A progressive Frankish Democrat distrusts President Biden’s approach to the Middle East, arguing it’s like “admitting the defeat of the aspiration” of winning a Nobel Peace Prize.
Why is it important?: Several members of Biden’s own party do not like his strategy in the Middle East, as his administration indicates that the region is no longer the priority for President Obama and his predecessors.
- “Obama fought for greatness,” California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna told Axios. “He at least tried.”
- Khanna, 44, supported Senator Bernie Sanders as president and has worked with Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) To enact a foreign policy without intervention.
Khanna has criticized Biden for not imposing sanctions on the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, after intelligence proved he was responsible for the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
- In a five-point plan shared exclusively with Axios, he suggests that the administration withdraw all remaining U.S. forces in Iraq. It favors the conclusion of a multilateral agreement with regional partners to prevent ISIS from retaking territory.
- He has also joined Democrats in criticizing the administration for a recent airstrike on facilities in Syria linked to Iran-backed militia groups.
- Khanna proposes to announce additional resources for security and stability, including aid and development.
- And Khanna’s plan effectively calls on other regional actors to increase their presence in the region as the United States withdraws.
But, but, but: Other important players in the region often have very different opinions on how to maintain stability.
- When the U.S. withdrew from Syria under Donald Trump, it was Russia and Turkey, two countries with which the U.S. maintains difficult relations, that filled the gap.
Flashback: Obama withdrew U.S. military forces from Iraq in 2011, after which sectarian tensions and a weak Iraqi state created a mature environment for ISIS formation.
- This necessitated another U.S.-led intervention in the region in 2014, a move that Khanna supported.
- Biden told Congress leaders in a letter Saturday that the Syrian strike last week was consistent with U.S. right to self-defense.
- The White House declined to comment on Khanna’s suggestions.
The Biden administration has made this clear in recent moves, he intends to refocus on what he considers most pressing issues.
- During his first foreign policy speech, Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the United States’ relationship with China as “the greatest geopolitical test of the 21st century.”
- While acknowledging other nations presenting their own challenges, Blinken noted China’s ability to destabilize the international system.
- Biden did not call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until almost a month after his term.
The summary: As Barak Ravid of Axios reported from Tel Aviv, U.S. presidents have been in office for decades in hopes of reaching a historic peace deal.
- Biden does not see it as feasible in the current circumstances.