Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan ended the nation’s longest war, one conducted by three U.S. presidents, but the military exit created harrowing images of violence and fear that shook the faith of allies and Americans alike in the administration’s competence. Efforts to restart the Iran nuclear deal, scuttled by Biden’s predecessor, are on the verge of collapse. And the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant that quickly raced around the globe underscored that the pandemic was as much of a national security crisis as a health one, restarting loud cries for the U.S. to step to the forefront in the effort to vaccinate the world.

“You can’t always get to determine what you focus on. You sometimes get to shape your agenda,” said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, “but sometimes others get to shape it.”…

But privately, White House aides have portrayed 2021 as a “rebuilding year,” a moment to repair the damage caused by former President Donald Trump’s agenda which prioritized competition with allies and often turned a blind eye to power grabs by autocrats.