This is Biden's new Middle East doctrine, according to NYT's Thomas Friedman

New York Times columnist and Biden-whisperer Thomas Friedman, in his latest column, lays out what he is calling "The Biden Doctrine," a three-pronged approach for what he sees as the steps U.S. President Joe Biden has started to take, but also must decisively continue, to ensure that the crisis in the Middle East does not devolve into a full-blown catastrophe.

The Biden Doctrine, in Friedman's view according to his latest opinion piece, would begin with "a strong and resolute stand on Iran, including a robust military retaliation against Iran's proxies and agents in the region."

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The second "track," as he calls it, involves a diplomatic initiative by the U.S. for a Palestinian state, "NOW," Friedman writes, stressing the urgency with which the U.S. must recognize a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. He adds the caveat that this can only happen "once Palestinians have developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel."

The third track of Friedman's plan would involve an expanded security alliance between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, including Saudi normalization of relations with Israel. Prior to Hamas' attacks on October 7, the two countries were moving steadily towards a deal that would have solidified official ties. On October 13, however, Saudi Arabia froze the deal.

Friedman's column is one of several he has written since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The Pulitzer-prize writing columnist has always enjoyed a unique position within the journalistic landscape, and has written extensively about all things Israel-related and is a vocal critic of Netanyahu, his extremist government, and their efforts to overhaul the judicial system.

But Friedman also has the ear of President Biden, who has invited him to the White House and reportedly reads his columns closely. Last February, Biden chose to comment about Israel's judicial coup directly through Friedman's New York Times column, a rare move for a U.S. president.

Friedman's unique position as both a conduit for Biden's messages to the Middle East, and as a keen observer of everything happening on the ground, affords him the unique ability to fact-check Netanyahu. Friedman embraced this role in his latest column, when he mentions Netanyahu's proclivity for adjusting his message depending on his audience, and more specifically, which language he's speaking in. This is something the Israeli media has been discussing for years.

"Netanyahu is the reason I coined this rule of Middle East reporting," Friedman writes."Whatever people say to you in English in private is irrelevant. All that matters is what they say in public in their own language."

According to Friedman, "Netanyahu has been whispering to Biden in private that he might be ready one day – maybe – to consider some kind of demilitarized Palestinian state, while in Hebrew in public he has been saying just the opposite."

Friedman believes it is time to "call both Iran and Netanyahu's bluffs," and that the so-called Biden Doctrine is the only way to do it.

"We have tolerated Iran destroying every constructive initiative we have been trying to build in the Middle East," he writes "And, at the same time, we have tolerated a Netanyahu government that is out to permanently prevent any form of Palestinian statehood, even to the point of bolstering Hamas against the Palestinian Authority for many years to ensure that there would be no unified Palestinian partner."

"It is for all these reasons that I believe, hope and pray that a Biden Doctrine for the Middle East is coming – and Israelis should, too."