Battle with Battles
Brett McGurk, Biden’s senior foreign policy advisor whose official title is the U.S. policy coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is one of the two main figures in Biden’s foreign policy in the Middle East. He has experienced the greatest challenges following the tensions arising from two Israeli operations in Lebanon and Iran and is battling the upcoming conflicts. According to a recent report by the famous Axios journalist, McGurk managed to revive the Gaza ceasefire negotiations that were jeopardized by the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and pressured the Israelis to obtain permission from Netanyahu, who has no objective other than creating obstacles to peace in Gaza, to send the heads of Israeli security organizations. The heads of Shin Bet and Mossad are now in Cairo for negotiations. The Qataris also appear ready to resume negotiations after the funeral of Haniyeh in that country and the subsiding of the resulting tensions within Qatar. It remains to be seen whether Hezbollah and Iran will watch the negotiations and wait for a ceasefire or if they will act on what many are anticipating on Saturday and Sunday. McGurk and U.S. foreign policy leader William Burns are facing Israel’s battles with Lebanon and Iran.