When scholars look back at the foreign policy of the last administration, they’re liable to conclude that the “Biden Doctrine,” to the extent that there was one, wasn’t an elaborate, ambitious and well-thought-out affair, the way some pundits have suggested. Rather, it was a series of tactical responses to world events — responses that were ultimately undermined by the White House’s fear of adverse consequences.
As strife abates, countries are remembering why ties to Israel are a good bet.
As he prepares to enter the White House, Donald Trump should recognize that even a weakened Tehran is still dangerous.
Prioritizing the Americas after decades of neglect marks a return to traditional U.S. strategy.
Suddenly, Israel has a Syria problem. For years, officials in Jerusalem had banked on a relatively predictable balance of power with the neighboring regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Despite Assad's enduring hostility toward the Jewish state and the inherent weakness of his regime, a tenuous status quo had been struck between the two countries, making it generally possible to anticipate how the Syrian dictator would behave. This has served as a perverse source of comfort over the past 14 months, as Israel has found itself preoccupied with the threat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and more recently, that of Hezbollah in Lebanon.