Joe Biden’s solemn speech was an impossible mission, the day after his trip to Israel, as the political, community and diplomatic constraints were so strong. In fifteen minutes, from the Oval Office of the White House, the Democratic President, Thursday, October 19, challenged an increasingly isolationist America in the face of its global responsibilities: “American leadership is what unites the world”did he declare.
To convince and for internal reasons, it was necessary to succeed in linking the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas, namely the vote for a package of external financial aid of more than 100 billion dollars (95 billion ‘euros) by Congress. Republican elected officials, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, no longer want to finance Ukraine (60 billion dollars planned), but they can hardly shy away from the Jewish state (14 billion dollars).
Thus, sometimes artificially uniting the two conflicts, Joe Biden presented himself as a courageous president, after once again going to a war zone, as he did during his secret train trip to Kiev in February 2023. He described the atrocities of both enemies – the kidnappings of Ukrainian children by the Russian army and the crimes of Hamas terrorists. And he deduced the need to act: “History has taught us that when terrorists do not pay the price for their terror, when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos, death and destruction. »
Joe Biden denounced the Russians who consider the Baltic states as their provinces and the eastern part of Poland as a gift. “These are NATO territories [l’Alliance atlantique], we will defend every inch of NATO territory,” he declared, specifying that there was no question of deploying American soldiers in Ukraine.
Biden’s America is back, but not on the ground. The counterpart is to arm the allies: “It’s a smart investment that will pay dividends for America’s security for generations, and help us keep American troops out of harm’s way.” » In the absence of a Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, due to divisions in the “Grand Old Party” (GOP), the legislative process is currently blocked.
Avoiding a conflagration in the Middle East
The second issue, diplomatic, consists of finding a balance by supporting the Israelis while offering hope to the Palestinians. Joe Biden once again called on the former not to repeat the mistakes that the Americans made after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
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