U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will try to use his three-nation tour of the Middle East and North Africa to reassure wary Israelis and Arabs that the Biden administration is committed to the region's security at a time when Washington is confronting multiple foreign policy challenges.
U.S. preoccupation with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and bolstering NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe has fueled concerns that America's attention may be stretched thin. Indeed, Blinken’s trip was rescheduled several times due to developments in Ukraine, and he was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Saturday from Warsaw after breaking off from President Joe Biden’s Ukraine-dominated visit to Belgium and Poland.
