The American President... a political analyst, a position assessor, and a fire extinguisher!!

Since announcing that he would not run for a second term, President Biden has been described as a “lame duck” or even a “lame duck” – that is, a weak president in the last (read: most despicable) part of his term. This situation would have given him greater freedom to make crucial decisions without concern for domestic electoral pressures, had he not been imprisoned by the commitment to ensuring Kamala Harris’s success in the upcoming presidential elections, and also (perhaps most importantly) the commitment to the close alliance between his administration and Israel, despite his poor relations with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Such supposed and “hoped-for” decisive decisions could have stood in the way of Netanyahu’s fires had he seen the “American red eye” that heralds dangerous consequences. In fact, the Biden administration seems to have granted a “license” to Netanyahu’s government to continue killing “cheap-souled” Palestinians, while keeping the number below a hundred per day!

Biden, instead of exercising his influence on Netanyahu to stop the Zionist campaign in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, we find him - despite the successive insults he received from the Israeli Prime Minister - having almost completely surrendered to the aggressive Israeli policy, and even turned into a "trumpet", and in the best of circumstances a "political analyst", or a "position assessor", or a "firefighter", despite his and his administration's increasing lack of confidence, not to mention his lack of knowledge, of what the Israeli government is facing militarily in the war it is waging. Despite all this, we find President Biden, his administration and its decision-makers persisting in providing various types of support to Israel, whether under the table or above it, the latest of which is direct public American participation through the provision and operation of the "Thaad" system!

This submission to Netanyahu’s wishes reflects the weakness of the US administration in imposing its declared vision on its Israeli ally, which makes Washington appear weak before other allies in the Middle East and beyond. Instead of imposing conditions or presenting serious initiatives to resolve the crisis that are appropriate for it being the world’s superpower, the United States appears to be supporting Israel unconditionally, even if this contradicts America’s medium- or long-term interests in the region and the world.

There is a real concern that the US role could shift from being merely a supporter of Israel with money, weapons and diplomacy to a direct participant in an offensive war against Iran and its allies, which could seriously ignite the Middle East. If Israeli military operations against Iran’s allies escalate – as happened in the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and others, and other operations in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon – the Iranian response could ignite a broad confrontation that could force the US to get involved, although the high human and political costs of such involvement would also further damage the Biden administration domestically, especially in light of the approaching presidential and congressional elections.

On the other hand, blind obedience to Netanyahu weakens America’s image as a superpower capable of imposing its will on its allies. Its reluctance to pressure Israel, despite the international community’s demands to stop the aggression against Palestine and Lebanon, makes the United States appear as a state subordinate to Israel! This decline directly affects Washington’s relations with its Arab and international allies, who view with concern the escalation of the conflict in the region and the United States’ failure to play its role.

Biden, who aspired to build strong regional alliances and reorder the global order, now finds himself in a weak position and unable to confront Netanyahu’s policies. This reminds us of the widespread joke about the UN Secretary-Generals (U Thant in particular and his successors after him, with the exception of the current Antonio Guterres) who were limited to “expressing concern” and “appealing” about events in the world!