Top Biden advisor quietly visits Qatar to discuss Israeli captives
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The US President Joe Biden's top Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, has met with Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani, to discuss Israeli captives amid rising regional tensions.
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In this August 4, 2017 file photo, Brett McGurk, US special presidential envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington. (AP)
A low-profile visit by US President Joe Biden's top Middle East advisor Brett McGurk to Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani took place in Doha, but remained under the radar, as the US made no announcement of the visit and published no readout regarding the meeting between the two.
McGurk spoke to the Qatari PM, knowing that Qatar constitutes a key ally for Washington in the region and has been playing, alongside Egypt, a significant role as a mediator in the war on the Gaza Strip.
According to sources cited by Axios, the two discussed regional tensions and "efforts to secure the release" of Israeli captives being held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Strip.
The Axios report also underscored that Qatar has been relaying messages to both Iran and the Ansar Allah movement in Yemen at the behest of Washington, claiming it is a way to diminish tensions.
Following the assassination of the Hamas Political Bureau Deputy Chief, Saleh al-Arouri, the negotiations process became reportedly more complicated and tensions intensified as the risk of expanding the war also reached dangerous levels.
McGurk's journey comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's regional tour, where he is actively engaged in talks regarding the war on Gaza and the increasing regional tensions, hoping to set the stones for an American solution.
Who is McGurk?
Significantly, McGurk has been historically active in the Middle East, more specifically on files about the invasion and occupation of Iraq and US strategies to counter Iran.
Between 2005 and 2009, McGurk, under the Bush administration, was assigned as Director for Iraq and then as Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2007, McGurk, according to the US government website, was "one of the chief architects with President Bush of the strategy known as 'the Surge'." This strategy saw a surge of US troops in Iraq, over 20,000 troops, claiming to serve to "secure" and "stabilize" Iraq's Baghdad and al-Anbar Governorate.
In 2008, McGurk served as the lead negotiator and coordinator regarding bilateral talks between the US and the Iraqi Government on both a long-term Strategic Framework Agreement and a Security Agreement to govern what was set to be a "temporary presence of US forces" and the "normalization of bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States."
During former US President Barack Obama's administration, McGurk was assigned as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs "with a focus on Iraq and other regional initiatives." Moreover, he served as a special advisor to the National Security Staff, and as Senior Advisor to a number of US ambassadors in Iraq.
In 2015, McGurk was appointed as Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.
These positions and time periods coincide with the rise of the Axis of Resistance and its expansion, as ISIS and US-backed proxies were being defeated in the region. Thus, many questions have been raised on why the US kept the meeting between an "architect" of US politics in the Middle East and a key US ally in the region a secret amid rising tensions and claims of seeking to tone these same escalations down.
Israeli media reports 'tense' meeting between Blinken, Netanyahu
A reportedly "tense" one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was reported earlier in the day by Israeli media.
Netanyahu's office refrained from issuing a customary readout of the meeting, a deviation that hints at potential discord with Blinken.
Israeli Channel 12 report indicates a widening gap in the outlook on the ongoing genocide between the US and the Israelis, with Washington allegedly "running out of patience," despite it supplying the ongoing genocide with munitions and bombs.
The mounting differences have prompted Prime Minister Netanyahu to opt out of appearing alongside Secretary Blinken at their upcoming press conference, as highlighted by Channel 12.
Met with @IsraeliPM and reaffirmed our support for Israel’s right to prevent another October 7 from occurring.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 9, 2024
I also stressed the importance of avoiding civilian harm, protecting civilian infrastructure, and ensuring the distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza. pic.twitter.com/1g7h27Ci8f
Read more: While arming Israelis, Blinken says Gaza death toll 'far too high'
