President Joe Biden addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday for the final time. The assembly kicked off this week for its 79th annual meeting.
“Today is the fourth time I’ve had the great honor of speaking to this assembly as President of the United States. It will be my last,” Biden said. “I’ve seen a remarkable sweep of history.”
Focusing on mostly international conflicts, Biden reflected on his administration’s decision-making in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and artificial intelligence. Recognizing the moment’s gravity, he mused that he believes humans are “at another inflection point in world history.”
The president started by recounting his personal history—he was elected at 29 in the middle of the Vietnam War—and reflected on how “today, the United States and Vietnam are partners and friends.”
Biden went on to tout what he felt were his accomplishments in the Afghanistan withdrawal, which, at the time, were widely panned by critics on both sides for its handling.
“When I came to office as president, Afghanistan had replaced Vietnam as America’s longest war. I was determined to end it, and I did. It was a hard decision, but the right decision,” Biden said, and admitted that “It was a decision accompanied by tragedy,” referring to the Abbey Gate airport suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and 169 Afghan citizens.
According to the Pew Research Center, in their August and September 2021 surveys, “about seven-in-ten or more said that the administration had done an only fair or poor job dealing with the situation there, with around four-in-ten or more saying it had done poorly,” with the U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
Biden then thanked the leaders assembled for standing up for Ukraine’s fight for independence against Russia, noting that “When Russia invaded Ukraine, we could have stood by and merely protested,” adding that Putin “set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free. He set out to weaken NATO, but NATO is bigger, stronger, more united than ever before.”
Finland and Sweden have both joined NATO over the last 18 months, expanding the transatlantic military alliance to 32 countries.
Biden then went on to speak of the suffering of “innocent civilians in Gaza,” adding, “They didn’t ask for this war that Hamas started.”
Citing his ceasefire and hostage proposal he offered to Qatar and Egypt, which the U.N. Security Council endorsed, the president told the room full of leaders that it’s time for the parties involved to make a deal to release the hostages, protect Israeli and Palestinian citizens from Hamas oppression.
They need to “set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution,” which would establish two separate states for Jewish Israelis and Palestinians.
Biden also called for efforts to stop Iran’s terrorist proxies and to make sure they never get a nuclear weapon, pledged to commit half a billion dollars and one million vaccine doses to help African countries battle monkeypox, and “reforming and expanding the membership of the U.N. Security Council.”
Finally, Biden shifted his attention to the regulation of artificial intelligence and urged the room to be careful with establishing the rules of the road, ensuring that the technology supports human values and doesn’t help dictators gain more power. He described the emergence of AI as possibly the biggest test to human leadership to date.
The president finished his U.N. farewell address with calls for world unity.
This year’s meeting of the United Nations General Assembly “marks a crucial milestone in the global effort to accelerate progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” according to the U.N. website.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit is expected to draw mass protests by left-wing activist groups.
Biden, who has under four months left in office, will finish out his term as president in January. His administration will preside over the presidential election between his own Vice President, Kamala Harris, and his predecessor, President Donald Trump.
Election day is on Nov. 5.