“If there was no Israel, the United States of America would have had to invent Israel to protect its interests in the region.” These were the words of then-Senator Joe Biden when he made his case for US support for Israel during a congressional debate on Middle East arms sales in 1986.

He clearly did not see the possibility of a clash of interests between Israel and the United States at that time. Ironically, his presidency, 38 years later, will highlight the extent to which US regional interests are incompatible with the behavior of the Israeli government.

The Biden administration has given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the freedom to do as he pleases, not just in Gaza, but throughout the Middle East. Netanyahu is doing everything he can to stay in power in an orderly manner, which means prolonging the Israeli war in Gaza and expanding Israeli aggression into Lebanon, Yemen and even Iran.

This has created chaos in the Middle East and directly undermined US foreign policy interests in the region.

American strategic interests

The Middle East holds great strategic importance for the United States. It is home to vast reserves of oil and natural gas that are essential to the US economy and the US-dominated global economy. Any interruption in oil or gas supplies from the region could have unprecedented consequences for global energy security.

For this reason, the United States favored relative political stability in the region, especially after its invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the occupation of Afghanistan in the period 2001-2021 demonstrated the danger of costly military adventures in the region.

Since the first Obama administration, the United States has been pursuing a national security strategy aimed at reducing responsibilities and stabilizing the region in order to withdraw resources and focus them on China and Russia, which are seen as more pressing threats. As part of this policy, Washington has been working to integrate Israel with its Arab neighbors, create security arrangements in the Middle East similar to NATO, and strengthen economic ties through initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

The Biden administration’s National Security Strategy continued this policy, announcing the end of the combat mission, the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, and continuing efforts to expand Israeli-Arab normalization.

But the American axis to exit the Middle East was temporarily halted indefinitely, when Biden pledged unconditional support for Israel in the wake of the October 7 attack by Hamas. Washington was forced to increase its military presence in the region and spend more than… 22 billion dollars Concerning military aid to the Israeli army and its military operations in support of it. This unconditional commitment to Israel undermines the long-term US strategy of focusing on Russia and China and allocating more military aid to Taiwan, Ukraine, South Korea, and Japan.

Netanyahu first and the United States second

For nearly 15 months, the United States has mobilized its political, diplomatic, economic, and military capabilities to stand behind Israel. It has deployed naval ships, aircraft carriers and troops in the Mediterranean and Red Sea and has engaged in direct military activity in the region to help protect Israel.

On the international stage, it has provided unprecedented support to the Israeli government, attacking and defunding international institutions, undermining the United Nations, and pressuring allies not to budge in the face of public outrage over the genocide. US officials have unreservedly defended Israel’s large-scale war on Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of at least 45,000 civilians, most of them children and women, the displacement of 1.9 million inside the Gaza Strip and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, schools and hospitals.

The United States stood behind Israel when it attacked and destroyed Lebanon, killing more than four thousand people, and when it invaded Syria, occupying more territory in the southern part of the country. It supported Israeli provocations against Iran: the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. It approved the Israeli bombing of Yemen, which caused massive damage to civilian infrastructure and halted the delivery of vital humanitarian aid.

Israel’s uncontrollable aggression has been motivated by Netanyahu, who believes that prolonging and sustaining multiple conflicts, making Israelis feel insecure and pleasing his far-right allies will help him stay in power. Since he is accused of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes, maintaining his position as Prime Minister is the only way for him to enjoy immunity from prosecution. His controversial decision-making has led to a deep political division among various actors within Israel, causing unprecedented societal division.

However, Biden continued to stand by Netanyahu, putting him first – above all US policy priorities in the region.

Unstable area

All of this has thrown the Middle East into a state of turmoil that will have long-lasting effects. The Iranian response to Israeli provocations – twice launching a comprehensive missile attack on Israel – was unprecedented. It pushed the region to the brink of war. Although it currently appears that Tehran would prefer de-escalation, there is no guarantee that another round will not occur between the two arch-enemies, plunging the Middle East into a regional conflict.

Such a war would draw in numerous state and non-state actors, devastate the Gulf states’ economies, and create a political quagmire for Washington.

Even if such a scenario is avoided, uncontrollable Israeli aggression motivates regional actors to arm themselves. The militarization of the region may not be limited to conventional weapons. In May, Kamal Kharazi, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that “if Iran’s existence is threatened, there will be no choice but change.” [Iran’s] Military Doctrine.” That is, the motivation is increasing in Iran to possess nuclear weapons, and so on Public support So.

Years of international negotiations to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program remains peaceful have been thrown out the window due to US support for Netanyahu’s aggressive behavior in the Middle East. This also harms global efforts to combat nuclear proliferation, as other regional powers – including Saudi Arabia and Turkey – may begin to seriously consider nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, global oil and gas supplies remain weak. The Houthis continue their attacks on ships heading to Israel and its allies in the Red Sea, threatening the smooth flow of energy resources and other goods. Their demand to end the war in Gaza was not met.

Bab al-Mandab, where the Houthis operate, along with the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz, are major sea lanes through which approximately 40% of global oil supplies pass. If Netanyahu is allowed to continue escalation in the Middle East, it could lead to major disruptions at these three choke points. The consequences for the United States and the rest of the world would be catastrophic.

Aside from the risks of a regional war and a global economic crisis due to rising oil prices, Biden’s “Netanyahu first” policy threatens the global order. In order to defend and protect Israel, his administration defied resolutions taken by global political platforms such as the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council, and the legal arm of the UN – the International Court of Justice – to stop the war in Gaza.

The United States’ status as the host of the United Nations headquarters and the supposed guarantor of the international legal order and human rights has been exposed as a fallacy. Its behavior erodes the credibility of the post-World War II order it helped create and maintain, and risks causing its collapse.

In short, Biden’s insistence on unconditional support for Israel has been a disaster for American foreign policy. Through his blind faith in an unchangeable alliance, the ailing US president may have dealt the worst blow to US strategic interests in the Middle East in years.

“No apology, nothing,” Biden said in his 1986 speech. “This is the best $3 billion investment we’ve ever made.” As his term draws to a close, perhaps the President of the United States would do well to reflect on his unapologetic stance, which has cost his people billions of dollars in potential investments in social services, and which has destroyed a national security strategy that had been years in the making – all while supporting genocide. committed by Netanyahu.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.