Former President Joe Biden’s foreign policy team entered office promising the adults were back in charge. What transpired was cringe-worthy incompetence symbolized by the deadly chaos at Kabul International Airport. Biden’s administration was relatively short, but it coincided with Iranian enrichment to near bomb-grade levels, normalization of Hamas as a legitimate entity with which to negotiate, and gratuitous bashing of decadeslong partners such as Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Amos Hochstein, a special envoy who could never receive Senate confirmation, actively sought to appease and empower Hezbollah. Israelis believe that Hochstein shared intelligence with Hezbollah to protect the group against Israeli military strikes. Hochstein, whose background as an energy lobbyist created numerous conflicts of interest, also sought to undermine Israel-Cyprus-Greece cooperation in favor of Turkey.