, Columnist
The Middle East May Surprise Biden. He's Ready
President Trump strengthened the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East. Biden can improve things, but only on the margins.
Old hands, new deal.
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In the summer of 1973, the newly elected Senator Joseph Biden made his first foreign trip to Israel. He met Prime Minister Golda Meir and was “awestruck.” To this day, he calls it “one of the most consequential and memorable meetings of my life.”
The senator and I had a far less consequential meeting over dinner one night in Jerusalem. He’d spent the day in the West Bank and wanted to talk about it. I was a former West Bank staff officer in the Israeli army, around his age and a fellow American speaker. A senior official hooked us up.