Battle with Battles

Battle with Adversaries

Brett McGurk, the senior foreign policy advisor to Biden, whose official title is the coordinator of U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa, is one of the key figures in Biden’s foreign policy in the Middle East. He has faced the biggest challenges due to tensions arising from two Israeli operations in Lebanon and Iran and is currently in the midst of battling upcoming conflicts. According to a recent report by the renowned Axios reporter, McGurk managed to revive the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, which were jeopardized by the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and forced the Israelis to obtain permission from him to send the heads of Israel’s security agencies to Cairo. The heads of Shin Bet and Mossad are now in Cairo for negotiations. Qataris also seem ready to resume talks after the end of the funeral of Haniyeh in their country and the easing of tensions stemming from it domestically. It remains to be seen whether Hezbollah and Iran will be spectators of the negotiations and await the ceasefire, or if they will act on what many are eagerly anticipating on Saturday and Sunday. McGurk and America’s foreign policy director, William Burns, are facing battles with Israel against Lebanon and Iran.