Within a year, Biden’s Middle East policy has brought little change Joe Biden News

Washington, DC – At the beginning of his presidency, Joe Biden promised to break with him former Donald Trump putting “democratic valuesAnd “diplomatic leadership” at the center of U.S. foreign policy.

But as 2021 draws to a close, experts say the first months of Biden’s rule are passive, Middle East policy is more about managing the situation than resolving major conflicts.

A senior Biden administration official, speaking earlier on condition of anonymity, admitted the point, telling reporters that Washington was not trying to “transform” the region.

“We’re not trying to achieve the impossible; we are not trying to transform the Middle East, “the official said on Dec. 17.” We are focused on the interests that affect Americans and our national security and the national security of our friends. “

In the meantime, Biden has revived some of the region’s major initiatives Iran’s nuclear deal and at the end Yemen war – They have not yet yielded results, as the Democratic president has largely focused on domestic issues, from COVID-19 to massive infrastructure bills.

With the pandemic still in full swing, foreign policy is a hot topic for competition With China, growing concern Above the Russian As a result of the chaotic attitude of Eastern Europe and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, analysts say Biden does not seem willing to pursue “broadband” and transformational policies in the Middle East.

“I don’t think there is a broader Middle East policy right now. It’s about managing the inherited disorder, “said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington-based think tank.

Monitoring Trump’s policies?

Washington began to play an active role in the Middle East after World War II, guarding the free flow of oil resources in the region, building alliances with Gulf monarchies, pursuing policies aimed at fighting communism and protecting Israel.

The approach changed to Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and in 2003, U.S. troops invaded Iraq under then-President George W Bush, expanding Washington’s military footprint in the region. When Trump took office in 2017, he vigorously pursued policies in the interests of the US, strengthening relations with the Gulf and Israel.

Some human rights activists hoped that Biden, with a commitment to prioritize human rights, would not only break with Trump, but the U.S. with decades of regional policy. While the administration is still in its infancy, Middle Eastern observers say the president is slowly losing hope that the region will live up to its promise.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Middle Eastern fellow for Baker Public Policy at Rice University, said Iran’s nuclear deal is “still in the air” and that the war in Yemen continues to rage, with Biden’s view of the Middle East “very similar.” Trump.

“The deeper the substance, it’s not as different as you might imagine. So it’s more of a style, ”Ulrichsen told Al Jazeera.

Support for Israel

Analysts also point out that Biden has maintained some of Trump’s most controversial policies, especially in Israel, a longtime US ally in the region.

Biden administration officials strongly reject comparisons with Trump’s policies, with a staunch supporter of the Israeli government, with bombarded tweets and rhetoric accusing him of weakening U.S. values ​​and eroding diplomacy.

However Biden he decided to keep it The US embassy in Jerusalem, consolidating the changed state imposed by the former administration, and its White House have not rejected Trump’s recognition of Israel’s declaration of sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

So is the current administration fully embraced Trump’s efforts to normalize Israel and the Arab states. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan agreed last year to establish diplomatic relations with Israel as part of Trump’s “Abraham Accords.”

“We will encourage more countries to follow the path of the Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in September. “We want to expand the circle of peaceful diplomacy because it depends on the interests of countries across the region and around the world to treat Israel like any other country.”

In fact, Israel’s security remains a top priority for the Biden administration, which was publicly pressured in May. end call Israel says it wants to work behind the scenes on the Gaza Strip bombing to ensure a ceasefire.

“A basic principle for President Biden – as he often says: if Israel did not exist, we would have to guess. And Israel’s security lies first and foremost in itself and in us,” Biden’s top official told reporters this month.

Biden has reclaimed some humanitarian aid to Palestinians cut by Trump, and said his administration supports a “two-state solution” to resolving the conflict.

But the US president has not fulfilled his campaign promise to open a Palestinian consulate in East Jerusalem. Israel’s obvious opposition the movement, and Biden and his main aides have for the most part refused to publicly criticize Israel, including the documented ones. human rights violations against the Palestinians.

Instead, they often put light opposition to Israeli policies, including the expansion of the colony and efforts. forcibly removed Palestinian families say in a statement against the “unilateral steps” on both sides of their homes in East Jerusalem that the administration has sparked tensions.

Zogby said Biden’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian issue show that “Middle Eastern politics is not united by playing ball”.

“To be kind to one another and to be united few meetings With Abu Mazen, it does not change the dynamics that are developing on the ground, ”Mahmoud Abbas said, using a kunya for Palestinian President.

US-Saudi Arabia relations

Meanwhile, Washington’s warm relations with many of the authoritarian Arab governments have been the subject of increasing debate, with Democrats becoming more talkative in recent years, especially with criticism of the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Their criticism came in the wake of the journalist’s murder Jamal Khashoggi and as the Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen dragged on, the United Nations took it to what it calls the world. the most serious humanitarian crisis.

Trump faked it comfortable ties In 2017, he visited the kingdom with his authorities on his first trip abroad as president. And when the campaign ended and he began to govern, Biden – who promised to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah” in 2019 – did not push for drastic change. in the alliance.

Biden announced The United States has called for an end to aid to “attack operations” in Saudi Arabia in Yemen, but stressed that its administration is not abandoning the kingdom. “We will continue to support and assist Saudi Arabia in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity and its people,” the US president said in February.

His aides have also repeatedly praised Washington’s relations with Riyadh, and the US administration $ 650 million in sales air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, as well as $ 500 million in helicopter maintenance.

Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015 to overthrow the country’s Houthi rebels, who had taken over most of the country, including the capital Sana’a, and to restore President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s Gulf government.

Biden appointed Tim Lenderking a skilled U.S. diplomat as his special envoy to Yemen to end the war, but his diplomatic efforts and numerous trips to the region have yet to yield positive results. The Houthis have rejected a US-backed Saudi proposal in favor of a ceasefire, stressing that the Saudi-led air and sea blockade against Yemen must be lifted before the end of the fighting.

Iran, Egypt policies

Another important issue for the Biden administration in its first year has been efforts to revive Iran’s nuclear deal.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of a multilateral deal in 2018 and launched a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran, while at the same time stepping up its nuclear program. Although the administration of the roads has begun indirect speeches To reinstate the pact with Iran, he has continued to comply with Trump’s sanctions regime and has increased his sanctions.

“This is an issue where there has been more continuity than change between the two administrations,” Ulrichsen said.

He added that easing some of the sanctions could be a “sign” for Iranians, as the new administration is committed to “changing the dynamics of this negotiation”, especially before the election of Ibrahim Raisi, a tough Iranian president, in June.

Biden’s aides insist that they are pursuing a multilateral view of Iran in cooperation – unlike Trump’s departure from US partners. European allies as well as competitors Russia and China to push Tehran to comply with the nuclear deal.

Biden did not call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli attack on Gaza in May. [File: Hatem Moussa/AP Photo]

As for Egyptian politics Biden promised a little before the 2020 election “Without Trump’s‘ favorite dictator ’without further empty checks,” referring to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the administration said. Praising the role of Cairo in the region and the impetus for strengthening US-Egypt cooperation.

Rights groups report The el-Sisi government has jailed thousands of dissidents since its coup in 2013 and outlawed almost all political opposition, but the Egyptian president denies having political detainees and says his government is fighting “terrorism”.

Biden seized $ 130 million of the $ 1.3 billion a year given to Egypt for human rights issues, but Ulrichsen said the move was a symbolic gesture rather than a consequent policy change.

“It probably won’t send a strong message to the rest of the region,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s a sign that they’re doing something, probably because they need to see something done.”