Leaders | The stakes in Gaza

American power: indispensable or ineffective?

How Joe Biden manages the war between Israel and Hamas will define America’s global role

Image: The Economist/Getty Images

AS MASSED ISRAELI troops await the command to invade Gaza, two hulking US Navy aircraft-carriers have been sent to support Israel. Their task is to deter Hizbullah and its sponsor Iran from opening a second front across the Lebanese border. No other country could do this. The carriers are a 200,000-tonne declaration of American power at a time when much of the world believes that American power is in decline.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “America’s test”

From the October 28th 2023 edition

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