CNN —President Joe Biden left for home after seven hours in the Israeli war zone with an increasingly tense Middle East in worse shape than when he arrived. Still, given the huge political investment of American prestige and leverage involved in a sudden presidential trip, it’s fair to raise the question of what exactly Biden’s trip delivered. Biden’s speech to the Israeli people, however, was an eloquent statement of support to an ally traumatized by a terror attack. Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that Biden’s visit had been worthwhile in demonstrating that Israel was not alone. Biden’s presence bolstered the message sent by two aircraft carrier battle groups he has deployed to the area.

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Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, movingly, ”, Israel –, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Abdel Fattah el, Mahmoud Abbas, ’, Israel’s, Israel “, ” Biden, “, “ they’ll, Sisi, ” Mark Regev, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ivo Daalder, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Israel, Daalder, Netanyahu, ” Daalder Organizations: CNN, Air Force, Israel, Palestinian, West Bank, US State Department, United, Islamic Jihad, US Defense Department, National Security Council, Jihad, White, NATO, Hezbollah Locations: Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Amman, Tunisia, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, United States, Washington, Egypt, “ Israel, America