The impending United States withdrawal from Afghanistan fulfills the goals of the three administrations prior to the Biden administration to end the US role as liberator, policeman, and funder of this divided and riven country, which it entered following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The American offensive in Afghanistan achieved its initial objectives, attacking al-Qaeda and toppling the Taliban regime, but subsequently the US failed to prevent the Taliban’s regaining power. The United States has vowed to respond...
Joe Biden made his first presidential visit outside the United States to Europe, attending the G7 summit, the NATO summit, and a meeting with EU leaders. At the end of the visit, Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva. For the US President, the trip was “about realizing America’s renewed commitment to [its] allies and partners, and demonstrating the capacity of democracies to both meet the challenges and deter the threats of this new age.” Specifically, the administration is interested in mobilizing US...
Hamas’s cognitive achievements in Operation Guardian of the Walls positions the organization where it hoped to be after the Palestinian Authority elections, enjoying much public sympathy and support from groups that are not identified with it. Hamas is seen by many as the organization that changed the equation with Israel and became a more central element that cannot be ignored in the Palestinian arena. The Palestinian arena itself is undergoing a process of change, and Hamas will have greater input in decision making at the national...
President Joe Biden’s friendship with Israel and his administration’s commitment to Israel’s security needs were manifested clearly during Operation Guardian of the Walls. So too was the United States’ central role in managing crises that involve Israel. In contrast, the Congress assumed the role of the “bad cop.” The pressure exerted on the administration to harden its policy toward Israel, mainly (but not only) on the part of the progressive wing within the Democratic Party, was significant. In order to...
China identified the crisis between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as a political opportunity to bolster its national interests, particularly in the context of Xinjiang, through vehement opposition to the United States policy towards Muslims. As rotating UN Security Council president in May 2021, China sponsored a statement calling for an immediate halt in the violence against the Palestinian Muslims, while accusing the United States of thwarting a joint declaration through its one-sided support for Israel. At the same time, China claimed...
Relations between Turkey and the United States, which have been at crisis level for some time, sustained a further shock with the explicit use by US President Joe Biden of the term “Armenian genocide” on April 24, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Already during the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump the image of Turkey in Washington changed from a valued ally to a state with barely any supporters in the US capital, and opposition to the policy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is bi-partisan. Decisions that are...
Iran and the United States reported that the first round of indirect talks between them, aimed at finding a formula for a return to the nuclear agreement, was serious and constructive, although there is no assurance that the process will succeed. Despite the common interest of both sides to return to the agreement, the road ahead is fraught with obstacles and it is possible that the talks will collapse. Beyond the existing disagreements, the attack on the Natanz website, which Iran blames on Israel, may undermine the Vienna talks. In...
Following the severe crisis that characterized the relations between former President Donald Trump and the American intelligence community, Biden’s term appears to signal “back to basics.” His approach strengthens the status of “intelligence experts,” whose experience and activity are intended to ensure the most professional and neutral analysis of the situation possible, and underscore the importance of data and information (“the facts”) and the analysis derived from them as a basis for...
The Biden administration will be required to define its position on the establishment of a weapons of mass destruction-free zone in the Middle East before the fifteenth Review Conference (RevCon) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) scheduled for August 2021. This sensitive issue could once again pit Israel against the United States, in view of the support of previous Democratic administrations for resolutions to advance the issue. As the RevCon approaches, Israel should coordinate its positions with the US in the framework...
President Biden has kept his election promise and published a report by the United States intelligence community stating that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, by virtue of his position and status, bears responsibility for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The publication of this report is part of the process of the new administration’s “recalibration” of relations between the two countries. While the Trump administration relied on an intimate relationship with Saudi Arabia, the Biden...
The leaders of the major members of the European Union could sigh with relief upon hearing President Biden’s first statements on foreign policy. His remarks indicate that the United States is resuming its central role in the international arena, with a renewed emphasis on diplomacy, multilateralism, universal human rights, and the rule of law. Cooperation between the United States and the European Union, which waned during Trump’s term in office – thereby eroding their ability to deal with shared challenges – is now...
Under President Trump, the United States did not have a coherent and unified Russia policy. Congress maintained a traditional approach of using sanctions to push back against the Kremlin’s malign activity, while the White House prioritized (an ultimately unsuccessful) cultivation of interpersonal relations with President Putin to improve bilateral ties and provide the US an advantage in the competition with China. Under President Biden, the gaps on Russia policy between the executive and legislative branches are expected to narrow,...
