Chicago December 10, 2024
The sudden collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria has sparked a wave of criticism directed at President Biden’s foreign policy, raising questions about whether the administration fully understood the dynamics at play in the region. During a speech at the White House, Biden seemed to suggest that U.S. efforts had played a key role in shifting the balance of power in the Middle East. He credited his administration with helping bring about the collapse of Assad’s brutal regime.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported Biden’s comments, stating that the fall of the Syrian government was a direct result of the actions the U.S. had taken against groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. “The collapse of the Syrian regime is a direct result of the severe blows we inflicted on Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran,” Netanyahu said during a press conference.
However, not everyone agrees with this assessment. Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that it is odd for the Biden administration to claim credit for Assad’s downfall. He noted that the U.S. had taken a cautious approach toward both the Assad regime and its main backer, Iran. According to Ben Taleblu, Biden’s strategy in the region has generally been risk-averse, and Israel has played a more proactive role in countering the influence of Iran-backed forces.
While the Biden administration is eager to celebrate its foreign policy successes, experts suggest that the situation in Syria is more complex, with Israel’s actions playing a larger part in recent developments.
