Biden`s administration is sustaining a different Middle East policy from Trump. Biden is considered to be the spiritual successor to Obama, his former commander-in-chief, but his style, approach and worldview differ in significant ways.
With President Joe Biden taking over the reins of the US government, the Middle East is experiencing a shift in power dynamics as regional rivals apper to be willing to put aside their political differences and deescalate long-standing tensions. Recently, capitals in the Middle East, ranging from Cairo to Ankara and Riyadh to Tehran, have announced their intentions to normalize their relations with each other. `For decades the US has been the ultimate arbiter between regional powers in the Middle East, shaping its politics` says Mithat Rende, Turkey`s former ambassador to Qatar.
Biden`s administration wants to secure Middle East preventing other major powers like Russia and China from using rivalries to infiltrate the region. His administration has recomited Washington to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, but is in no rush to help resolve it. Biden has endorsed former president Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and a push for normalizing ties between Israel and Middle East Gulf Arab states.
On the other hand, Biden has removed Patriot missiles from the region, curtailed B-52 shows of force against Iran, and is preparing to bring home U.S. aircraft carriers after decades of dangerous Gulf deployments. In addition, of course, Biden is ending what he himself called the "forever war" in Afganistan. U.S. spokespeople say that the United States are not abandoning the Middle East, but every redeployment of troops is interpreted as a diplomatic move. Just as with the denial of the waiver for the U.S. oil company in Syria, Biden's decision on troop reductions in Saudi Arabia and Irak are being depicted as moves aimed at fostering a new nuclear agreement with Iran and showing Tehran that the United States seeks no military conflict with it.
In general, the tendency of President Biden, much like his predecessors, is to pivot away from the Middle East, minimize direct investment in leadership attention, military involvement and funding, and instead focus on the long list of more pressing and more important issues for the United States, such as recovering from Covid-19, the sour relations with China and Russia, climate change etc. When it comes to the Middle East, Biden follows the general principles of his worldview and some overarching rules and tries to keep everybody in his base of support happy.
It is also said that the US is often described as the most difficult of partners. The current anxiety felt by many Arabs is justified in light of recent history and rising voices within the Democratic Party. But for all the talk about the rise of China, the return of Russia and diversifying foreign policy options from the U.S., America remains the only indispensable power in the region.