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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

Opinion: How Biden and Obama failed in the Middle East

File photo/Evan Vucci/The Associated Press / President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv.
File photo/Evan Vucci/The Associated Press / President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. File photo/Evan Vucci/The Associated Press / President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv.

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 President Donald 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.