Rep. Ilhan Omar on Friday urged President-elect Joe Biden to seize the "tremendous opportunity" he'll have to shift the nation's foreign policy in the Middle East and depart from the approach taken by President Donald Trump, who's "made armed conflict more instead of less likely."
The Minnesota Democrat laid out her plea for a "renewed vision" in an op-ed published at The Nation.
Cataloguing what she framed as the current administration's numerous foreign policy mistakes with regard to Iran, Omar listed Trump's departure from the nuclear deal, the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and escalating economic sanctions.
Omar also took issue with Trump's relationships with some of the world's "most notorious human rights abusers," including Saudi Arabia. She further pointed to the fact that the kingdom is using U.S. weapons to bomb Yemeni civilians.
Also coming in for criticism are the recently brokered purported peace deals with nations including Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Omar said such deals are truly aimed at beefing up the military threat targeting Iran, all while further normalizing Israel's occupation of Palestine.
Biden can embark on a new course that includes holding all human rights abusers to account and backing the call for two-state solution, wrote Omar.
In short, said Omar, "we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reorient our foreign policy away from shortsighted military alliances and toward justice."
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