Elected president of the United States in 2020, Joe Biden promised to put an end to "forever wars." Four years later, as his term of office draws to a close, a strange paradox is emerging. The leader kept his word by withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan as early as the summer of 2021, even though the debacle of that withdrawal still haunts his administration. Since then, he has had to get involved in two conflicts with global shockwaves, in Ukraine and in Gaza. The US has thrown all its military and diplomatic weight behind these conflicts, putting its reputation on the line. But its credibility has now been damaged, given the means employed, the results obtained and, above all, the untenable contradictions in the way the government approached these two crises. With seven months to go before the presidential election, the Biden administration seems bogged down, just when foreign policy was supposed to be its trump card.

An objective look at the US's strategic interests reveals that the results are far from negative. No American soldier has died in Ukraine, while the Russian army suffered a historic setback in the initial phase of the war: Its ranks were decimated and its capabilities diminished on land, air and sea. In addition to this unexpected result, any direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, in a conflict that would spill over Ukraine's borders, has been avoided. The objective set by the White House has been achieved − there has been no escalation. For the sake of this priority, Washington refused to offer Kyiv a timetable for NATO membership at the Vilnius summit in July 2023. As for relations with allies, damaged under Donald Trump's presidency, they have been restored and intensified, even if apprehension is mounting in Europe at the prospect of the former president's possible return to power.

In the Middle East, on the other front, the US is contemplating a precipice. After Hamas's unprecedented attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, with acts of violence that shocked US officials, the Biden administration reacted without delay. "This is not just about policy or strategy. This is personal for us," said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan 10 days later. Right from the start of Israel's ground offensive in Gaza, Washington had set itself one goal: to avoid a regional conflict involving Iran and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. This objective was met, thanks to the massive deployment of naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean.

Trapped by loyalty

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