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Commentary
Wall Street Journal

US Foreign Policy Wanders Aimlessly

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis demonstrate in Sanaa, Yemen, on June 14, 2024. (Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Caption
Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis demonstrate in Sanaa, Yemen, on June 14, 2024. (Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Giorgia Meloni was the winner of last week’s Group of Seven meeting. Whether giving French President Emmanuel Macron the stink eye or stitching up a deal to increase Italy’s clout in the European Union, the Italian prime minister had a good summit. Once stigmatized as a neofascist from the fringes of Europe’s hard right, Ms. Meloni has firmly entrenched herself at the center of European politics. She has become a role model for figures like Marine Le Pen in France, and the European Union seems to be moving in Ms. Meloni’s direction on issues like migration and climate change.

Joe Biden, by contrast, is struggling. While administration supporters denounced what they called a cropped and misleading video of a befuddled-looking president wandering across the lawn, the image aptly depicted the state of an American foreign policy that has largely lost its way.

Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal.