Trump hands Biden a whole new set of foreign policy headaches
organization will not help this conflict be resolved in any sense, and actually risks prolonging it,” said Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab- British Understanding. “There are risks that the Houthi hardliners will feel empowered to turn towards Iran more. They will be unwilling to engage in diplomatic processes or backchannels to Saudi Arabia.”
The longer the crisis goes on, the worse things will get for those in need of humanitarian assistance, analysts said. The terrorism designation will only make it harder for aid groups to deliver food and medical supplies to the country. It will also “make it hard for aid organizations to have staff on the ground, as the Houthis can control the two main entry points to Yemen,” Doyle said. “By picking one side in a conflict, you can really harm the civilian populations and it’s very irresponsible,” Doyle added. “The idea that you can bully the Houthis into softening their stance is a fantasy.” Nail in the coffin for Obama’s Cuba policy
Pompeo’s redesignation of Cuba as a sponsor of state terror will probably have the least material impact, but it represents a personal loss to Biden and a significant political win for Trumpism. In doing so, Trump is hammering the final nail in the coffin of Barack Obama’s efforts to normalize relations with Cuba. Stories have and will continue to be written about how Trump’s hard line on Cuba’s Communist leaders played well with the Latino vote in Florida. This final act could well leave a legacy for whoever carries the Trump torch in 2024. Trump administration taking steps to designate Cuba as state sponsor of terrorism in coming days
“If the US now goes to Cuba and says they want to reset back to where things were at the end of the Obama administration, Cuba can legitimately ask why it should bother when it’s possible that someone like Trump could be elected again in 2024,” said Pantucci. And a reset, while not top of his list of priorities, might have been something Biden would consider, given he was Obama’s vice president. The legacy issue is something Vinjamuri to which is paying particularly close attention to.
“These really are the dying days of the Trump administration and they really seem to be laying the groundwork for something they can build on,” she said, suggesting that Pompeo’s final moves could be an attempt to burnish his hardline credentials for a run at the 2024 presidential election.
Biden will be sworn into office on January 20. Trump will be gone -- at least for now -- but his impact on the world will be felt for years to come.
And it could take an entire term for the new administration to untangle the eleventh- hour decisions made by its predecessor.