Joe Biden's domestic economic achievements alone will not win him a second term

On the international front, Biden has been busy. His move to withdraw from Afghanistan ended a long-standing conflict, notwithstanding criticism over the Taliban's return to power. This decision was based on a tough reality: Exiting a country where American boots arguably should never have been on the ground was never going to be easy. With respect to Ukraine, Biden has been forthright in condemning Russian aggression. And rightly so. The United States has a commitment to NATO, and its European allies, and not standing by Ukraine would be both a strategic blunder and antithetical to American interests. He has also rightly voiced support for the Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh, sanctioned the leadership of the Burmese military in the process, and called out China’s maltreatment of the Uighurs, showing a clear conscience and a respect for human rights -- while serving American foreign policy interests.

After October 7, everything changed. For many undecided voters whom Biden aimed to persuade, economics has taken a back seat. It was inconceivable that Biden would not back Israel’s “right to defend” itself from an attack. The United States is, and will remain, Israel’s staunchest ally. However, Biden’s policy posture, including at the very least aiding Israel’s disproportionate military response, increasing carte blanche military assistance, and providing diplomatic cover at the United Nations to a government comprised of ultra-right-wing fanatics, has negatively impacted his legacy. While the rift between Benjamin Netanyahu and Biden is now becoming as clear as day, the damage to the latter’s reputation has already been inflicted.

A growing chorus of anti-war protesters argues that the extreme views of some Israeli politicians, advocating for wiping Gaza from planet earth, mirror the aspirations of certain sections of Hamas to eliminate Israel. The conditions in Gaza are concerning for young Biden supporters or for those who immigrated to the United States from countries once colonized by Western powers. This represents an extraordinary shift in their expectations and the support they had given to the Democrats up to October 7, support that was critical in building the anti-Trump, pro-Biden coalition in 2020. The sheer number of uncommitted votes in the Michigan Democratic Party primary illustrates how anti-Trump voters are contemplating abstaining from voting in November to send Biden a loud message, leveraging democracy to their advantage.

Biden is correct in stressing that Israel's response has been over the top. His opposition to a land invasion in Rafah represents a positive step. However, this in itself is insufficient. Senior United Nations officials, in their independent judgment, have stated that Israel is committing egregious mass atrocity crimes, including using starvation as a weapon of war. This situation, at the very least, demands closer scrutiny rather than outright denial. The Biden administration's failure to use its considerable leverage to ensure that food aid reaches Gazans, who are at risk of famine, should be condemned. Furthermore, the administration continues to halt funding to UNRWA, despite its allies, including Canada and Australia, resuming their support.

Allegations of war crimes, genocide, and ethnic cleansing are under investigation by the international legal system, which operates under the purview of the United Nations. The United States cannot forget that it played a leading role in developing the United Nations system. With a global consensus on the need for a ceasefire and most Americans supporting the same, Biden must demonstrate that the United States remains committed to protecting the rules-based international order and in addressing human rights violations, whether committed by allies or adversaries. It is going to be a tough pill to swallow for someone who has, in his own words, been Israel’s biggest backer. But swallow it he must.

Biden's focus on domestic achievements prior to October 7 is now overshadowed by the need to utilize all available policy tools to address the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza. This includes stopping Netanyahu at any cost from launching a ground offensive into Rafah, calling for an immediate ceasefire, ensuring a feasible exchange of detainees between Israel and Hamas, translating his criticisms of Netanyahu into action by executing existing policies that link military aid to human rights requirements as dictated by American law, pushing Israel to allow sustained humanitarian aid to reach Gaza via land routes in compliance with international humanitarian law, restoring funding to UNRWA, and importantly, expediting the diplomatic pursuit of Palestinian statehood, despite seemingly insurmountable barriers.

Netanyahu's actions are doing more harm to Israel’s long-term security than not, failing to secure the return of Israeli hostages, and relegating the question of Palestinian statehood to the back burner, which contradicts the global consensus since the Oslo Accords. Ending this war as soon as possible offers Biden his best and only chance to defeat Trump. Most importantly, ending this war is morally the right thing to do for the United States, for Palestine, for Israel, and for Biden’s marquee efforts to ensure that democracy, not authoritarianism, is the political system countries aspire to work towards. The United States' foreign policy stance on the war and its efforts to polarize views on the United Nations are leading to its isolation on the world stage, jeopardizing its Indo-Pacific ambitions, and diminishing its credibility among a growing cohort of people who are losing trust in the ideals and values that America has sought to promote.

Granted, Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by most Western powers, and the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis is deplorable and should not be celebrated by any country or peoples. On the other hand, as the West keeps reminding one and all, Israel is a democracy. Even when responding to an attack, a state, particularly a democracy, must not, or should not be allowed to, sustain a campaign that has already resulted in over 30,000 deaths, the majority of them women and children. This is precisely why international humanitarian law exists. If the United States, as the most powerful country in the world, fails to ensure the application of international humanitarian law, its citizens, and indeed the world, will consider it hypocritical, if not today then tomorrow. Phrases like protecting a rules-based order will remain just that: A set of words tapped into when it suits American interests and not a universal norm. Biden cannot forget this.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a darling of the political left, wrote in a seminal op-ed for the Foreign Affairs magazine that there is a need for the United States to revolutionize its foreign policy. Sanders rightly asserts that the United States must replace greed, militarism, and hypocrisy with solidarity, diplomacy, and human rights. These are big words on paper. But most importantly, the United States must apply a single standard and put their money where their mouth is. The Americans were a beacon of democracy and human rights in its effort to defeat Nazism. But since then, they have complicated life for many peoples, perhaps with good intentions, but with terrible outcomes. Ask Iraqis. Ask Afghanis. And today, ask Palestinians. This cannot continue.

If Biden manages to end this war, it could persuade undecided voters to back him, particularly the influential cohort of young and diasporic voters, whose support he absolutely needs to win. These voters, who principally oppose him because of his inability to prevent Gazans from dying of bombardment and starvation, might then see him as the superior choice over Trump. This could also mean that his admirable promises to safeguard women's reproductive rights, confront the climate crisis head-on, and tackle income inequality with a more progressive and fairer tax system will gain traction. Failure to do so will render him a one-term president.

Writer: Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed is a Toronto-based Public Policy Columnist for Bangladeshi and Canadian media outlets. He serves as an Urban Fellow Researcher with the City of Toronto and is the co-founder of BacharLorai, a Canada-based not-for-profit social impact agency.

Source: Dhaka Tribune.