Biden’s international achievements are Trump’s opportunities

As Joe Biden’s presidency enters its final month, one way to assess his foreign policy legacy is to look at how America’s adversaries are doing. And the answer, almost overwhelmingly, is poorly. The “axis of upheaval” — Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — is in much worse shape than it was four years ago. Some of this is good luck, but some is the product of good strategy and painstaking work. In any event, this new reality offers some real opportunities for President-elect Donald Trump to make significant gains over the next year.

Iran might be in its weakest state in decades. During those decades, the Islamic republic developed a careful and complex asymmetrical strategy to undermine the U.S.-led security structure in the Middle East. Iran funded an array of militant groups — from Hezbollah to the Houthis to Hamas — as well as the Syrian government, to keep Israel, plus Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states, on edge. That strategy is now in tatters. Israel’s attacks have devastated Hamas and Hezbollah and weakened Iran. Without those pillars of support, and with Russia distracted, Assad’s regime collapsed.

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