Biden to clarify his ‘pragmatic’ Middle East policy

United States President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East this week is the culmination of an urgent need and a growing desire.

The need is for the US to convince its partners in the region to fully support its position on Russia’s war in Ukraine – and meet the West’s growing energy needs – by addressing their security concerns.

And the desire is for the US to clarify its voice, and explain to its partners exactly how it wants to confront and contain Russia and China’s growing strategic influence in the unstable but important region.

Biden wants to make clear to his interlocutors that they need to stop reminiscing about policies of past administrations, and focus on his approach: one that is realistic and pragmatic; that harmonises ends and means; that considers past failures and present capabilities; that steers away from the lofty agendas of regime change, nation-building, and radical regional transformations.

Biden’s Middle East policy had already been outlined by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who emphasised Washington’s desire to promote “regional stability” through diplomacy, and the top White House official on the Middle East, Brett McGurk, who talked of a desire for “returning to basics” through the “3D approach” of deterrence, diplomacy and de-escalation.

During his time in the Middle East, Biden will further clarify his position and try to reassure allies that with this change in strategy the US is planning neither to leave nor to deprioritise the region. He will explain that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan would not have any bearing on Washington’s presence in the Middle East, and that if anything it will free more resources for the region, especially to fight “terrorism”.

Read More : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/13/analysis