Biden and 'Decades No Change'

Gaza and Palestine have made their way on the presidential duel canvas. As Joe Biden passed on the baton to his vice president Kamala Harris in Chicago, hundreds and thousands of protesters were rewriting the new agenda of America's Middle East foreign policy. As a déjà vu from the early history slogans of 'No Representation, No Vote," the marchers in Illinois near the Democratic National Convention in a 1.8km packed path chanted, "No justice, no peace, US out of the Middle East." It was an epoch-making moment as the entire focus of the electorate, irrespective of race and religion, was to 'free Palestine'. The pressure on the streets solicited instant acknowledgement from President Biden, as he said, "…the protesters out on the street have a point, …as a lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides."

The Democrats' convention also saw a movement and a hashtag take roots, as protesters cried, "Decades No Change (DNC)", which is likely to seal the fate of foreign policy, at least in the Mideast context. Perhaps that is why the beleaguered president made it a point by uttering that a US-brokered ceasefire, which has so far proved elusive, was necessary. Those expressions seemed to be more for a vote-grabbing gesture, as Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Egypt has a completely different posture, and his rubbing of shoulders with Arab leaders had a sorry figure to cut as he went on to blame Hamas for "not being sincere" in furthering a ceasefire. Period. That is what Mideast policy is, and shall remain so at the behest of appeasing a war-mongering Israel.

Harris and Donald Trump have an opportunity in disaster to reset America's tone in the volatile region. Pledging a Two-State Solution is indispensable as Israel is out to annex the remaining portions of West Bank and Gaza in pursuit of a Greater Jewish State. That is an antithesis of Westphalian statehood, and norms of International Law in the post-World War II connotation. Will the US continue to stick to colonialism when it comes to Arab lands, and preach freedom values across the Atlantic?