Brett McGurk, the National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa during the Biden presidency, offered surprising praise for the current President and his handling of the conflict with Iran.
McGurk, in an appearance with CNN's Anderson Cooper, praised President Trump's national security team over news of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“Bottom line, this is about the best place we can be,” he said. “I give extremely high marks to this national security team and President Trump for managing this crisis and getting where we are.”
Even beyond that, McGurk suggests that the remarkable foreign policy achievements seen over the last few days could result in a domino effect, possibly leading to a ceasefire with Gaza.
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Peace through strength is prevailing. Even former Biden advisors are taking notice.
“There’s a chance for diplomacy here,” McGurk added. “Not only on the Iran side, but also in Gaza. Those talks are also going on back channel in Cairo, there’s a Hamas delegation there. Try to get that ceasefire in place. And you can come out of this in a place that is far better than we would have anticipated 10 nights ago.”
Even Cooper seemed taken aback by the course of events in recent hours.
“I keep using the term remarkable," Cooper said, "but it is just an extraordinary turn of events just in the last 24 hours.”
President Trump earlier this evening revealed news of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran when many on the left and/or the 'panican' persuasion were claiming the Commander-in-Chief was catapulting the world toward war.
"Congratulations to everyone!" Trump declared on Truth Social. "It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total ceasefire ... for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered ENDED!"
McGurk's assessment of the situation in the Middle East is a far cry from some remarks he made regarding President Trump's foreign policy abilities in the past.
In 2019, he resigned in protest over Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria. He then penned an op-ed in the Washington Post absolutely tearing into the President.
“Donald Trump is not a Commander-in-Chief,” said McGurk at the time. “He makes impulsive decisions with no knowledge or deliberation. He sends military personnel into harm’s way with no backing. He blusters and then leaves our allies exposed when adversaries call his bluff or he confronts a hard phone call.”
Everything regarding the Iran operation has proven the exact opposite on every level. It has been a masterclass. A foreign policy achievement that previous presidents could have only dreamed of.
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