Joe Biden

By Camille Elhassani in Middle East on February 12th, 2011
Photo by EPA

 With every step of the crisis in Egypt, US President Barack Obama has been cautious in his comments, walking the fine line between being on the right side of history and not appearing to dictate the outcome.  In his comments after Mubarak stepped down, Obama reiterated the message that Egypt's future will be determined by Egyptians. "By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people’s hunger for change.  But this is not the end of Egypt’s transition.  It’s a beginning," the president said.

But despite his comments on Friday, throughout the crisis, Obama left himself open to the charge that his administration has been inconsistent in its approach.

Two days after the first protests in Cairo, vice-president Joe Biden said he wouldn't refer to Mubarak as a dictator.

By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on February 8th, 2011

File 6121

By Camille Elhassani in Americas, Europe on November 16th, 2010
Photo: EPA

As the US Congress makes its to-do list for the last few weeks of the year, one piece of legislation that is not likely to be on it is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as START.  The White House has been pressing the Senate to ratify the treaty with Russia which would reduce both countries' nuclear arsenals and deployment systems.  

The Senate Republican tasked with negotiating with the Obama administration threw cold water on the treaty on Tuesday. 

Jon Kyl put out a statement saying he didn't think START would be considered this term, "given the combination of other work Congress must do and the complex and unresolved issues related to START and modernisation".  Republicans have been pressing for a multi-billion dollar modernisation of the US nuclear arsenal. 

Kyl's statement means the treaty will likely be shelved for the year.

That means next year, the ratification process will begin all over again in the Se

By Camille Elhassani in Americas on October 26th, 2010

With less than one week to go before voters line up at precincts across the nation to cast their ballots for congress, candidates and their surrogates are blasting the airwaves and rallies because in races this tight, every vote counts. But a new poll out by Gallup found the widest enthusiasm gap among voters since the 1994 wave swept 54 Democrats out of office in the House of Representatives.

Bill Clinton was president then, and is trying this year to prevent a repeat of 1994. He's barnstorming across the country for embattled Democrats. By November 2, Election Day Clinton will have made more than 100 campaign stops. Vice-President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama continue their efforts as well.

Republicans have Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain out on the stump in places like California and West Virginia. And Sarah Palin continues to put her muscle behind Tea Party candidates.

By Camille Elhassani in Americas on August 16th, 2010

On a hot day in the small town of Wyoming, Delaware, politicians were trying to persuade potential voters at the annual Peach Festival.
  

In a state with only 875,000 people, an estimated 6,000 of them showed up for the annual affair. So naturally anyone seeking political office in the November election was there with a smile and handshake.

By Clayton Swisher in Americas, Middle East on April 25th, 2010
Photo by AFP
From my Doha perch it's easy to avoid the whole "dual loyalty" debate currently raging in Washington.  That does not mean that as a reporter I have shied away from raising it where appropriate. 
 
But in case anyone missed it, there has been a growing argument in recent weeks among Washington policy wonks over this very issue, with scathing editorial salvos fired between the formidable Harvard Professor Stephen Walt and the pro-Israel Washington Institute's equally outspoken Robert Satloff. 
 
By John Terrett in Americas on March 14th, 2010
beitar.jpg
 
“I think the message was received” 
 
That's the Senior Adviser to President Barack Obama, David Axelrod, keeping up the pressure on the Israeli government after it punctured Vice-President Joe Biden’s peace mission to the Middle East last week by announcing hundreds of new Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. 
 
On nationwide TV in the US on Sunday morning Axelrod didn't mince his words on NBC's "Meet The Press:"
 
By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on March 12th, 2010
Photo by AFP

Poor Joe Biden. He's come to deliver the good news: The US is back in the Israeli fold and will continue to have boots on the ground in the Middle East. And what does he get in return? A shoe in the face.

The Israeli interior ministry's announcement of 1,600 new housing units (apparently part of 50,000 units in the long term) in East Jerusalem settlements, hurled at the vice president during his visit to Israel, provoked a political storm and outright condemnation, leading to a clumsy apology from the prime minister.

Unlike Iraq, Israel is anything but occupied by America, but its leaders have been terribly preoccupied by the Obama administration.

The US president's appearance of neutrality at the outset of his first year, as expressed in his Cairo and Ankara speeches, and his administration's pressure on Israel to freeze the illegal settlements, have for all practical purpose, ruined his chances with the Israeli Right.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on March 11th, 2010
Photo from AFP

The US vice president's visit to Israel has to a large degree clarified the Middle East imperatives of the Barack Obama administration in its second year.
 
Joe Biden's cornerstone speech at Tel Aviv University is a major downgrade and retreat from the bold commitments made by President Obama in Turkey and Egypt.
 
The two-part speech will no doubt be read selectively. Israeli leadership will underline the appeasement, commitment and support in the first two-thirds of the speech, whilst the Palestinian leadership will emphasise the overtures and support for independence made in the last third.
 
The first part underlines the Obama administration's and Biden's own adulation and commitment towards Israel. It checks all the boxes.
 

By John Terrett in Americas on February 14th, 2010
As NATO troops and the Afghan military battle the Taliban in Helmand, their political masters are fighting to win the hearts and minds of Americans by taking to the TV airwaves - in particular the influential Sunday political broadcasts. 
 
Vice President Joe Biden was on NBC's "Meet The Press," outlining what the Obama administration hopes to achieve with the latest offensive.
 

Al Jazeera Live

What's Hot


Recent Comments

This work is licensed under Creative Commons. Please read our attribution policy.