Intel: Biden to pick Brett McGurk for top White House Middle East role - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Jan 6, 2021

US Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (L) walks with Brett McGurk (R), former special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, at the US Capitol, Oct. 23, 2019, in Washington, DC. McGurk was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in 2015. He resigned from his post on Dec. 31, 2018, because of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria. — Alex Wong/Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to choose Brett McGurk, the former envoy to the US-led international coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS), for a White House role managing US policy in the Middle East and North Africa.

McGurk’s selection as National Security Council's coordinator for Middle East and North Africa was first reported by The New York Times and CNN and confirmed to Al-Monitor by a former US official familiar with the decision.

<<enter caption here>> on May 19, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia.

Turkey's scapegoating of McGurk rooted in revisionism

Amberin Zaman

Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) walks with Deputy Chief of Mission Ethan Goldrich (far L), US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Barbara Leaf (2nd L) and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi, on November 23, 2015. Kerry arrived in Abu Dhabi on November 23 to meet his Emirati counterparts on efforts to build a Syrian opposition coalition to lead peace talks with the Damascus regime. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Jacquelyn Martin (Photo credit

Intel: Former US ambassador to UAE to join McGurk on National Security Council

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, Brett McGurk, speaks with media during a briefing to Defeat ISIS and an update on the Coalition's efforts during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz - RC1818FBC0E0

Pro-Erdogan groups call for Brett McGurk's arrest

Amberin Zaman

Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Brett McGurk (C), US special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS, and Rupert Jones (L), deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), arrive for a meeting with the Tabqa Civil Council in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on June 29, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey in uproar over McGurk

Amberin Zaman

Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture