President Joe Biden used his final speech to the United Nations to celebrate his defense of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and his work to restore America’s global alliances, but he also warned that the advances of his administration could easily fall apart if the United States returns to isolationism.
In an address of a little more than 20 minutes to the UN General Assembly, Biden ticked through the high points of his nearly four years in office, citing a list of challenges he faced and the responses he organised. But he stopped short of assessing how he did in what he has described as the central challenge of his time: ensuring that democracy wins out over autocracy.
Not surprisingly, Biden focused heavily on the US and the West’s response to the Ukraine invasion, declaring that the United States an its allies, chiefly NATO, had “ensured the survival of Ukraine as a free nation.” But he also acknowledged that Ukraine’s power to hold off Russia could be fleeting.
“We cannot grow weary, we cannot look away,” he declared, in what may be his last opportunity to rally global support behind a conflict that has played a central role in his presidency.
On Thursday, Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and will come under new pressure to let Ukraine use American long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory — a step he has resisted, fearing it would put the United States into direct conflict with one of its two major nuclear-armed adversaries.
While Zelenskyy will soon speak to the General Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin, will not; Russia is being represented by its longtime foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Nor is China’s president, Xi Jinping, coming to the annual event, meaning that the two other major powers confronting the United States during Biden’s presidency will be barely heard.
Still, there was a valedictory tone to Biden’s address; he referred to his 50 years of public service and the lessons he has learned, including that “things can get better,” he said, citing everything from the recovery from the Vietnam War to the world’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet he also acknowledged that his time is short — he has only a few months left to tackle a series of grave global crises and there is a significant risk that his vision of global alliances will be abandoned if his predecessor, Donald Trump, reassumes office in four months.
“I truly believe we’re in another inflection point in our history,” he said, repeating a line he has used often during his presidency. “The choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come.”
He made only the most general references to the latest outbreak of violence between Israel and Hezbollah, even though Israel’s ferocious shelling of the terrorist group — and the mounting civilian casualties — were underway in Lebanon as he spoke.
He referred instead to the civilian casualties. “They didn’t ask for this war,” Biden said of the tens of thousands killed in the Gaza Strip, a mix of Hamas militants and those caught in the crossfire. He reiterated the need to for Hamas and Israel to sign on to his cease-fire and hostage plan. But today, that agreement seems further away than ever, with the opening of a major new front in Lebanon.