Outgoing President Joe Biden defended his foreign policy legacy Monday, asserting that U.S. adversaries are weaker despite ongoing global crises. Addressing diplomats at the State Department a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Biden highlighted U.S. support for Ukraine against Russia and Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East.
“America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, and our adversaries are weaker,” Biden stated, crediting strategic actions without U.S. involvement in wars. He claimed Russia and Iran were significantly weakened, citing the collapse of the Syrian Assad government and Iran’s diminished influence.
Biden also touted efforts to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas to free hostages and deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza. “Palestinian people deserve peace and a right to determine their future,” Biden said, while reaffirming Israel’s security needs. Protests outside accused him of enabling war crimes in Gaza, where over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli assaults, according to local reports.
The president hailed Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, boasting of his 2023 Kyiv visit. He dismissed fears of China surpassing the U.S. economically, predicting it “will never happen.” Biden defended the Afghanistan troop withdrawal, saying adversaries preferred U.S. entanglement there.
Biden acknowledged closer ties between authoritarian regimes like China and Russia but dismissed them as alliances of weakness. Despite challenges in Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, he assured that the U.S. was “winning the global competition” and leaving a strong position for his successor.
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