In the tumultuous arena of Middle Eastern geopolitics, US President Joe Biden's entire approach to the region has been brutally upended, with critics claiming his policies helped precipitate the unfolding Israel-Gaza war.
The murderous rampage by Hamas in Israel and the ongoing Israeli military strikes on and siege of Gaza are the antithesis of the image of steady progress that until recently the administration had been depicting.
In fateful comments just a fortnight ago, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan touted the apparent successes of the Biden administration's measured approach to the Middle East.
“Iranian attacks on US forces have stopped. Our presence in Iraq for now is stable,” Mr Sullivan said. “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been for two decades.”
Now, Mr Biden is dealing with a geopolitical crisis that risks spreading beyond Israel's and Palestine’s borders.
His administration's prior focus for the region, pushing a normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, has seemingly been put on the back-burner while it rushes military aid to Israel for its expected invasion of the Gaza Strip.
“All of our attention … has been focused squarely on this conflict, on this heinous brutal attack and on helping Israel be able to defend itself,” Mr Sullivan said on Tuesday.
It's a huge mess for the Biden administration, which had steered its foreign policy towards countering China, helping Ukraine to fight Russia's invasion, and nudging Iran back into some sort of deal to slow its progress towards potentially obtaining a nuclear bomb.
The plight of Palestinians and the extent to which they should be factored into a Saudi-Israeli deal received little attention under the Biden administration, arguably a significant flaw in the whole endeavour. Now, a little more than a year before he is up for re-election, Mr Biden has a Middle East crisis squarely on his lap.
For the moment, the US Congress is united in its support for Israel. But Republicans are already trying to capitalise on the crisis, and Democrats are voicing concerns about the toll on Palestinian civilians as Israel attacks the Gaza Strip.
Former president Donald Trump, who in all likelihood will run against Mr Biden, said the Hamas attacks were the result of the US being “weak and ineffective” and claimed there would somehow have been “zero chance” of the assault happening if he were in the White House.
“When we get back in, I will immediately reimpose the Trump Travel Ban on entry from terrorist countries,” Mr Trump said at a rally on Wednesday, referring to what became known as his 2017 “Muslim ban” and appealing to his xenophobic base. Of course, any sort of travel ban in the US would have done nothing to protect Israelis from this attack.
Will Wechsler, the senior director of the Rafik Hariri Centre and Middle East Programmes at the Atlantic Council, said that whatever happens next, it probably won't factor into the November 2024 elections.
“It's always painful for international audiences to realise exactly how little foreign policy matters in most presidential elections in the United States,” Mr Wechsler told The National.
When pollsters ask voters their top concerns, “you usually have to scroll very far down the list before you get to foreign policy issues”.
Mr Biden has often professed his “love” for Israel. Over the decades, the 80-year-old president has visited the country more than 10 times, including as a young senator in 1973, when he met then-prime minister Golda Meir. The visit came shortly before the October war, the last time Israel mobilised on a scale similar to now.
“I do not think that what is motivating President Biden is the domestic political environment. I think he made his decisions about Israel many decades ago,” Mr Wechsler said, referring to Mr Biden's affinity and support for Israel.
The Democrat has had disagreements over the rightward political direction Israel has taken, most recently this year when he refused to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an audience at the White House and met him on the sidelines of the UN instead.
In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks, Mr Biden put any political differences aside and repeatedly pledged unflinching support for Israel without referencing the civilian deaths in Gaza, where more than 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes.
On Wednesday, though, he signalled his support had some limitations, saying Israel should follow “the rules of war”. Israel has already flattened large parts of Gaza and has cut off food and water to the territory's 2.3 million people.
Have Mr Biden's policies actually contributed to this crisis?
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said the Biden administration's Middle East policy has been a “strategic failure”, with too much emphasis on trying to reach a new nuclear deal with Iran even as the latter has funded Hamas and other anti-Israeli militant groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He was particularly critical of the recent prisoner swap with Tehran that saw five Americans walk free while Iran was to be given access to $6 billion in previously frozen funds – although the Biden administration has repeatedly stressed that the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes.
“Israeli officials are on edge, believing, based on their own intelligence, that Iran is trying to get Hezbollah into the fight,” Mr Goldberg said.
The Israel-Gaza war is a conflict Mr Biden wanted to avoid. Whatever happens next could define his legacy.
Scores in brief:
- New Medical Centre 129-5 in 17 overs bt Zayed Cricket Academy 125-6 in 20 overs.
- William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 188-8 in 20 overs bt One Stop Tourism 184-8 in 20 overs
- Alubond Tigers 138-7 in 20 overs bt United Bank Limited 132-7 in 20 overs
- Multiplex 142-6 in 17 overs bt Xconcepts Automobili 140 all out in 20 overs
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company%20profile
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FORSPOKEN
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
The%20specs
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MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Ukraine%20exports
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
