(AFP) – US President Joe Biden has hailed the Lebanon ceasefire as a win, but his legacy is likely to remain overshadowed by Donald Trump’s impending return and the failure to achieve peace in Gaza. In a rare moment to savor in the lame-duck phase of his presidency, the 82-year-old spoke in the Rose Garden of the White House to announce the truce deal between Israel and Hezbollah. Biden said the deal was “good news” and “brings us closer to realizing the affirmative agenda that I’m pushing forward during my entire presidency, a vision for the future of the Middle East.” He added that “in our remaining time in office I’ll work tirelessly” to achieve it.
The ceasefire at least puts on hold one of the grinding wars that the Trump administration will inherit from Biden’s White House on January 20, along with Gaza and Ukraine. But the Lebanon deal is “lipstick on a pig,” said Colin Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group. “Of course he’s going to claim this as a win — he’s got nothing else to point to,” Clarke told AFP. Biden was “whitewashing what has been a fairly disastrous approach to the region post-October 7.” Clarke was referring to Biden’s strong support of Israel following the brutal attack by Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza and more than a year of cross-border fire and two months of all-out war in Lebanon.
US presidents famously have an eye on the way they will be judged by history and Biden is no exception. But despite announcing a fresh push for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, Biden’s dream of securing wider peace before he leaves office remains far off. It reflects the wider sense that Biden’s legacy will be a tarnished one. When he took office, he said he wanted to “save the soul of America” and show the world that “America is back” after Trump’s turbulent first presidency. But pride made him resist growing concerns about his age and mental acuity until a disastrous debate against Trump forced him to drop his bid for a second term in July. Trump then comprehensively defeated his chosen successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, on November 5.
Since the election, Biden has spent much time trying to “Trump-proof” what he regards as his main foreign policy achievements. Nowhere is that truer than on US support for Ukraine. In the past two weeks, the once-cautious Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use US-supplied missiles against targets in Russia and ordered landmines to be sent to Ukraine. Tensions have since soared with Moscow. Trump had previously promised to secure a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia within 24 hours but has yet to unveil his administration’s policy.
Biden also embarked on a last-minute diplomatic tour of South America during which he tried to reassure unsettled US allies — and adversary China — that the transition to a Trump presidency would be smooth. The Lebanon deal is a further example of his attempts to shore up his legacy — but the failure to end the grinding war in Gaza hangs heavy over him. “I do not expect a victory lap. This is only one of three fronts and arguably not the most important,” Garrett Martin of American University told AFP. “It reinforces the sentiment of great frustration that the Biden administration has been trying to deal with.”
Biden’s frustrations in dealing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spilled into the open over the 13 months of the Gaza war, as the Israeli has resisted US chiding over the civilian death toll. For his part, Netanyahu threw some shade Biden’s way on Tuesday — and looked ahead to a Trump administration that he hopes will give Israel freer rein. “It is no secret that there have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries. These delays will be resolved soon,” Netanyahu said in a televised address announcing the deal on Wednesday.
Still, Trump, despite being a man who famously likes the art of the deal, may find the Middle East as troublesome as Biden. “Legacies can be shared. Now it’s going to be Trump’s problem,” said Martin. – Danny KEMP
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