Ambassador James Jeffrey Assumes Role of Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Ambassador James Jeffrey (pictured), the current Special Representative for Syria Engagement, has taken on the additional role of the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, effective January 4, 2019.

With this additional responsibility, Ambassador Jeffrey will lead and coordinate U.S. Department of State relations with the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS and Department efforts to implement President Trump’s announcement of a responsible U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria that is coordinated with our global Allies and partners consistent with U.S. goals for Syria and Iraq, including the enduring defeat of ISIS.

He takes over from Brett McGurk, who resigned following disagreements with President Donald Trump’s strategy on Syria.

Jeffrey has previously served as US Ambassador to Iraq. </s> The fact tha James Jeffrey joined the administration as the special representative for Syria engagement was noteworthy in part because the president had initially blacklisted so-called Never Trumpers.

| Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Foreign Policy Former Trump critic promoted to top anti-ISIS job Some had expected James Jeffrey, who landed an administration post last year despite signing a 'Never Trump' letter, to resign over the president's planned Syria pullout. Instead he has taken on a second job.

A veteran diplomat who some expected to resign after President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria last month will instead take on a broader portfolio, the State Department announced Friday.

James Jeffrey, who oversees America’s engagement with other nations on Syrian issues, will now also serve as Trump’s special envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State. He takes on the second role amid widespread confusion about the status of Trump’s plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, where they have been fighting militants of the Islamic State, a terrorist group also known as ISIS.

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The last envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk, resigned in protest over Trump’s Syria decision last month. His departure, as well as that of Defense Secretary James Mattis, came amid bipartisan backlash to the president’s plan.

In the weeks since Trump’s mid-December announcement, the president has dialed back the idea of an immediate withdrawal. Trump aides now say the drawdown could span four months. On Friday, a senior State Department official added to the confusion by saying there is no timeline.

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“With this additional responsibility, Ambassador Jeffrey will lead and coordinate U.S. Department of State relations with the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS and department efforts to implement President Trump’s announcement of a responsible U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria that is coordinated with our global allies and partners consistent with U.S. goals for Syria and Iraq, including the enduring defeat of ISIS,” State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a statement announcing Jeffrey’s new role.

Jeffrey had a long diplomatic career prior to the Trump administration, serving as an ambassador in places such as Iraq and Turkey. He was among national security experts who signed “Never Trump” statements denouncing the then-candidate for the White House.

The fact that Jeffrey joined the administration as the special representative for Syria engagement was noteworthy in part because the president had initially blacklisted so-called Never Trumpers.

Just days before Trump announced his decision to remove troops, Jeffrey had made an appearance at a think tank in which he laid out a Syria strategy that indicated an indefinite U.S. commitment.

Although some foreign policy insiders thought Jeffrey would quit after Trump’s decision, he has hung on and may prove key to efforts to slow down the withdrawal of troops. He will join national security adviser John Bolton on a trip to Turkey and Israel in the coming days meant in part to explain and manage Trump’s withdrawal plan.

Critics of a troop pullout say it is premature because the Islamic State, though much weakened, has not been vanquished, and that leaving now allows Iranian forces to gain even more influence in war-torn Syria.

"ISIS is on the run, but it is not yet defeated," McGurk wrote in an email to his team announcing his resignation. McGurk had originally been planning to leave at some point in early 2019, but accelerated his departure in protest of Trump’s decision.

Jeffrey takes his second position effective immediately, the State Department said. The coalition to defeat the Islamic State has around 80 members, each contributing different military and other strengths in the effort to eliminate the terrorist group from Iraq and Syria. </s> James Jeffrey, pictured in 2014, will serve as American envoy to the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group (AFP Photo/ALEX WONG)

Washington (AFP) - America's Syria pointman James Jeffrey will also serve as the United States envoy to the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group, the State Department said on Friday.

"With this additional responsibility, Ambassador Jeffrey will lead and coordinate US Department of State relations with the Global Coalition to defeat (IS) and Department efforts to implement President Trump's announcement of a responsible US troop withdrawal from Syria," spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.

Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, will replace Brett McGurk as anti-IS envoy, a post from which he resigned following US President Donald Trump's controversial decision in December to withdraw American forces from Syria.

Critics say the move puts US-allied Kurdish forces at risk of attack by Turkish troops. The US-allied Kurds have played a major role in the war against IS, the jihadist group that seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria but has since suffered major defeats.

The December 21 announcement of McGurk's departure followed that of Jim Mattis, who quit as defense chief over fundamental disagreements with Trump, including over Syria. </s> YPG is PKK's Syrian wing but US fails to recognize as such, Syria envoy Jeffrey says

Ambassador James Jeffrey, the current special representative for Syria engagement, will take the additional role of special envoy for the U.S.-led coalition against Daesh effective Friday, the State Department said.

Brett McGurk, who served in the post for three years, resigned Dec. 22 following Trump's decision to pull troops from Syria. The move also saw a resignation from defense chief James Mattis.

"With this additional responsibility, Ambassador Jeffrey will lead and coordinate U.S. Department of State relations with the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS and Department efforts to implement President (Donald) Trump's announcement of a responsible U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria," said Robert Palladino in a statement, using another name for Daesh.

The U.S. withdrawal comes on the eve of a possible Turkish military operation in northeastern Syria against the PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorist group.

McGurk worked under the past three U.S. administrations, becoming one of a handful of those appointed by former U.S. President Barack Obama to keep his post under President Trump. He also served in the George W. Bush administration. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brett McGurk, the special envoy for the global coalition to defeat Islamic State, submitted his resignation on Friday, effective Dec. 31, a U.S. State Department official said on Saturday.

A person familiar with the matter said McGurk has quit because he objected to President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out U.S. troops from Syria, a decision followed by the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis a day later. CBS reported McGurk’s resignation earlier on Saturday. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. envoy leading a global coalition fighting Islamic State has quit over President Donald Trump’s decision this week to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, a source familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Brett McGurk, U.S. special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat Islamic State, submitted his resignation effective Dec. 31 to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, a State Department official said.

Trump announced on Wednesday that Washington would withdraw the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, upending a pillar of American policy in the Middle East and alarming U.S. allies. The decision was followed on Thursday by the surprise departure of U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.

McGurk, who was slated to leave his post in February 2019, objected to Trump’s flash Syria decision, a person familiar with the matter said, and Mattis’ departure also helped prompt McGurk’s early resignation. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brett McGurk, U.S. special envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS, submitted his resignation on Friday, CBS reported on Saturday citing sources, ahead of his departure planned in February.

McGurk’s resignation came as a result of “strong disagreement” with President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, CBS reported, and a day after Trump’s Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quit on the back of same decision. </s> FILE - In this June 7, 2017 file photo, Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy for the global coalition against IS, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq. McGurk has resigned in protest to President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, joining Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in an administration exodus of experienced national security officials. AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

FILE - In this June 7, 2017 file photo, Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy for the global coalition against IS, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq. McGurk has resigned in protest to President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, joining Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in an administration exodus of experienced national security officials. AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group, has resigned in protest over President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, joining Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in an administration exodus of experienced national security figures. McGurk described Trump’s decision as a “shock.”

Only 11 days ago, McGurk had said it would be “reckless” to consider IS defeated and therefore would be unwise to bring American forces home. McGurk decided to speed up his original plan to leave his post in mid-February.

“The recent decision by the president came as a shock and was a complete reversal of policy,” he said in an email to his staff viewed by The Associated Press. “It left our coalition partners confused and our fighting partners bewildered with no plan in place or even considered thought as to consequences.”

McGurk, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2015 and retained by Trump, said in his resignation letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the militants were on the run, but not yet defeated, and that the premature pullout of U.S. forces from Syria would create the conditions that gave rise to IS.

The letter was submitted Friday and described to the AP on Saturday by an official familiar with its contents. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly before the letter was released and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump played down the development, tweeting Saturday night that “I do not know” the envoy and it’s a “nothing event.” He noted McGurk planned to leave soon anyway and added: “Grandstander?”

“I have no idea who that person is. Never heard of him ... until yesterday,” Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Shortly after news of McGurk’s resignation broke, Trump again defended his decision to pull all of the roughly 2,000 U.S. forces from Syria in the coming weeks.

“We were originally going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago - we never left,” Trump tweeted. “When I became President, ISIS was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We’re coming home!”

Although the civil war in Syria has gone on since 2011, the U.S. did not begin launching airstrikes against IS until September 2014, and American troops did not go into Syria until 2015.

McGurk, whose resignation is effective Dec. 31, was planning to leave the job in mid-February after a U.S.-hosted meeting of foreign ministers from the coalition countries, but he felt he could continue no longer after Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria and Mattis’ resignation.

In his email to his staff, McGurk said: “I worked this week to help manage some of the fallout, but — as many of you heard in my many meetings and phone calls — I ultimately concluded that I could not carry out these new instructions and maintain my integrity at the same time.”

Trump’s declaration of a victory over IS has been roundly contradicted by his own experts’ assessments, and his decision to pull troops out was widely denounced by members of Congress, who called his action rash.

Mattis, perhaps the most respected foreign policy official in the administration, announced on Thursday that he will leave by the end of February. He told Trump in a letter that he was departing because “you have a right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours.”

The withdrawal decision will fulfill Trump’s goal of bringing troops home from Syria, but military leaders have pushed back for months, arguing that the IS group remains a threat and could regroup in Syria’s long-running civil war. U.S. policy has been to keep troops in place until the extremists are eradicated.

Among officials’ key concerns is that a U.S. pullout will leave U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces vulnerable to attacks by Turkey, the Syrian government and remaining IS fighters. The SDF, a Kurdish-led force, is America’s only military partner in Syria

McGurk said at a State Department briefing on Dec. 11 that “it would be reckless if we were just to say, ‘Well, the physical caliphate is defeated, so we can just leave now.’”

McGurk, 45, previously served as a deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran. During the negotiations for the Iran nuclear deal by the Obama administration, he led secret side talks with Tehran on the release of Americans imprisoned there.

McGurk was briefly considered for the post of ambassador to Iraq after having served as a senior official covering Iraq and Afghanistan during President George W. Bush’s administration.

A former Supreme Court law clerk to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, McGurk worked as a lawyer for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and joined Bush’s National Security Council staff, where in 2007 and 2008, he was the lead U.S. negotiator on security agreements with Iraq.

Taking over for now for McGurk will be his deputy, retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff, who served three tours of active duty in Iraq.

IS militants still hold a string of villages and towns along the Euphrates River in eastern Syria, where they have resisted weeks of attacks by the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces to drive them out. The pocket is home to about 15,000 people, among them 2,000 IS fighters, according to U.S. military estimates.

But that figure could be as high as 8,000 militants, if fighters hiding out in the deserts south of the Euphrates River are also counted, according to according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through networks of local informants. </s> President Donald Trump on Saturday defended his decision to withdraw US forces from Syria after his envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State terror organization resigned in protest.

"When I became President, ISIS was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We're coming home!" the US president tweeted.

Trump's remarks came just hours after CBS and the Washington Post reported that the special US envoy to the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition, Brett McGurk, presented his resignation in protest against the White House decision.

McGurk had planned to leave his post in February 2019, but on Friday told the State Department he wanted to leave the administration earlier, a move that will take effect next Dec. 31 according to the WaPo, which cited a US diplomatic official.

Considered the architect of US strategy against the IS, McGurk has worked for former Presidents George W. Bush, whom he advised on Iraq and Afghanistan, and Barack Obama, who named him special envoy to the anti-Jihadism coalition.

McGurk's decision follows the resignation this week of Gen. James Mattis as defense secretary and comes after US President Donald Trump proclaimed the defeat of the IS in Syria and announced the withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops deployed in that country as part of an international coalition.
The United States Department of State announces that U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey also assumes the position of Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, succeeding Brett McGurk. Separately, a State Department official says that there is no timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.