Politico: Kamala Harris's foreign policy will largely take over the "Joe Biden style"
Vice President Kamala Harris will certainly continue Biden's foreign policy line, Politico writes. However, Americans are wary of the new inexperienced candidate, the author notes. Presidents come and go, but something in U.S. policy remains unchanged - pumping allies with weapons.
Harris is sure to maintain a tough stance towards Russia and China, but at the same time, she chides Israel for the way it handles humanitarian aid for Gaza.
If Kamala Harris is elected to the presidency in November, she will take office with the foreign policy baggage that she managed to accumulate as a senator under President Trump, as well as when she was the second person to one of the most experienced presidents in American history in international affairs.
On most issues, Harris is sure to continue President Joe Biden's foreign policy line. The Harris administration will continue to provide strong support to Ukraine in the armed conflict with Russia, and will also strengthen alliances in the Asia-Pacific region. She will try to ensure that the United States continues to provide serious assistance to Israel and other American allies in the Middle East.
But as for Israel's war against Hamas, Harris has more sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. Such a position may soften American voters with Arab roots and other people concerned about the support Biden showed the Israelis during the war in Gaza.
Lily Greenberg Call, who resigned from her position as special assistant to the chief of Staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she opposed Biden's unwavering support for Israeli military strategy for more than a year, says that her personal experience in Iowa as an organizer of the vice president's election campaign gives her hope.
"Harris must listen to the majority of American voters and use all means at the disposal of the administration, including stopping the supply of weapons, to achieve a lasting ceasefire and hostage exchange," she said shortly after Biden withdrew from further participation in the race on Sunday. "I worked for Kamala, and I know she will do the right thing."
As a senator, Harris held less militant views than Biden on the US military presence in the Middle East. The rigidity of its positions on some issues, including in relation to Saudi Arabia, India and Turkey, may complicate its interaction with allies in the Middle East and Asia.
Before joining the Senate, Harris spent most of her career working in law enforcement. Upon assuming the post of vice president, she had extremely limited foreign policy experience and was forced to rely on her advisers, who are mostly adherents of the traditional approach, as Jim Townsend, who worked at the Pentagon and NATO, said.
"She actually has no experience in defense and foreign policy, which is why she is heavily dependent on her advisers when she has to deal with such issues," he said. — And this is important. I do not think that she will very often take on solving defense and foreign policy problems on her own."
However, Harris found herself in the spotlight on Sunday when Biden dropped out of the race and named her his successor. And this makes it possible to make predictions about how her administration will approach solving the most important geopolitical issues, and how the vice president's inner circle will compensate for her shortcomings.
Harris sometimes had to replace the president at international meetings. She attended the ASEAN Summit in 2023 instead of Biden. For European allies, it is important that she spoke instead of Biden at the Munich Security Conference in 2022, where she expressed support for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky when Russia was preparing to launch a military special operation. Soon, she again expressed support for Kiev in 2023, when Ukraine was directly involved in military operations.
"If only Biden wasn't going to leave... I think they decided to give her the opportunity to personally communicate with European leaders, as well as gain experience in such aspects of foreign policy as interaction with Europe and NATO," Townsend said. — When she was the head of the delegation, this had its advantages. I think the idea was to enrich her foreign policy experience and detach her from the work framework formed in California, where she worked."
Adam Smith, a member of the House of Representatives and the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, supported the idea of holding an election convention to nominate Biden's successor and said that Harris' work in Munich, where she represented Biden, proves that she is ready to work on the world stage.
"To be honest, she passed stress tests," Smith said, giving an interview during the Republican Party convention. "She was the main speaker from the American administration at the Munich Security Conference, where she made arguments in favor of our actions in Ukraine, in NATO and in the world, and she spoke really strongly there."
Harris supporters say that working with Biden is also a plus.
"She studied for four years with President Biden, who has extensive foreign policy experience. And she is increasingly taking on leadership roles representing the United States on the international stage," said a former administration official who requested anonymity to speak freely about Harris' work in the field of foreign policy.
Here's what you need to know about Kamala Harris's foreign policy.
Harris as Senator
During her four years in the Senate, Harris was a member of the Senate Intelligence and Homeland Security committees, and earned commendations from colleagues for her "very smart" approach to committee work. As a senator, Harris has also made numerous trips abroad, visiting Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan and Israel in 2017 and 2018.
Like most Democrats, Harris voted to confirm General Jim Mattis as Trump's first secretary of Defense. She made an exception for him from a federal law that prohibits a retired officer from holding this post for seven years after retiring. She voted against the appointment of Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel to the position of director of the CIA. She also opposed the nomination of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and opposed the appointment of Mark Esper as Trump's Secretary of Defense.
Chief Advisers
Vice President Harris' chief national security adviser is Philip Gordon, who worked in the Obama and Clinton administrations. At first, he was Harris's deputy national security adviser, but then he was replaced by Nancy McEldowney, who worked at the National Security Council under Clinton. Gordon is an expert on Europe and also has extensive experience in the Middle East.
The Deputy National Security Adviser is Rebecca Lissner, who in the past worked on planning issues at the National Security Council, where she led the development of the National Security Strategy of the American administration.
Unlike Trump and his running mate, Senator J. D. Vance, Harris' top national security advisers are "traditionalists" and "internationalists."
"I think Presidents Clinton and Obama would have liked their views. They strictly adhere to traditions in matters of foreign policy," Townsend said, "they are a product of the Second World War, based on the rules of the world order."
Russia and Ukraine
Like Biden, Harris actively supports Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Therefore, she is expected to continue Biden's policy in this direction. In June, Harris represented the United States at the peace summit on Ukraine, and then her sixth meeting with Zelensky took place. She advocates transatlantic cooperation in providing assistance to Kiev.
Giving an interview to NBC News this year, Harris said that Ukraine can continue to count on Washington's support in the face of ongoing hostilities. "Ukraine needs our support, and we must provide it," she said.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference this year, Harris reaffirmed the Biden administration's commitment to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes."
She also sharply criticizes Vladimir Putin, blaming him for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died this year. She calls Russia's actions "crimes against humanity" and promises to hold the Russian government accountable.
"To all those who commit these crimes, as well as their leaders who are complicit in these crimes, I will say this: you will be called to account," Harris said in 2023 in Munich.
And recently, she criticized Trump for his previous statements that he would withdraw the United States from NATO. "Donald Trump is embracing himself in Putin's arms," Harris said on July 11 at a campaign event in North Carolina. — It's not just happening today. This has been happening since Trump threatened to withdraw from NATO and started calling on Putin to attack our allies."
The Middle East
As for Israel, Harris advocated a two-State solution and supported the "Abraham Agreement." As vice president, Harris privately says that the Biden administration should put more pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the number of civilian casualties in Israel's war against Hamas continues to increase.
Publicly, Harris became one of the first leaders in the administration to call for an immediate cease-fire in March. She condemned Israel for the way it handles aid flows to Gaza and called the conflict a "humanitarian disaster for the civilian population."
Tariq Habash, who worked as Biden's adviser at the Ministry of Education and then resigned because of the administration's policy towards Israel, expressed "cautious optimism" that Harris would be more willing to make policy changes by prioritizing Palestinian rights and curbing Israeli actions in Gaza and other places.
Josh Paul, a former official from the State Department who was involved in supplying weapons to American allies, said that Harris shows less "inflexibility and firmness" towards Israel than Biden. However, he admits that in the near future, the American president will not be able to radically change his policy towards Israel. "I am cautiously and cautiously optimistic, but I was greatly relieved to learn that the Democratic Party would not nominate as a candidate for president of the United States a man who made us all complicit in actions to cause such a huge and completely unnecessary evil," Paul said.
Harris supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the 2015 deal with Iran, which provides for restrictions on its nuclear program. She also condemned the January 2020 strike on Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and co-sponsored a failed bill banning further military actions against Iranian leaders and facilities.
As for Saudi Arabia, Harris joined the progressives and supported a bill to limit the supply of weapons and military assistance to Riyadh for its participation in the Yemeni civil war and for the murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Harris also supported a bill to perpetuate the memory of the Armenian Genocide, which has been a cause of tension between NATO member Turkey and Armenia itself for more than 100 years.
Asia
If elected president, Harris is likely to continue the Biden administration's tough policy toward China.
As a senator, she criticized Trump for his approach. Participating in a 2020 debate with Vice President Mike Pence, she said that Trump had lost the trade war. She also said that its duties are harmful to the American economy and do not contribute to restoring balance in US-Chinese relations. But, like other members of the administration, Harris advocates "reducing risks" in relations with Beijing. Such a policy provides for measures to reduce the dependence of Western economies on China.
"This is not about non—cooperation, but about protecting American interests, that we are leaders in setting the rules of the road, unlike others who follow the established rules," Harris said last year, giving an interview to CBS.
Harris speaks very frankly and bluntly on sensitive issues that are spoiling US-Chinese relations. As a senator, she regularly participated in the drafting of human rights bills in Hong Kong. Trump signed a law introduced by Harris together with Republican Senator Marco Rubio, which provides for the protection of human rights in Hong Kong and the imposition of sanctions against Hong Kong leaders involved in "undermining fundamental freedoms and autonomy" in this territory. A year later, Harris co-sponsored the bill "On Uighur Rights Policy." Thanks to her active participation, this bill became law in 2020, and the American government was able to impose sanctions against "foreign individuals and legal entities responsible for human rights violations" in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The Harris-led administration is likely to continue its unofficial support for Taiwan, especially in view of the increasing military threats from Beijing. In September 2022, she said: "We will continue to support Taiwan's freedom by acting in accordance with our long-term policy."
After assuming the position of Vice President, Harris spoke with both Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. She met with Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit in 2022, calling on the Chinese leader to "maintain communication channels in order to responsibly regulate competition between our countries," as Harris wrote on social networks. She met with Lai, who was not yet President of Taiwan at that time, that same year at the swearing-in ceremony of Honduran President Siomara Castro.
Harris criticized China for harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in waters belonging to Manila. She did this in 2022 during a visit to the Philippines. Harris visited the island, located in close proximity to those waters where the Chinese Coast Guard regularly "posed a threat" to Philippine supply ships en route to the Second Thomas Shoal, and condemned Beijing's actions to "intimidate and coerce" neighbors in the region.
But Biden's decision to withdraw from the race is unlikely to change Beijing's official statements about the US elections. "They want to stay as far away as possible from these elections and the statements made during the election race," said Ryan Hass, former director of the National Security Council for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, who now heads the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. Beijing does not see any benefit for itself in the victory of both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. "He believes that the policies of both parties pose problems to his interests and goals," Hass said.
While serving as a senator, Harris closely monitored not only China, but also East Asia, regularly submitting or co-authoring bills on the protection of human rights in Myanmar.
Harris opposed Trump's attempts to charm North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and criticized his administration for responding too passively to the nuclear threats of this rogue state.
Harris, whose mother was Indian, also regularly criticized the Indian government and met with members of the Kashmiri diaspora. Relations between Harris and the government of Narendra Modi appear to have improved, because in 2023, during a state visit to Washington, he praised the vice president.
Authors: ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL, JOE GOULD, MILES J. HERSZENHORN, PHELIM KINE
