It is a strategic turning point from the Trump era. Joe Biden announced, Thursday, February 4, the end of American support for operations in the war in Yemen.
“We are stepping up our diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen, a war that has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe”, he said in his first foreign policy speech, which he gave at the State Department headquarters. “This war must end”, he hammered. “And to underline our determination, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including arms sales”, he added.
In contrast, Washington will continue its targeted operations against al-Qaeda jihadists in the Arabian Peninsula.
Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition accused of numerous blunders against civilians in this war it is waging alongside the Yemeni government against Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
This campaign promise is part of a more comprehensive review of American policy in the Middle East. It also provides for a review of the inclusion of Houthis on the American blacklist of “Terrorist organizations”, another measure taken in extremis by the former government but criticized because it threatens the delivery of aid to Yemen, which is, according to the UN, the scene of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Nothing on the Iran nuclear deal
The Houthis hailed the end of American involvement. “We hope this will be the start of a decision to end the war in Yemen”Hamid Assem, political leader of the insurgents in Sanaa, told AFP.
This decision could also be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill by Iran, which is preparing to enter into complex negotiations with the United States to save the Iran nuclear deal, from which Donald Trump had announced the withdrawal. “Is the United States ready to cut back the hundreds of billions of dollars in arms it sells in our region? Are they ready to end the massacre of children in Yemen? “, was questioned earlier this week, the head of Iranian diplomacy, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on CNN International.
Although the return to the 2015 agreement is seen as a “Critical priority” by the White House, Joe Biden did not mention it in his speech. A little earlier, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser of the United States, had confined himself to evoking discussions with the Europeans to forge “A united front”.
The 46e President of the United States has also confirmed that he will “Stop” the partial withdrawal of American troops from Germany, for a period of “Global re-examination of posture” forces deployed abroad entrusted to the Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin. Last June, Donald Trump announced that he wanted to greatly reduce them to 25,000 soldiers. This decision had caused a stir within the American political class as well as in Europe, where the allies of Washington, Berlin in particular, were abused during the four years of mandate of the former president.
“America is back”
“America is back, diplomacy is back”Joe Biden said in front of American diplomats, before a more political speech. “We are going to rebuild our alliances”, he again promised.
He defended the classic values of American diplomacy, promotion of democracy and human rights, abandoned, according to him, by Donald Trump. And to illustrate this “Return” of “Moral leadership” on the international scene, he announced that the United States would welcome 125,000 refugees as of next year under the resettlement program, an eight-fold increase from the 15,000 accepted this year, which had never been accepted. so few.
During his speech, Joe Biden also promised to counter “Authoritarianism” from both China and Russia, insisting on his desire to mark the break with Donald Trump against Moscow. The United States must “To be there in the face of the advance of authoritarianism, in particular the growing ambitions of China and Russia’s desire to weaken our democracy”, he said from the State Department. “I made it clear to President Putin, in a very different way from my predecessor, that the time when the United States submitted to Russia’s aggressive acts (…) is over”, he added. However, he remained silent on the concrete measures promised by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, to make ” accountable “ in Moscow.
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, has also mentioned “Poisoning” Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny during his first telephone conversation with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, whom he also called for the release of two Americans detained in Russia, Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed.
