US Diplomacy Faces a Dilemma on Every Front
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s latest foray to the Middle East brought little visible progress on his aim of a temporary halt to hostilities between Israel and Hamas to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
What it did yield was a clear disregard for the US position, as Israel bluntly rejected his plea and Arab nations demanded a full ceasefire.
After a brief visit to Turkey, Blinken heads on to Japan, South Korea and India, where he can expect a more receptive audience as he attempts to refocus attention on the core US concern of China.
But the broader challenge for Washington is becoming clearer with each new crisis: How to hold the line in a splintering world order where nations feel increasingly emboldened to question the US position on events — on both the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When Blinken was last in India, for the Group of 20 summit in September, the US and its allies attempted to regain the initiative with the so-called Global South by elevating the African Union to a full G-20 member.
It also took action on issues like climate change and debt that are priorities of emerging markets, hitting back at Russia’s blaming NATO and the West for the Ukraine conflict and its fallout.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the charge is one of hypocrisy, with a sense — expressed by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a core US ally — that the West is selective in its application of human rights and international law.
Without addressing such perceptions, the US risks losing the narrative to Russia and China.
With two wars soaking up US attention, the threat of conflict over Taiwan, plus other spots flashing red, Washington’s response could be existential for President Joe Biden’s electoral fortunes — but also for the world. — Alan Crawford