^{U.S. President Joe Biden addresses world leaders during the U.N. General Assembly at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City on Sept. 24, 2024 in New York City. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.}

By Andrew Bernard

U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his final address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, describing to world leaders the “sweep of history” he has seen over the course of his career as an elected official.

The 81-year-old touted his accomplishments in office while noting that his half-century of involvement in American foreign affairs was drawing to a close.

“I was first elected to office in the United States of America as a U.S. senator in 1972,” Biden said. “Back then, we were living through an inflection point, a moment of tension and uncertainty.”

“I truly believe we’re in another inflection point in world history,” he said.

Biden devoted about three minutes of his nearly 25-minute-long speech to the Middle East, Israel and Gaza.

Speaking just days before the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, he called on world leaders not to “flinch from the horrors” of that day.

“Any country would have the right and responsibility to ensure that such an attack could never happen again,” Biden said. “Thousands of armed Hamas terrorists invaded a sovereign state, slaughtering and massacring more than 1,200 people, including 46 Americans in their home and at a music festival. Despicable acts of sexual violence. Two-hundred and fifty innocents taken hostage.”

“I’ve met with the families of those hostages. I’ve grieved with them. They’re going through hell,” he continued. “Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell. Thousands and thousands killed, including aid workers. Too many families dislocated, crowding in the tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation. They did not ask for this war that Hamas started.”

Biden called on Israel and Hamas to accept the ceasefire-for-hostages that he first outlined in May and that has stalled ever since. He said that the deal would ease suffering in the Gaza Strip and result in greater security for Israel, a Gaza “free from Hamas’s grip” and bring an end to the war. 

The terms of the deal that the administration has previously outlined do not include removing Hamas from power.

Biden added that a diplomatic solution was “the only path” to resolve the Israel-Lebanon border crisis, and he also pressed for the creation of a Palestinian state.

“We must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution,” the president said. “Where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors. Where Palestinians live in security, dignity and self-determination in a state of their own.”

He claimed that progress towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians would make it easier to confront the threat posed by Iran and said that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon.

^{U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the U.N. General Assembly’s 79th session in New York City on Sept. 24, 2024. Credit: Laura Jarriel/U.N. Photo.}

‘I love my country more’

Most of Biden’s speech, however, was devoted to other conflicts and developments ranging from Ukraine and Sudan to artificial intelligence and the Mpox virus.

In one of the longest sections of the speech about ongoing global crises, Biden quoted William Butler Yeats’ 1919 poem “The Second Coming.”

“‘Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,’” Biden recited. “Some may say those words describe the world, not just in 1919 but in 2024. I see a critical distinction. In our time, the center has held.”

Biden also explained to the 192 other U.N. member states—about half of which are non-democracies—why he decided not to seek another term.

“Being president has been the honor of my life,” Biden said. “There’s so much more I want to get done. As much as I love the job, I love my country more. I decided, after 50 years of public service, it’s time for a new generation of leadership to take my nation forward.” 

And he added: “My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power.”

Source: JNS