ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish officials have welcomed Brett McGurk’s appointment as the new Special Presidential Envoy to the anti-ISIS International Coalition, praising his efforts in combatting the radical group.
“I congratulate @brett_mcgurk for his appointment as Presidential Envoy for Global Coalition on ISIL and thank Gen Allen for his service,” wrote Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region’s Security Council.
McGurk, who served as General John Allen’s deputy since September 2014, has led the global coalition campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) with frequent visits to Erbil where the US military maintains a base.
“Brett has been with General Allen at every key moment in his campaign and has long been one of my most trusted advisers on Iraq,” said the US president in a statement on Friday.
“I have also asked him {McGurk} to work closely with my national security team to strengthen our partnership with Iraq and work intensively with regional partners to bring an end to the civil war in Syria, which continues to fuel ISL and other extremist groups,” added Obama.
In a tweet, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, KRG representative in Washington also congratulated McGurk on his new post.
For his part, McGurk played a key role during multiparty talks on the Kurdish presidential crisis in August.
According to Hevidar Ahmed, Rudaw correspondent at the meetings, McGurk worked tirelessly to bring the Kurdish to an agreement.
“Ambassador McGurk was respected by all parties,” Ahmed reported. “He was running from one room to another to urge parties to reach a consensus. Whenever he saw two parties engaging in a dialogue, he hurried to calm them down and help the talks continue.”
President Obama announced the formation of an international coalition to fight against ISIS last September; days after the extremist group overran Iraq’s second largest city Mosul.
Sixty-five countries have signed up to the International Coalition, including Turkey and several Arab Gulf states.
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