Tracing the Architecture of U.S. Policy in Gaza Through Inside Accounts
In his new book, Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisers, and Israel’s War in Gaza, journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed examines the foundational decisions made by the Biden administration regarding the Middle East. Based on interviews with more than 150 officials and others involved in shaping the Biden administration’s policies, the book explores how the policies established during Joe Biden’s presidency set the stage for subsequent escalations under Donald Trump, including the unprecedented blockade on Gaza and a broader tolerance of violence in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.
Speaking with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, Ahmed detailed why many government officials who contributed to his reporting chose to remain anonymous. Fear of reprisal and pushback from pro-Israel hard-liners created an environment where career jobs, intelligence positions, and even cabinet-level figures were reluctant to attach their names to the historical record, despite privately questioning the administration’s trajectory.
A Small Circle of Power and Reduced Presidential Engagement
Ahmed’s reporting highlights a distinct concentration of authority within the White House during the final year of Biden’s presidency. Surrounded by a small inner circle—including Secretary of State Tony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, and Middle East adviser Brett McGurk—the administration approached Gaza policy differently than other international crises like Ukraine or Sudan.
According to the officials interviewed in the book, President Biden—a longtime professed Zionist whose engagement decreased during the final stretch of his presidency—and his top aides routinely bypassed traditional interagency debate. While public statements emphasized a desire to avoid regional war, the administration continued sending weapons and troops that enabled Israeli military escalations. Meanwhile, key architects of these policies, such as McGurk and Sullivan, faced few professional consequences, contrasting sharply with the career risks borne by dissenting staffers.
The Limits of Internal Dissent and Accountability
The book also examines internal resistance, noting that figures like Samantha Power, Biden’s USAID chief and author of a book on genocide, occasionally pushed for alternative approaches. However, Ahmed notes that aside from Power, few officials were willing to resign in protest or publicly criticize their colleagues’ choices.
Ahmed argues that breaking the cycle of mass civilian casualties requires U.S. officials to fundamentally alter their approach to complicity and institutional loyalty. Without a willingness to challenge established frameworks from within, the trajectory of American foreign policy in the region remains bound to the precedents set by the Biden team—precedents that continue to shape the political and humanitarian reality in Gaza and the wider Middle East.
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