As the 2024 election year ticks by, leading us closer and closer to that Tuesday in November, tensions increase every day. Not to mention the Middle East is in the midst of the brutal Israel-Hamas war, with potential for regional escalation that must be avoided at all costs. I will not get the opportunity to vote in the 2024 election because I will be underage on Election Day, even though I will be of legal voting age on the date of the presidential inauguration in January 2025, something I find quite depressing. However, if I were to vote, the policy that would determine the direction of my vote would be handling of foreign affairs; specifically preventing regional escalation in the Middle East and pursuing global peace. Let’s take a deeper look. Since the Israel-Hamas war sparked in retaliation to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, a multitude of other Iranian-backed militias have launched smaller attacks on Israel’s border, international trade ships in the Red Sea, as well as U.S. military bases in the region. Up until January, there weren’t any U.S. casualties from strikes by militias. However, the Jan. 28, 2024, bombing of a U.S. air base “Tower 22” near the Syrian-Jordan border left three U.S. soldiers dead.

This could be a turning point for peace in the region, although both Washington and Tehran insist they do not seek further involvement in current conflicts. I would like Washington to maintain that position adamantly post-election, for easing conflicts in the Mideast is essential to global security and peace. My vote would be for a Democratic candidate with values of de-escalating conflict and finding compromise. The ideal candidate would stop sending military aid to Israel and instead put all focus on humanitarian aid to Palestinians and most importantly negotiate a two-state solution. I would vote for a president that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two choices; agree to end the war within a matter of months and establish a two-state solution, or lose the U.S. as a political ally forever. That is why I would likely vote for a Democratic candidate. Two-state would be the only safe solution, considering the number of casualties reaching over 30,0006 as well as the fact that conflicts between U.S. and Iranian-backed militias have spiked because of the war in Gaza. This must be stopped unless we want to live through another wider regional war in the Middle East, like the Forever Wars. Not to mention the increased risk of terrorist militias acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

Although I cannot vote in the 2024 election, I am eager for its arrival and to see where the next presidency will lead our country.

In the coming years, I believe we need a Democratic president who will handle foreign affairs with high respect to their importance; de-escalating tensions in the Middle East as well as any other issues threatening global peace. If I could vote for any candidate, those would be the policies determining my vote.