Joe Biden at the UN: The Palestinian state is the “best way” to resolve the conflict with Israel | A message to convince allies inside and outside the United States

From Washington, DC

Technology, pandemic, climate change. During his debut before the United Nations General Assembly, United States President Joe Biden summed up what he sees as the main global challenges. He listed them in a speech that had one main objective: to convince the allies that the North American country continues to have world leadership. He emphasized the idea of ​​”unity” and sought to pit his government against that of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

In his speech of just over 15 minutes, Biden mentioned the word “future” 22 times. “Climate” and “challenges” also played a preponderant role in his speech. Of the need for “Defeat COVID-19 everywhere” to “face difficult weather conditions”, The president insisted on expressions such as “together”, “partners” and “allies” to designate the way the North American country wants “to intend” to work. “There is a fundamental truth of the 21st century in each of our countries and how global community: that our own success is linked to the success of others too ”, declared the head of state.

Afghanistan

Biden said that during his tenure he had “made it a priority to rebuild” US alliances, “revitalize” relations with partners and “recognize that they are essential and central” to the country. A focus that had already manifested itself in other multilateral forums, but which contrasts with the reality of recent months: the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was almost unilateral.

In the assembly, Biden defended the decision to repatriate troops and end 20 years of armed conflict in the Asian country. “I stand here today, for the first time in 20 years, without the United States at war,” he said, despite the fact that the United States military continues in Iraq and the use of armed forces continue to be authorized by an act of Congress.

“The military might of the United States should be our last resort, not our first, and it should not be used as an answer to all the problems we see in the world,” insisted the president. The intervention will come by other means, according to his speech. “We bring this period of ruthless war to a close and usher in a new era of relentless diplomacy, of using the power of our development assistance to invest in new ways of uplifting people around the world.” Tenuous.

Cold War

“We are not looking for a new cold war or a world divided into rigid blocs,” Biden stressed, but his speech revealed who the implicit rivals are. “We will work with our democratic partners to ensure that further advances in different areas, from biotechnology to quantum computing, 5G, artificial intelligence and more is used to uplift people, to solve problems and advance human freedom, not to suppress dissent or target minorities, ”he said. The United States has for years tried to prevent technology developed in China from entering countries it considers allies. “We reserve the right to respond decisively to cyber attacks that threaten our people, our allies or our interests,” added the president. Russia and China are the two countries that the North American country denounces as responsible for the recent cyber attacks against companies and agencies of the American government.

The other contrast that Biden sought to mark without naming him is closer: the differences with the administration that Trump led until January of this year. The American president talks about the future, but is responsible for showing the change with each intervention. He spoke about the country “Reaffirmed” its attachment to NATO, that it has “renewed” the relationship with the European Union, that it has “returned to the table” in international forums and that is back at the World Health Organization, an organization Trump had withdrawn from during the pandemic. “We came back to Paris Agreement and we run to get a place in the Human Rights Council next year at the UN, ”he said.

Pandemic

Biden pointed out that the United States has “More than $ 15 billion” in the global response to the coronavirus and shipped “over 160 million doses” of the vaccine to other countries. He also insisted on the need to invest in “green infrastructure” and “continue to increase” the “collective ambition” to limit global warming.

“We will lead together with allies and partners and in cooperation with all who believe, like us, that we can meet these challenges and build a future that uplifts all of our people and preserve this planetHe said of the end of his speech.

Other speeches

Biden’s debut did not catch the attention of previous U.S. leaders. With a hybrid model, this UN General Assembly, the second in the event of a pandemic, does not have the movement and figures of other years. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend and sent his chancellor in his place. Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke through a recorded message. He announced that the Asian giant would not build new coal-fired power plants abroad and called for “practicing true multilateralism”.

Some absences are also due to American diplomacy itself: the French president, Emmanuel Macron, He remained in his country amid the scandal over the military deal between the United States and Australia, whereby the Pacific nation canceled a million dollar purchase of submarines from France.