The Biden administration is on the verge of unveiling a "big, bold doctrine" in the Middle East that would have at its core a two-state solution that would benefit from a scaled-up security alliance with Saudi Arabia, New York Times opinion writer Thomas Friedman wrote.
The third track of this strategy, dubbed the "Biden Doctrine" by Friedman, would also include a "strong and resolute stand on Iran, including a robust military retaliation against Iran's proxies and agents in the region."
But at the heart of this strategy, Friedman posits, is "an unprecedented U.S. diplomatic initiative to promote a Palestinian state — NOW."
"It would involve some form of U.S. recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel," Friedman wrote in the piece, published Wednesday.
Friedman wrote that the terrorist group Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has forced a "fundamental rethinking" about the region within the Biden administration. Part of this rethinking, Friedman wrote, places a large chunk on Israel for Iran's ability to operate with impunity — through its proxies — in the region.
"It signals an awareness that the U.S. will never have the … allies it needs to take on Iran in a more aggressive manner unless we stop letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold our policy hostage and we start building a credible, legitimate Palestinian Authority that can one day govern Gaza and the West Bank effectively and as a good neighbor to Israel along final borders they would negotiate together," Friedman wrote.
"… We have tolerated a Netanyahu government that is out to permanently prevent any form of Palestinian statehood, even to the point of bolstering Hamas against the Palestinian Authority for many years to ensure that there would be no unified Palestinian partner," Friedman added.
In addition to drawing an equivalency of culpability between Israel and Iran, Friedman wrote that Israel "is losing on three fronts," including "the narrative war over Gaza."
"Even though Hamas murdered and raped Israelis, it is Israel that has gotten hauled before the International Court of Justice in The Hague for the civilian casualties it has caused in Gaza while trying to root out Hamas fighters who embedded among civilians," he wrote.
Luckily for Israel, Friedman wrote, the "Biden Doctrine" is coming to "force a reckoning" in the Middle East.
"It could deter Iran both militarily and politically — by taking away the Palestinian card from Tehran. It could promote Palestinian statehood on terms consistent with Israeli security and, simultaneously, create the conditions for normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia on terms Palestinians can embrace," Friedman wrote.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.