It’s more newsworthy when Biden achieves a policy goal than when he doesn’t. Failure is his modus operandi. From Sean Matthews at middleeasteye.net:
US efforts to cobble together a plan for post-war Gaza lay bare the contradictory goals the administration has failed to resolve
Palestinians react amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 14 December 2023, (AFP)
The US’s top diplomat came to Israel this week carrying a message from Washington’s regional allies: Israel’s neighbours are prepared to invest in Gaza’s security and reconstruction.
“But it is essential to them that there also be a clear pathway to the realisation of a Palestinian political state,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
By holding out to Israel the carrot of regional buy-in for the post-war fate of Gaza, Blinken seemingly tried to leverage the US’s Arab partners and Turkey to sway Israel in a way that the Biden administration has been unable, or unwilling, to do alone.
But Blinken’s comments, during his fourth visit to the region since the war broke out following the 7 October Hamas-led attacks, also underline how, 100 days after the onset of the crisis, Washington is still no closer to moving the needle on one of its primary goals.
The US lobbied Israel to delay its invasion of Gaza as it pressed its ally to come up with a post-war plan for the besieged enclave’s future.
“Since 7 October, the US has prioritised above all else Israel’s right to defend itself,” said Brian Katulis, senior fellow and vice president of policy at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. “But most of its other goals are incomplete.
“The administration’s weakest link remains reaching some sort of consensus on a Gaza endgame.”
Instead, the Biden administration has been occupied with other issues.
