Editorial: Will Joe Biden repeat Barack Obama’s mistake?


A shell from Israeli artillery explodes over a house in al-Bustan, a South Lebanese border village with Israel on Oct 15. — AP

MORE than 11 years ago, Barack Obama drew his “red line” in the sand. Will the Biden administration make the same mistake?

It was August 2012 when Obama, running for a second term in the Oval Office, held a news conference and fielded a question about the ongoing civil war in Syria. The president said that he had so far avoided US military intervention but that his calculations would change if Syria crossed a “red line” and used chemical weapons.

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