# Biden, Trump, and Gaza

- Link: https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/2026/11/biden-trump-and-gaza/
- Published: 2026-11-04T12:18:43-05:00

### Akbar Shahid Ahmed & Rosemary Kelanic on why Washington keeps repeating itself in the Middle East

Today, large swaths of the Washington establishment—including advisors to presidents
Biden and Trump—agree that the United States has made many mistakes in its approach
to the Middle East. But course correction is easier said than done. Through a series
of misguided choices, the Biden administration enabled atrocities in Gaza, journalist
Akbar Shahid Ahmed details in his new book _Crossing the Red Line_. And today, President
Trump, who campaigned on pro-peace platform, is at war with Iran. 

In this episode, the [Institute for Global Affairs](https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/)’
Jonathan Guyer is joined by Akbar diplomatic correspondent for _The Washington Sun,_
and Rosemary Kelanic, Middle East program director at Defense Priorities. Together
they discuss the continuity of Gaza policy from Biden to Trump, the lack of accountability
for moral and strategic foreign policy failures, contradictions in the US relationship
with Saudi Arabia, and much more.

**Listen Here:** [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/none-of-the-above/id1460825733)
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**Akbar Shahid Ahmed** is a diplomatic correspondent for _The Washington Sun_. He
was previously the senior diplomatic correspondent for _HuffPost_. He won the 2025
Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Writing and a 2025 New York Press Club Award.
He regularly provides expert commentary for MS NOW, NPR and Democracy Now! and has
also appeared on CNN, BBC, PBS, Al Jazeera English and Arabic, CTV News, WNYC and
other outlets. He is the author of _Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, 
and Israel’s War in Gaza_ (W. W. Norton, 2026).

**Rosemary Kelanic** is the director of the Middle East program at Defense Priorities.
She is an expert on energy security, great power politics, and US grand strategy
in the Middle East. Her work has appeared in outlets ranging from _Foreign Affairs_
and _Security Studies_ to _The New York Times_ and _The Washington Post_. She is
the author of _Black Gold and Blackmail: Oil and Great Power Politics_ (Cornell 
University Press, 2020) and co-editor of _Crude Strategy: Rethinking the U.S. Military
Commitment to Defend Persian Gulf Oil_ (Georgetown University Press, 2016). 

Find Akbar on X: [https://x.com/AkbarSAhmed](https://x.com/AkbarSAhmed)  

Find Rosemary on X: [https://x.com/RKelanic](https://x.com/RKelanic)