Obama’s attempts to shift the United States’ strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific, the so-called “pivot” was criticized for being under-resourced and incoherent, though many current key defense programs and diplomatic initiatives grew out of that effort.

Today, the Biden administration is working to complete that transition away from America’s so-called “forever wars” toward China and the Pacific.

A defense advisor close to President Joe Biden told Politico that the administration is trying to shift its focus away from the Middle East, which has consumed the United States’ attention for two decades .But while Biden has called China the United States’ “most serious” competitor, a sentiment echoed by his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Pentagon finds the Middle East tough to quit.

Source Link: https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/the-asia-pacific-is-bidens-top-security-priority/