East is running out.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi said on Thursday that efforts to stop violence in the Middle East represent “a year of failure” and that if the Israeli government is not held accountable, it will not listen to international law, “and it will not listen to its friends, including the United States.”
With Israel threatening to launch a ground attack in Lebanon and continuing to put pressure on… Hezbollah Allied with Iran in order to return thousands of displaced Israelis to their homes in the north, the crisis there may also worsen.
The course of the conflict in Lebanon may have further repercussions not only on Biden’s legacy but also on his running mate’s presidential campaign Kamala Harris.
All eyes are now on Netanyahu to see if he will respond to Biden’s calls to avoid further escalation in Lebanon.
With Biden only four months remaining in office, analysts expect his successor to inherit the current crises.
