In Speech, Biden Boasts About Peace — Then Justifies Israel’s Attacks on Lebanon

In his final address to the UN General Assembly as the U.S. president on Tuesday, Biden boasted about working for peace and deescalation through his administration, walking through historic conflicts that he claimed he opposed.

He struck an almost anti-war tone as he bragged about withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and, ironically, opposing South African apartheid in his younger years. He also spoke extensively about the U.S.’s use of the UN charter to support Ukraine and the need for global powers to end Russia’s invasion. He then called for world order, saying that “the center has held” and that global chaos has been averted, referencing a famous William Butler Yeats poem.

But Biden suspended his dovish talk when he spoke about the Middle East and Israel’s massacres — for which the U.S. has undermined humanitarian standards at every turn. While Biden dubiously claimed that his administration is working steadfastly to achieve peace in the Middle East, he invoked the October 7 attack led by Hamas forces — which officials have raised repeatedly in the past year to provide justification for Israel’s genocide.