/ world today news/ The Biden administration’s statements that “adults are in charge again” in Washington ring hollow as the United States perpetuates devastating conflicts abroad instead of resolving them. Not only does America’s diplomatic authority suffer, but so do those caught in the middle of these seemingly endless wars.
The latest example came just this month when President Biden unilaterally led the United States to launch airstrikes against Yemen as the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for the situation in Gaza.
He justified these bombings by saying that the Houthis’ actions threatened trade and threatened freedom of navigation.
Yet the airstrikes only further destabilize the region. Iran subsequently attacked, firing ballistic missiles through its proxies at US facilities in northern Iraq.
Similarly, nuclear-armed Pakistan, a major recipient of US military aid, launched airstrikes against suspected militant hideouts in Iran, which in turn provoked a drone attack on a US base that killed three US servicemen.
These developments prove that conflicts in the Middle East are expanding, not shrinking, in a cycle of retaliation in the region following US intervention.
Washington defaults to a militaristic response when faced with global conflict: sending weapons, launching missiles, or issuing serious threats.
These “solutions” often fail to resolve anything and always risk igniting more conflict. As such, the United States must adjust using its underutilized but robust diplomatic capital.
Americans are not blind to the fundamental foreign policy problems of Washington’s status quo. Polls over the past few years by Concerned Veterans for America and YouGov found that 42 percent of Americans would like to see less military involvement overseas, 52 percent would oppose sending more troops to Middle East by the president and only 15 percent of Americans public support for sending more military and financial aid to Ukraine.
Nevertheless, despite ordinary Americans’ inclination toward restraint, Washington continues to lead foreign policy efforts using the military.
In the case of the Middle East, such efforts are futile. As Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute points out, Washington will fall short of its goal of reopening key Red Sea lanes to international shipping because escalating tensions with the Houthis have actually strengthened the militant group’s ability to disrupt international shipping.
Despite the Houthis’ declaration that attacks on ships in the Red Sea will cease when a ceasefire is agreed in Gaza, the United States has upped the ante, adding to the violence in the region. once upon a time…
Instead of establishing deterrence by bombing Yemen, the US ensured that the Houthis would enjoy newfound status as champions of the Palestinian cause.
It follows a trend as the Houthis were also emboldened after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015, when the rebels seized the capital Sanaa.
Washington should abandon such tactics and instead work diplomatically with Israel to forge terms for a long-term ceasefire in Gaza. After the horrific attack it suffered on October 7, 2023, Israel has the right to defend itself. However, his target is entrenched and difficult to defeat absolutely.
Meanwhile, more than 25,000 Palestinians were killed, over 10,000 of them children, and 1.9 million people were driven from their homes. The United States and Israel must accept that stabilization in the region will come only through diplomatic means.
Washington elites have only recently come to terms with the fact that only diplomacy will end the Russo-Ukrainian war. This comes after the failure of Kiev’s summer counteroffensive, which resulted in few territorial gains and many Ukrainian casualties.
Unfortunately, diplomatic incentives for Moscow to reach a peace deal have diminished since Ukraine’s failure to gain the upper hand, and Moscow now believes it has both the time and the momentum to win. The prospects for peace were much better at the beginning of the war.
Zelensky himself confirmed that Ukraine is ready to agree to exchange a guarantee of “neutrality” for “security guarantees of Ukraine.” But instead of allowing Kiev to negotiate from a position of strength, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, including the United States, encouraged Ukraine to fight “as long as it takes.”
Washington could actually help Ukraine by advising Kiev that prolonging the war would not bode well for Ukraine’s long-term prosperity. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have said they are open to peace talks on the condition that Ukraine becomes a neutral country with no aspirations to join NATO.
Ukraine, on the other hand, is pushing for a 10-point peace solution, but insists it will not discuss it with Russia. The United States, with its significant role in Ukraine’s defense efforts, has the ability and leverage to force Ukraine to compromise with Russia.
After World War II, America’s most significant foreign policy successes were not wars fought, but diplomatic peace agreements brokered with skill.
President Richard Nixon’s decision in 1972 to end the US ostracism of China led to a fundamental break in US-China relations. Nixon’s decision ended China’s 25-year isolation from the West and set the stage for President Carter’s January 1979 normalization of diplomatic relations with China.
Nixon’s leadership enabled the United States to normalize relations with China and encouraged China’s alignment with the United States, thereby applying the necessary pressure to end the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
A more recent example of successful American diplomacy is the Iran nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
After 20 months of negotiations, this landmark agreement resulted in Tehran agreeing to curb its nuclear program and allow a regime of ongoing inspections.
Since the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the deal, however, Iran’s nuclear crisis has worsened, with Iran now possessing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Now, potential conflict between the US and Iran is increasingly likely.
President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have done little to exercise effective diplomacy. Biden’s instinct to end the war in Afghanistan has not translated into a new approach of restraint and diplomacy in conflicts abroad.
In fact, Biden did the opposite, encouraging Israel and Ukraine to pursue maximalist goals that led to mass death and suffering and put American interests in those regions at risk.
Blinken, who is supposed to be a seasoned diplomat with credentials from both Harvard and Columbia, fares no better. He failed critical talks with the Chinese in 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Rather than defuse tensions between the two countries, the meeting fueled anti-American sentiment in China and set the two sides on a path for future bilateral tensions.
In addition, Blinken’s failed approach to the Gaza situation left the conflict in dire straits with little to show for Washington’s formidable diplomatic influence.
As conflicts rage in the Middle East and Europe, the world looks to the United States for support and leadership. Unfortunately, because Washington relied on American militarism as its primary mode of engagement, this only exacerbated tensions.
Despite promises to the contrary, the Biden administration reminds us that diplomacy is a lost art in Washington. It’s a dangerous place right now.
In addition, Blinken’s failed approach to the Gaza situation left the conflict in dire straits with little to show for Washington’s formidable diplomatic influence.
As conflicts rage in the Middle East and Europe, the world looks to the United States for support and leadership. Unfortunately, because Washington relied on American militarism as its primary mode of engagement, this only exacerbated tensions. Despite promises to the contrary, the Biden administration reminds us that diplomacy is a lost art in Washington. It’s a dangerous place right now.
Translation: SM
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