Biden Will Not Be Missed

It is absurd to say that Biden sought a “middle course” on the war in Gaza. His policy has been a display of rigid ideological extremism in action.

David Ignatius is getting an early start on writing a revisionist history of Biden’s foreign policy:

Biden sought a middle course on the Israel-Gaza war, too. He pushed Israel to limit Palestinian civilian casualties and provide more humanitarian assistance. But he felt a personal and political obligation to continue supplying weapons to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a leader he mistrusted. Biden’s team took on the thankless job of mediation, seeking a hostage-release deal in Gaza and, more successfully, a ceasefire in Lebanon. U.S. military power backed Israel as it remade the Middle East. But Biden got little credit.

It is absurd to say that Biden sought a “middle course” on the war in Gaza. His policy has been a display of rigid ideological extremism in action. He provided unconditional support from the beginning, and shielded Israel from the consequences of its destructive behavior at every turn. Early on, he celebrated U.S. support for Israel as part of a global struggle that also included the war in Ukraine, and he seemed to be completely indifferent to the massive civilian death toll. Biden rejected applying any real pressure on the Israeli government, and the administration’s “mediation” efforts have been hopelessly compromised by the president’s own ideological bias. The endless ceasefire negotiations have been a pantomime that U.S. officials have performed over the last year to make it seem as if they were trying to end the war when they were doing anything but that.