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How Biden and Obama Failed in the Middle East
American Greatness ^ | Oct 16 2025 | victor davis hanson

Posted on 10/16/2025 4:36:45 AM PDT by texas booster

The short answer to why both the Biden and Obama administrations failed to achieve peace in the Middle East is that they took actions opposite to Trump’s current efforts, which have led to a ceasefire.

First, consider Iran.

Iran was flush with cash, on a trajectory toward a nuclear weapon, and arming Israel’s “ring of fire” enemies: Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

The radical Islamic world of the Middle East was convinced that Israel would be doomed eventually.

Yet both Democratic administrations let Iran profit from oil sales.

They talked of delaying, but not ending, Iran’s nuclear program. And they feared that Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis were indomitable terrorist threats.

Thus, the disruptors of peace were appeased rather than deterred.

Two, both Obama and Biden pressured Israel in general and Netanyahu in particular to make constant concessions.

But neither offered any plan for how Israel was to survive when Iran sought its destruction, and Tehran’s terrorist triad aimed to bombard it with missiles, rockets, and drones.

Worse, once the larger Middle East saw Democratic presidents appeasing Iran and its terrorist appendages, they concluded it was unsafe to take risks by allying with a delusional United States.

Three, both Obama and Biden despised and personally insulted Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and the Saudi royal family.

Biden called Saudi Arabia a “pariah state”—at least until he needed it to pump more oil to lower gas prices before the 2022 midterms.

Both presidents sought to isolate Sisi and remove him from power.

Obama had his team leak insults to Netanyahu, most infamously the “chicken sh—t” smear.

Middle Easterners have long memories.

Obama never would have thought up the Abraham Accords. Biden foolishly derailed and then pathetically tried to resurrect them.

(Excerpt) Read more at amgreatness.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Israel; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: middleeast; vdh; victordavishanson
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Neither the Gulf monarchies, Egypt, nor any conservative government in Israel had any incentive to deal with Obama and Biden, whom they despised.

Yet the more Trump respected and engaged with the Gulf sheikhs, Sisi, and Netanyahu, the more their collective fortunes—and his influence over their nations—increased.

Four, the Obama and Biden administrations were reluctant to use force to curb terrorism in the Middle East.

Neither would ever have taken out Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, destroyed ISIS, obliterated much of Russia’s Wagner group, or hit the Houthis hard.

The result was that neither the Israelis nor the Arabs trusted Obama and Biden. So they were careful not to take risks, fearing the U.S. would leave them hanging.

1 posted on 10/16/2025 4:36:45 AM PDT by texas booster
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To: 5th MEB; 6ppc; agondonter; Alberta's Child; AndyJackson; Aria; artichokegrower; ...
Ping! Out to the Victor Davis Hanson list

Ten, the Obama and Biden teams—Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Susan Rice, Leon Panetta, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, and Lloyd Austin—were force multipliers of their presidents’ naïveté and incompetence.

Long article but very good, saying out loud what the MSM had ignored for years. Because they agreed with Obama and Biden.

FR Index of his articles: Victor Davis Hanson on FR

Town Hall: Victor Davis Hanson on Town Hall

American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness

His website: Victor Davis Hanson The Sword of Perseus

One of his sponsors' website: The Daily Signal

Please let me know if you want on or off this new VDH ping list.

As a reminder, Professor Hanson has asked that we do not post the full article of his writings. Thank you for following the link to finish his article.

Content created by the Center for American Greatness, Inc. is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a significant audience.

https://freerepublic.com/tag/victordavishanson/index

2 posted on 10/16/2025 4:39:14 AM PDT by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

Easier to list off what they did right. A real time saver!


3 posted on 10/16/2025 4:43:48 AM PDT by albie
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To: albie
Easier to list off what they did right.

A short list - blank page!

4 posted on 10/16/2025 4:47:22 AM PDT by grobdriver (The CDC can KMA!)
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To: texas booster

I like that Trump does something DIFFERENT to solve a problem. All others tried the SAME OLD THING and it failed.


5 posted on 10/16/2025 4:49:06 AM PDT by Singermom
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To: texas booster

Valerie Jarrett


6 posted on 10/16/2025 4:55:41 AM PDT by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
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To: grobdriver

A microdot.


7 posted on 10/16/2025 5:02:01 AM PDT by wally_bert (I cannot be sure for certain, but in my personal opinion I am certain that I am not sure..)
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To: texas booster

All by design.


8 posted on 10/16/2025 5:03:16 AM PDT by DAC21
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To: texas booster

Obama’s “Arab Spring” unleashed ISIS and set the Middle East on fire. Trump had to put it out.


9 posted on 10/16/2025 5:09:12 AM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: texas booster

The democRATs can relate with the “mostly peaceful” muslim terrorists.


10 posted on 10/16/2025 5:10:22 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: texas booster
Barak Obama and Joe Biden were allied with the Muslim Brotherhood factions in Saudi Arabia land Qatar.

Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton were pushing the Muslim Brotherhood factions in Saudi Arabia who were fighting a behind the scenes civil war with the pro Western faction led by Mohammad bin Salman for succession to the Saudi throne

The Obama Administration backed Muslim Brotherhood factions were the ones who were funding ISIS and other radical Islamic groups around the world.

A major factor in President Trump's rapid defeat of ISIS was the fact that he flipped US support away from the Obama era backing of the Muslim Brotherhood faction to the US backing the pro Western MBS faction and actively intervened in the Saudi succession struggle on behalf of MBS

Had Hillary Clinton been elected in 2016 instead of President Trump the pro Muslim Brotherhood would almost certainly have won the succession struggle and the world would have been a much different place

ISIS would have continued their reign of terror in the Middle East and eventually would have won in Syria and Iraq

The rest is history .

Once MBS took power and rolled up the Muslim Brotherhood factions funding and support for ISIS dried up and the ISIS war in Syria and Iraq collapsed and the Trump Middle East peace process began.

When Biden took office one of his first actions was to attack and undermine the Mohammed bin Salman government in Saudi Arabia in the hopes of flipping the Middle East back to the Muslim Brotherhood.

If it were not for Biden's incompetence combined with the disaster in Afghanistan, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza War who knows what the world might have looked like today

11 posted on 10/16/2025 5:45:15 AM PDT by rdcbn1 (..when poets buy guns, tourist season is over................Walter R. Mead.l)
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To: texas booster

They failed everywhere... Libya, Syria, the Ukraine, the Middle East... The list goes on and on and on.

I’m surprised Biden wasn’t given a Nobel Peace Prize... Obama got his peace prize even before he drew his line in the sand that Putin crossed, bombed the hell out of Libya and allowed Russia to annex he Crimea.


12 posted on 10/16/2025 5:47:47 AM PDT by jerod (Nazis were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: texas booster

“How Biden and Obama Failed in the Middle East”

How Biden and Obama Failed in the USA

There, fixed it


13 posted on 10/16/2025 5:57:44 AM PDT by antidemoncrat
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To: albie

True dat.


14 posted on 10/16/2025 6:12:59 AM PDT by sauropod
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To: jerod

Then Obama proceeded to kill people with drone attacks 10x more than Bush did. Resulting in the deaths of lots of innocent bystanders. Yes, they killed terrorists too. They also killed lots of others that were in the wrong place.


15 posted on 10/16/2025 6:40:57 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: Sicon

We still do not know exactly WHY Obama decided to fly plane loads of CASH to Iran.
Some people say that it was because Iran knew that Obama had killed the Seal team in the helicopter crash and Iran knew about it and had proof. At least, this is what was alleged on a couple different podcasts I watched. Whether it is true or not, I have no idea.


16 posted on 10/16/2025 6:44:12 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: texas booster
From VDH: The Middle East concluded that America was in managed decline. It could not or would not defend its own interests, much less those of its expendable friends.

Wow! Even though I already knew that, just reading it gives me both chills and hatred for the Dims.

17 posted on 10/16/2025 6:54:04 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: texas booster

Biden and Obama administrations failed to achieve peace only to help the Bolshevicks gain ground here.


18 posted on 10/16/2025 7:53:04 AM PDT by Vaduz
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To: grobdriver

Well, Hillary got some deal in Burma!
But it felt apart after the 2021 coup.
When she was running for president, that was the only thing they could advertise as her achievement.
Everybody else = ZERO.


19 posted on 10/16/2025 8:31:50 AM PDT by AZJeep (sane )
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To: texas booster
"Neither the Gulf monarchies, Egypt, nor any conservative government in Israel had any incentive to deal with Obama and Biden, whom they despised."

It doesn't help when you set up coups and bring in the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama and Hillary's Arab Spring sprung.

20 posted on 10/16/2025 9:58:25 AM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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