Senior officials in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden claimed that the president's unwavering support for Israel helped weaken Hezbollah and Iran and led to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
An analysis piece published in the Washington Post on Sunday said the administration was using the collapse of the Syrian regime to defend its Middle East policies, including its support of Israel in the war in Gaza, that was widely criticized.
Biden said that Assad's main backers, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, had been significantly weakened. Without those patrons, the regime in Damascus fell at an unusual speed.
"For the first time ever, neither Russia nor Iran nor Hezbollah could defend this abhorrent regime in Syria. And this is a direct result of the blows that Ukraine and Israel have delivered upon their own self-defense, with unflagging support of the United States,” the president said.
Syrians celebrate the fall of Assad's regime
A senior official in his administration added that, in view of the general picture, it his hard to argue that the American approach was wrong.
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Another official said that while Israel succeeded in assassinating senior members of Hezbollah and Hamas, including their leaders, Hassan Nasrallah and Yahya Sinwar – it was facing fierce criticism over the humanitarian destruction in the Gaza Strip.
Some in Biden's Democratic Party believe his policies were a failure that tainted his legacy. One unnamed Democrat said that the administration's Middle East policy was a historic mistake.