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Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel mark Bidens foreign policy legacy [Video]

In a speech on Monday, President Joe Biden emphasized America’s strengthened global alliances and strategic successes as he prepares to hand the presidency to his successor.”Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, Biden said. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker, and we have not gone to war to make these things happen.” The war in Ukraine, the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Israel-Hamas war will dominate Bidens foreign policy legacy, experts say.Standing up for a fellow democracyIn his Monday remarks, Biden also talked about his administration’s ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.Were on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition, the president said.In October 2023, a war broke out in the Middle East after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking several others hostage.”Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop,” Biden said at the time.However, the United States’ unwavering support of Israel in the face of tens of thousands of subsequent Palestinian deaths sparked anti-war protests on college campuses across the country.In an interview with White House Correspondent Kalyn Norwood on Monday, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan acknowledged the loss of life while he re-affirmed the importance of supporting Israel.Supporting Israel against Israel’s enemies and America’s common enemies, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran this has been critical to standing up for a fellow democracy, to standing up for a friend and partner, and frankly, to standing up for America’s national security interests, Sullivan said. At the same time, the Palestinian people have been going through hell. Too many civilians have been killed. Too many innocent people are suffering without enough access to humanitarian necessities..The U.S. has been pressing for a ceasefire deal that would provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians and reunite hostages with their families, among other objectives. Sullivan said a deal is “very close” and could come before Biden leaves office, but he was careful to not promise it would.Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectivesAfter Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine in February of 2022, Biden hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, sent tens of billions of dollars in military assistance, and rallied NATO allies to support the democratic nation. Experts say his handling of the Russo-Ukrainian war was a bright spot for his presidency.The U.S. government really was able to rally Europe, he was able to use intelligence to bring over public opinion, and he was able to push back a Russian blitz that people thought would only take a number of days to succeed, said John Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the director of its Middle East program.Biden praised U.S. allies for their support in defending Ukraine’s sovereignty in remarks at the State Department Monday.”Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives,” Biden said, He has failed thus far to subjugate Ukraine, failed to break, break the unity of NATO, and failed to make large territorial gains.It was time to end a war, bring our troops homeDuring his speech Monday, Biden also defended the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghan people dead.”I saw no reason to keep thousands of servicemen in Afghanistan,” Biden said. “In my view, it was time to end a war, bring our troops home, and we did.”Biden announced the removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan just months into his presidency.The U.S. evacuated 125,000 people over the course of its withdrawal, but both U.S. citizens and Afghan allies who helped Americans during the war were left behind. Videos of people running alongside departing military planes and photos of American weapons left behind in Afghanistan sparked outrage at home and abroad.”I think the withdrawal from Afghanistan that he led is going to ultimately be seen as the right thing, poorly handled and too late,” Alterman said.A Congressional investigation by the House Foreign Affairs Committee largely blamed the chaos on the Biden-Harris administration. However, independent reports have concluded both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, who signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban, share the blame for the outcome.’Some things have to be beyond politics’Reflecting on his presidency, Biden said he believes the United States is “winning the worldwide competition” compared to four years ago but still has challenges to overcome. “These four years, we faced crises. We’ve been tested. We’ve come through those tests stronger in my view than we entered those tests,” Biden said. “There are serious challenges the United States must continue to deal with in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.”Sullivan said adversaries like Iran, China, North Korea and Russia are aligning more closely and presenting significant national security threats. While that issue remains top of mind for national security officials, a deeper challenge lies ahead. “Artificial intelligence can either work for us or work against us, and the difference between it working for us and working against us is whether America is in the lead,” Sullivan said. Sullivan said he and his counterpart in the incoming administration, U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, have met multiple times to discuss the long-term and immediate threats and challenges the country is facing. “These have been professional, serious, substantive conversations,” Sullivan said. “He is deeply committed to a smooth transition in the American national interest. I am deeply committed to that. And I think that that kind of work together is a good display to the American people that some things have to be beyond politics.”