Khalil Comments on Secretary of State Blinken’s Latest Middle East Trip in Al Jazeera Article

January 18, 2024

Al Jazeera

Osamah F. Khalil

History Department

International Relations Undergraduate Program

Middle Eastern Studies Program

Conflict

Federal

International Affairs

Middle East & North Africa

United States

Al Jazeera

Osamah F. Khalil

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently concluded his fourth trip to the Middle East since the Israeli–Palestinian conflict began. Much of the attention was on the U.S.’s continued support of Israel, as it continues its months-long military campaign in Gaza.

Analysts describe the latest tour as an attempt at “face-saving,” as Blinken sought to walk a fine line between exerting influence over Israel and failing to publicly exercise any real leverage.

Blinken’s latest trip to the Middle East is fundamentally “performative,” according to Osamah Khalil, professor of history and expert on Middle East politics.

“There is a face-saving domestic consumption element for [the Biden administration] and a separate face-saving element to allow Israel to claim some kind of victory,” Khalil says.

Read more in the Al Jazeera article, “‘Still no endgame’ as Blinken concludes latest Middle East tour: Analysts.”