(Nov 4, 2023)
President Biden has been deeply involved in the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war — one of the thorniest challenges of his presidency so far — receiving briefings at least once per day and speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times a week.
The big picture: Biden is leaning on a tight circle of trusted aides and officials. Here‘s a look at who‘s in the room when major decisions are being made.
Brett McGurk, Senior Middle East Advisor to President Biden, is reportedly set to travel to the Israeli entity and countries in the Middle East to discuss the war on Gaza and efforts to secure the release of captives held by the Resistance, Axios reported.
This trip is part of the Biden administration‘s unwavering support for the Israeli occupation. McGurk will coordinate with NATO and European allies in Brussels before visiting „Israel“, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar.
Lapid‘s meeting in Washington comes as Biden is set to send a delegation, headed by McGurk, to visit Saudi Arabia this week in an effort to ramp up efforts on a possible normalization agreement with Israel.
U.S. and Palestinian officials told The Times of Israel earlier this week that talks will be held in Riyadh and will also be attended by Assistant Secretary of State For Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, in a piece published on Thursday, said Biden was considering whether to pursue a U.S.-Saudi mutual security pact that would involve Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, one of Biden’s most trusted aides, was in Jeddah this week with Middle East envoy Brett McGurk discussing the possibility of a normalization deal, White House officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet on Monday in Jerusalem with two senior advisers to U.S. President Joe Biden on Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, after they concluded talks in Saudi Arabia.
McGurk is responsible for the Middle East at the National Security Council in the White House, while Hochstein serves as Biden‘s special envoy for energy affairs.
(Apr 14, 2023)
White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa and the U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security visited Saudi Arabia officials on Friday to discuss regional security and energy matters.
White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk expressed the Biden administration’s most optimistic statement yet concerning the talks last Thursday, saying that the parties were “in the ballpark of a possible deal” on returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement. However, he noted that he did not want to place odds on it and that the U.S. was prepared for talks to …
Former US presidential envoy to Syria Brett McGurk criticized the deployment of the Bradleys, calling it a “sign of deterioration.”
“I used to help coordinate this mission. We never needed Bradleys to secure our personnel. Trump’s impetuous decision to abandon our posts has placed our people at heightened risk with no clear aim,” McGurk said on Friday.
McGurk was intended to coordinate with the 79 countries involved in the US-led coalition against ISIS. It is not clear who his replacement will be, but with the administration arguing ISIS is defeated, there may be a low priority for this position.
Nach Mattis und jetzt McGurk gibt es Spekulationen, dass weitere in den nächsten Tagen zurücktreten werden, weil sie auch gegen Trumps Befehl sind, Syrien zu verlassen. Es wird angenommen, dass es im Pentagon eine breite Einheit in Richtung Aufrechterhaltung des Krieges gibt, was durch die Anzahl der Pentagon-Beamten belegt wird, die die letzten zwei Jahre damit verbracht haben, die langfristige Präsenz dort zu besprechen.
Taking over for now for McGurk will be his deputy, retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff, who served three tours of active duty in Iraq.
Jim Jeffrey, a veteran diplomat who was appointed special representative for Syria engagement in August, is expected to stay in his position, officials said.
McGurk, the US president‘s special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, is discussing formation of the next Iraqi and Kudistan regional governments. He met with officials from Gorran, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Coalition for Justice and Democracy (CDJ), and Komal — four of the six parties that have said they may boycott Baghdad after widespread voter fraud in the May 12 election.
McGurk is expected to hold discussions with Iraqi political leaders, including Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi, in addition to Muqtada al Sadr, Ayad Allawi, Osama al Nujaifi and Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Nechirvan Barzani.