President Joe Biden highlighted his foreign policy achievements during a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, even as he continues to face challenges from the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. Four months before the end of his term, Biden will speak at the UN General Assembly while both conflicts are likely to persist beyond his presidency.
Biden’s foreign policy has been dominated by several challenges during his tenure, starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to the Israeli war on Gaza following a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.
A senior US administration official stated that Biden’s speech will provide an opportunity to discuss what he considers major achievements during his term, emphasizing the international community’s need to support Ukraine and the need for a diplomatic solution in the Middle East. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on the presidential plane headed to New York that Biden would present “his vision of how the world can cooperate to solve these major problems and defend core principles such as the UN Charter.”
As efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza falter and a cross-border battle erupts between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Pentagon announced on Monday that it would send a limited additional number of troops to the Middle East as a precaution.
In New York, Biden will meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and host a summit of the Global Alliance to Counter Synthetic Drug Threats, an initiative launched by the United States last year. However, according to The Washington Post, perhaps more importantly, are the informal discussions. Former UN official and US ambassador to Lebanon during the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war, Jeffrey Feltman, told the newspaper, “There are essentially two UNs: the official agenda and then what everyone talks about, and rarely do these two align. Indeed, everyone will be discussing Gaza, the Middle East, fears of escalation, and Ukraine.”
Biden’s strategy in the Middle East relies on securing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a prospect senior US officials acknowledge is more elusive than ever. The hope was that the ceasefire would pave the way for a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border. However, recent Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon, along with suggestions by senior Israeli officials that the focus might shift to Lebanon, appear to undermine months of US efforts to end the bloodshed in the region.
When asked on Friday whether a ceasefire was realistic, Biden responded, “A lot of things don’t seem realistic until we get them done… we have to keep at it.” Biden and his senior aides have shown no signs of changing policy or withholding weapons from Israel, frustrating Arab allies and drawing criticism from other countries, including those in the Global South, according to The Washington Post.
In a possible indication that US officials believe they have little leverage to persuade Israel to change its course, some senior officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, chose not to travel to Israel last week to attempt to ease tensions. Ivo Daalder, former NATO ambassador during President Barack Obama’s administration, told the newspaper, “Their first goal was to prevent escalation, and here they (the Israelis) go again, making it likely to happen. It’s a big slap in the face to their diplomacy… Israel’s statement that it is changing its military strategy means that the American perspective is not taken seriously in Tel Aviv.”
