All presidents vacate the White House hoping to be remembered in the history books. Many past holders of the office have succeeded in this endeavour.
Richard Nixon, most remembered for resigning in disgrace after the Watergate scandal, was nonetheless a savvy foreign policy operator who promoted détente with the Soviet Union and turned the page on U.S. relations with China. Jimmy Carter, caricatured as one of America’s worst commanders-in-chief, brokered the Camp David Accords that established peace between Israel and Egypt after multiple wars between them. Ronald Reagan presided over landmark arms control agreements with the Soviet Union; George H W Bush will be remembered for the resounding U.S. victory in Operation Desert Storm. Barack Obama and Donald Trump had their own signature diplomatic initiatives, the Iran nuclear deal and the Abraham Accords respectively.
President Joe Biden’s four years are different. It’s difficult to parse through his record and come away with a memorable foreign policy accomplishment. Asked to name one, Biden’s supporters frequently tout the president’s mastery in alliance building, particularly in Asia, where U.S. relations with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines all improved under his watch. Ties between the U.S. and Germany are far better today than they were four years ago. And to Biden’s credit, U.S. troops are no longer fighting a pointless, unending counterinsurgency against the Taliban in Afghanistan that drained U.S. military resources and distracted Washington from more important national security priorities.
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