WHEN Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, US President Joe Biden and his top foreign policy and national security advisers were prepared. They were aware of Russia’s intentions and capabilities and could quickly come up with an effective strategic and economic response.

The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, came out of the blue, at a time when the White House believed that there wasn’t any major threat to stability in the Middle East and was expecting a process of normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. No one expected a new Arab-Israeli war.

Suddenly President Biden was confronted with a conflict in the Middle East involving numerous regional players, including US ally Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran and its regional proxies that challenge American power.