Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently I wrote a long article In “Foreign Affairs,” he argued that the Biden administration has put the United States back on the map as a guardian of the rules-based international order. This has been President Joe Biden's theme since his first month in office. speech He praised the United States as an “indispensable nation” and promised stronger American leadership overseas.
However, despite talk of reasserting its leadership in the world, the United States is often significantly hesitant to display such leadership qualities when dealing with friendly nations. In one of the most blatant contradictions in international relations today, the world's most powerful countries are often led by smaller countries whose interests and policies are in contrast to their own.
The United States is a seemingly deprived superpower, and its policies towards Israel and Ukraine clearly illustrate this.
The United States is acting as Israel's big brother, ensuring the Israel Defense Forces have what they need to defend themselves. and deepens As Israel seeks to disrupt the chain of command of both Hamas and Hezbollah, collaboration with already powerful intelligence services is increasing. Less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, Biden traveled to Israel to show personal support. Washington sent Israel Approximately $18 billion in military aid The Israeli military has used it to carry out military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. At the United Nations, the United States vetoed three resolutions He called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
But if Washington's unconditional support was intended to give America leverage to rein in Israeli policy, the gamble did not pay off. Mainly because America refused to use its influence. As a result, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted US aid but failed to seriously consider US reservations.
The United States succeeded in getting Israel to allow humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip after it became clear that without it catastrophe would ensue, but this was a low bar. Prime Minister Netanyahu is pursuing a war strategy despite knowing full well that the last thing the United States wants is a regional war in the Middle East.
Israel has crossed so many of Washington's “red lines” that some may wonder if the Biden administration was sincere about it in the first place.
American defense officials early on advised Israel to take a discriminatory approach during counterterrorism operations in Gaza. Instead, Israel bombed the entire enclave To the uninhabitable wilderness. Biden warned that Israel's invasion of Rafah was dangerous. his personal red line;And yet Israel invaded. When Biden gave his presentation His three-phase Gaza ceasefire plan In May he claimed that Israel had accepted it. A few months later, this proposal was largely scrapped, due in part to additional demands from Prime Minister Netanyahu. The United States has repeatedly said it does not want the war to spread to Lebanon. Israel invaded anyway. Last month, less than a day after the United States insisted that Israel accept a three-week ceasefire with Hezbollah, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the assassination Words from extremist group leader Hassan Nasrallah.
All this time, American officials have communicated their disapproval behind closed doors and complained to the media, but have done little to make Israel think twice. Weapons continue to flow, diplomatic support remains ironclad, and every nuisance recorded by policymakers is ignored.
The United States has shown a similar lack of leadership regarding Ukraine, even if the circumstances are different. Since the invasion of Russia in 2022, the U.S. message has been consistent: Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot win the war, and the U.S. and its European allies are committed to ensuring that Ukraine remains a sovereign and independent state. He said he would do his best.
American defense aid to Kyiv has arrived Over $61 billion. The United States has organized a multi-country sanctions regime against Russian oil, which poses a significant risk of supply disruption. After initial resistance, Washington provided the Ukrainians with the kinds of weapons systems that treaty allies were fortunate to have access to (the F-16, to name one).
Like Israel, the United States seems all too comfortable outsourcing foreign policy to its junior partner, Ukraine. Instead of articulating reasonable and achievable goals, U.S. officials be loud and persistent The delusion that the Ukrainian army would eventually liberate the entire territory from the Russian occupiers. Rather than conditioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to accept the compromises necessary to end the war diplomatically, the Biden administration is seeking to make those concessions, even if they include territorial concessions. are considered to be equivalent. surrender. And instead of being brutally honest with Ukraine about how unlikely it is to win a war of attrition against a much larger power with more manpower and resources, Washington will have difficult conversations. I'm avoiding that.
Leadership in the truest sense of the word is about estimating benefits and costs, making difficult choices, and having the courage to evolve when those choices don't work out. In the case of Israel, this would impose further conditions on the relationship. When it comes to Ukraine, that means abandoning extremist rhetoric and basing policy on a realistic assessment of what is and is not possible on the battlefield.
The United States is proud to be the most powerful country in the world. It's time for reality to catch up with rhetoric.
Daniel R. DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a syndicated foreign affairs columnist for the Chicago Tribune..
