THE WASHINGTON POST: Biden’s final UN speech to tout alliances even as conflicts brew

President Joe Biden will use his final address before world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to once again champion the value of alliance-building, even as collective efforts have been strained by the grinding war in Ukraine and a Middle East conflict threatening to envelop the region.

Still, the American president will pitch collective action as the solution to emerging concerns, from climate change to artificial intelligence and synthetic drugs, according to senior administration officials who requested anonymity to detail his plans.

Biden will call for strengthening and expanding international institutions - including the UN Security Council - and tell member states that major challenges, from development to refugee crises, are best solved together.

Making that message resonate across the deep divides present among delegates in the assembly hall - or a US electorate just six weeks from Election Day - will be a steep challenge for a diminished president.

Biden will address the leaders of European nations exhausted by two and a half years of conflict in Ukraine, and Middle Eastern countries bracing for full-on war as Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah in Lebanon trade cross-border strikes. In Gaza, a US-brokered cease-fire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas also appears elusive, with neither side showing enough willingness to compromise.

Domestically, Biden has become a political afterthought after his decision over the summer to exit the presidential race, amid growing concern over his acuity. Allies and competitors alike are awaiting what kind of America they might deal with at next year’s summit.

It’s against that backdrop that Biden aides say he will seek converts to the cause of his presidency - supporting and growing democratic institutions, multilateral alliances, and preserving the rule of law.

Intense diplomacy has been a priority for the Biden-Harris administration, which spent much of its time and effort getting like-minded countries to counter-balance authoritarian regimes and their influence. Biden is especially proud that he successfully managed the competitive relationship with China, one of the senior administration officials said.

The president will use the speech to tout an international global coalition that has worked to address the illicit manufacturing of synthetic drugs. US officials will seek to rally other nations behind efforts to address rising sea levels, antimicrobial assistance, and ensuring LGBTQ+ rights, as well as providing Africa two permanent seats on the Security Council.

Yet even as Biden is tailoring remarks for a global audience, his domestic intentions appeared clear. His administration’s foreign policy vision is an implicit contrast with the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, whose presidency was colored by an isolationist foreign policy and a stated willingness to withdraw the US from defense agreements and start trade wars with other nations.

Trump has declined to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying only that the conflict must end and he would work to do so before he even enters office, if he wins in November.

Still, the limits of Biden’s foreign policy doctrine have become apparent as wars have tested popular support for some of Biden’s critical partnerships.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, pledged to maintain US support for Ukraine if she’s elected, but has tried to slightly distance herself from Biden on the war in Gaza, frequently mentioning the suffering of the Palestinian people and reminding Israel that its conduct of war matters.

Biden is not scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also plans to be in New York this week - though aides pointed out that informal pull-asides often happen on the margins of the larger meetings.

Victory Plan

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grueling invasion of Ukraine has also divided US voters, with some Republicans increasingly questioning the nearly $175 billion in aid that Congress has approved so far for Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday will present Biden and Harris with a “victory plan” to end the war. His proposal comes with some demands, including another push to join NATO and a commitment from Biden to a sustained supply of advanced weapons.

The Ukrainian leader has described the plan as a blueprint for how to force Putin to seek peace. Kyiv has also worried that a cease-fire without clear guarantees would leave Russia free to strike again after re-arming.

The White House has been wary of providing - or allowing the use of - long-range weapons for Ukraine to strike inside Russia, out of fear the war will escalate and directly draw in NATO countries.

Zelenskiy on Sunday toured an ammunition depot in Scranton, Pennsylvania - where Biden was born - in a diplomatic effort to attract more support.

The Ukrainian president has repeatedly criticized his western partners for delays in promised military aid. The Scranton plant produces 155mm artillery shells used in howitzer weapons systems, some of the most-needed munitions for Ukraine’s fight to deter the Russian troops.

Zelenskiy told reporters he would also present his plan to Trump, but the Republican nominee so far has not confirmed that the two will meet.

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