This week, as President Joe Biden prepares to leave the world stage, he will try to strengthen Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and burnish his legacy, but he may be losing sight of his major foreign policy objective.
As world leaders anxiously await the U.S. elections in November, Biden will make his final appearance this week at the United Nations General Assembly. However, the increasing bloodshed in the Middle East may cast a shadow on his farewell speech. According to three administration sources, a cease-fire arrangement in Gaza has risen to the top of Biden’s agenda for his remaining time in office. However, this goal is jeopardized by Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah across Lebanon’s borders, which has increased worries of a larger regional war. Because they weren’t permitted to speak publicly about confidential meetings, they were granted anonymity.
Last week, in a shocking act of tradecraft targeting Hezbollah terrorists, hundreds of pagers and walkie talkies detonated across Lebanon and Syria, killing over 20 people and injuring over 3,000. This came after previously failed negotiations on a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Following this, rocket fire broke out between Israel and Lebanon, raising concerns of a wider escalation of the conflict.
The president has taken every possible step to avoid a regional conflict in the Middle East. The Democratic senator from Delaware, Chris Coons, has the closest relationship with Joe Biden of any senator, and he noted that Biden has been steadfast in his support of Israel and in his use of deterrence to keep tensions from rising. “However, I am worried about the worsening dynamics between Hezbollah and Israel.”
Joe Biden and his senior advisers have been working harder than everyone else to get a hostage and ceasefire arrangement, according to Coons. “However, I do not hold out much hope that a deal will be reached in the near future.”
While in New York, Biden intends to firmly argue that, in the three and a half years after President Trump’s turbulent and combative presidency, he delivered on his pledge to recommit the United States to its foreign policy. The rising tensions in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine, and the unanswered concerns surrounding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan all pose risks to his legacy and lend credence to Trump’s claim that global instability has worsened since he stepped down as president in 2021.
Biden is anticipated to stress the importance of alliances, advocate the protection of democracy, and appeal for peace in the world’s hotspots in his Tuesday speech, which will be the highlight of his tenure at the United Nations. A number of world leaders will also be among his encounters.
Biden came into office with more foreign policy expertise than any president in decades, and his internationalist worldview was rewarded with a string of successes by many accounts. In his campaign slogan, “America was back,” Vice President Joe Biden worked to mend America’s relationships, unify nations against Vladimir Putin of Russia, and restore communication channels with China, the world’s fast-rising powerhouse.
Quickly unfolding world events have exposed Biden’s authority’s limitations. In the midst of a heated campaign, the White House and Harris’ campaign must deal with the impact from foreign policy, even though voters have historically placed it low on their list of worries.
The Middle East is a prime example of this.
Despite tens of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war policies, the Israeli leader has again shown that he values security and the defeat of Hamas more than returning the remaining hostages. More chaos ensued as a result of the operation against Hezbollah.
“After October 7, Biden was correct to support Israel’s right of self-defense, but eleven months of American urging and swaying have yielded little results,” remarked Richard Haass, a former head of the Council on Foreign Relations. The hostages are still hostage, the conflict is far from over, and the future of Gaza remains uncertain. In order to shift to a more autonomous U.S. policy, Biden has been hesitant to confront the Israeli government to the degree that is required.
These three officials have knowledge of Biden’s conversations with his national security team, wherein Biden has stated that achieving a cease-fire arrangement is crucial to his administration’s remaining tenure. In his mind, it would do double duty: first, he would be remembered as a peacemaker, and second, it might pave the way for Harris to win.
According to one of the officials, the United States is unable to proceed with the transaction due to two main difficulties. The Philadelphi Corridor is a demilitarized zone that runs along Egypt’s border; Israel has demanded that it maintain a certain number of troops there. Hamas has shot down the idea, claiming Israel should withdraw its entire military from the region. In addition, Israel and Hamas have strong differences on the quantity and timing of the swap of Palestinian detainees for hostages.
Three of Biden’s closest advisors—National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Director of the Central Intelligence William Burns—have prioritized a deal. In a recent meeting with his national security officials, the president called for them to put aside recent defeats and keep working with the opposing side and neutral negotiators to reach a compromise. The meeting took place in the Situation Room.
One observer said that Biden recently told the officials to “keep fucking trying” as he concluded a meeting with them.
Three officials from the Biden administration have stated that they expect the talks for a Gaza cease-fire to continue this week, but that they do not anticipate a quick agreement. Netanayhu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar are both widely believed to be eager to strike a compromise, but the Israeli commander’s most recent demands have rekindled belief in the White House that he seeks to drag out the war for personal advantage, possibly benefiting Trump.
While Harris may meet with certain international leaders in Washington, she is not anticipated to be present in the New York events taking place this week. Nonetheless, this and other initiatives undertaken by the Biden administration in the last three months of his term will impact the worldwide environment that she could potentially inherit.
As the campaign enters its final stretch, Harris will face tests of her national security credentials from the issues she inherits as the Democratic candidate for standard bearer. The vice president is in a political bind because of the lack of progress; she has been consistent with Biden on policy but has distanced herself from him through her speech.