US congressman calls for investigation into Brett McGurk’s 'failed' Mideast policies

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) – A senior Republican lawmaker has called for an investigation into Brett McGurk, a key architect of US Middle East policy, accusing him of advancing strategies that strengthened Iran’s influence and jeopardized American security.

Representative Joe Wilson, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, wrote to committee Chairman Brian Mast, requesting a formal inquiry into McGurk’s record and asking that he testify before Congress.

"The failed policies of McGurk have only served to empower Iran and its proxies in the region and make Americans less safe. Congress must investigate McGurk's failed policy ideas, which have been consistently wrong for decades, to ensure such failures never happen again," Wilson wrote.

Wilson criticized McGurk’s role in Iraq, particularly his support for former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom he described as "the single most important factor in driving the rise of ISIS," or Daesh. He said that Maliki’s sectarian policies alienated Iraq’s Sunni population, creating conditions that allowed ISIS to thrive.

After ISIS emerged, McGurk was appointed as Special Envoy to Counter ISIS, a role he served in between 2015 and 2018, a position Wilson claims was an attempt to "clean up the mess that he himself had made."

He further accused McGurk of working closely with Iran-backed militias, citing a 2015 social media post in which McGurk praised their role in the fight against ISIS.

"McGurk’s policy of working with Iran to fight ISIS failed miserably," Wilson wrote, noting that Iran-backed groups have since attacked US forces over 170 times in the past two years.

The representative also took issue with McGurk’s approach to Syria, claiming he played a role in Washington’s posture toward the Assad regime. “He led U.S. efforts at ‘normalization’ with Assad,” Wilson said and added that McGurk advocated for softening sanctions on Assad.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has yet to indicate whether it will act on Wilson’s request. McGurk, who served as the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa under the Biden administration, did not immediately comment.

McGurk held senior national security roles under presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden. He served as Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS under Obama but resigned during Trump's term over his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. He was key in shaping US policy to support the terrorist YPG/PKK-led SDF against ISIS, a major point of contention with NATO ally Türkiye.

McGurk is also known for his pro-Israel stance, widely criticized for enabling Israel’s 15-month genocidal war in Gaza, which has killed more than 47,000 people, with thousands more missing, since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, according to Gaza's authorities.