Brett McGurkVerified account

@brett_mcgurk

Payne Distinguished Lecturer . Foreign Affairs Analyst /. Former Presidential Envoy. Served under Bush, Obama, Trump. Dad. .

Palo Alto, CA
cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/people/brett-m…
Joined April 2013
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    31 Dec 2018

    Today was my last day at the State Department. I wish my former civilian and military colleagues well as they work under extremely difficult circumstances to protect the interests of our great country. It was a privilege to serve alongside them.

    2,601 replies 6,342 retweets 36,839 likes
  2. 15 hours ago

    Ten days after Erdogan visits Trump in the White House, Turkey flies NATO aircraft to test its new Russian S400 missile system, as Turkish-backed extremists reportedly continue operations in NE Syria. Embarrassing.

    432 replies 3,752 retweets 6,216 likes
  3. Nov 20

    That’s all in the last week. Ukraine is one piece of a dysfunctional foreign policy system under Trump. It’s disconnected from declared American interests. Diplomats can’t speak for our country even on established policies. Adversaries and competitors sense and seize advantage.

    16 replies 57 retweets 155 likes
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  4. Nov 20

    5. Back in the Middle East, as we hand military facilities to Russia (the other great power competitor) and Iran restarts its nuclear program, Saudi Arabia, recently attacked by Iran, reads the tea leaves and conducts joint naval exercises with China.

    7 replies 65 retweets 129 likes
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  5. Nov 20

    4. South Korea, confronted with the new reality of an unpredictable and unreliable United States under Trump, signs an unprecedented defense pact with China, our primary great power competitor as defined in Trump’s own national security strategy.

    3 replies 51 retweets 92 likes
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  6. Nov 20

    3. Canceled military exercises in South Korea, essential for our own readiness and aimed apparently to appease Kim Jong-Un, were only met with further defiance from North Korea. (That’s generally how appeasement works.)

    North Korea snubs Trump, saying he hasn’t earned a new summit to "brag about"
    3 replies 49 retweets 97 likes
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  7. Nov 20

    2. Trump’s own national security strategy was geared towards “great power competition,” yet we’re shaking down and alienating our closest Asia-Pacific allies, our main comparative advantage against China.

    2 replies 38 retweets 75 likes
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  8. Nov 20

    1. State/DOD IGs confirm what we already know: that Trump’s green light to Erdogan and abrupt withdrawal from Syria has been a total disaster that’s only getting worse, benefitting ISIS, Iran, and Russia.

    16 replies 120 retweets 176 likes
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  9. Nov 20

    The predictable result is a shambolic foreign policy and weakening of our country. In the last week alone, five examples, across two theaters:

    2 replies 27 retweets 50 likes
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  10. Nov 20

    Here is the entire essay, which is worth reading. The effectiveness trap, banishment of expertise, impugning the reputations of those who tell the truth, and the resultant chilling effect amongst serving officials, all read like modern-day lessons.

    5 replies 37 retweets 71 likes
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  11. Nov 20

    George Packer, in his brilliant “Our Man” about Richard Holbrook, cites a ‘68 essay by a former assistant who worked for years on Vietnam and described why officials so often refuse to speak up or throw red flags when they know they should. Seems very relevant today:

    9 replies 131 retweets 285 likes
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  12. Retweeted
    Nov 17

    Tonight 10pm ET tune into for the latest episode of with - - if you can’t join us live set your DVR.

    61 replies 404 retweets 808 likes
  13. Retweeted
    Nov 16

    Massive attacks underway against the kurds in northern syria. No ceasefire. Total nonsenses there is. US military officials tell me they are ashamed, “sickened.” It’s cold now outside. What about the families, and kids, out of their homes?

    3,243 replies 34,999 retweets 56,183 likes
  14. Nov 15

    Kobani is a predominantly Kurdish area and site of the turning point against ISIS in 2015. This military facility was later critical to the defeat of ISIS’s so-called caliphate. Unfortunately for the Kurds, there’s no oil in the area.

    216 replies 2,434 retweets 5,132 likes
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  15. Nov 15

    Today in Syria: Russia takes control of main U.S. military facility abandoned earlier this week by American forces on Trump’s orders. This area is south of Kobani and went to Russia under the Putin-Erdogan deal. Russia now also owns the airstrip we built.

    3,734 replies 19,563 retweets 23,794 likes
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  16. Nov 14

    Pompeo says the to defeat ISIS that formed in 2014 is “one of the most successful multilateral undertakings of the century.” Agree!

    .: This …has been one of the most successful multilateral undertakings of the century. We beat back a jihadist dream – a would-be terror state in the center of the Middle East – and we saved millions of people from tyranny. Watch here:
    53 replies 177 retweets 493 likes
  17. Nov 13

    I worked with Amb Taylor. With his remarkable record of service, personal courage, and integrity, he was like an EF Hutton of diplomacy: when he spoke, best to listen carefully.

    1:18
    Amb. Taylor: "Following the call with President Trump, the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares…
    26 replies 646 retweets 1,965 likes
  18. Nov 13

    Senior US officials keep trying to clean this up, claiming US troops are really staying in Syria due to ISIS, but the troops are there on Trunp’s orders, and he keeps saying this (“only for the oil”) — which is totally illegal.

    1:13
    Trump, with Erdogan next to him, on Syria: "We are keeping the oil. We have the oil. The oil is secure. We left troops behind only for the oil."
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    520 replies 4,424 retweets 8,171 likes
  19. Nov 13

    At bottom: No NATO ally defies American values and interests like Turkey under Erdogan. Turkey is a great country, and its democracy will outlast its current leader. Until then, it’s best to be honest about what’s happening. None of it’s normal, and appeasement makes it worse.

    74 replies 368 retweets 872 likes
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  20. Nov 13

    15. Why do you continue to insist on expanding the influence of extremist groups known to harbor al Qaeda and responsible for war crimes? Are any of these groups now in NE Syria using American weapons? Do they operate under US-controlled skies?

    30 replies 346 retweets 801 likes
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  21. Nov 13

    14. Why did your state-backed media hail an “operation” to brutally murder a Kurdish woman until realizing it was (indeed) a probable war crime and then deleted any trace of the story? Has anyone been held accountable?

    Turkish state-backed media hails a “successful operation” to “neutralize” an unarmed 35-year old woman working to unite Arabs, Christians, and Kurds in NE Syria. Ms. Hevrin Khalef was reportedly dragged from a vehicle and…
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    21 replies 486 retweets 923 likes
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  22. Nov 13

    13. Why did you start making specific military threats against NE Syria — which culminated during your October 6 call with Trump — on the very day you took delivery of the S400 missile system from Russia? Was that a big coincidence?

    What a surprise! On the day Turkey takes delivery of advanced Russian missiles in defiance of NATO, it renews threats to US personnel and its partner forces in NE Syria. This has always been a cynical game in Ankara. Now transparent.
    12 replies 315 retweets 678 likes
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  23. Nov 13

    12. When you threaten to send 2-3 million refugees into NE Syria, where will the people who already live there go? Do you agree with Trump that Kurds can migrate from their traditonal areas to a remote oil region?

    0:25
    Erodgan, talking about northeast Syria with TRT yesterday, said: "The most suitable for this area are Arabs. These areas are not suitable for the lifestyle of Kurds."…
    11 replies 365 retweets 749 likes
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  24. Nov 13

    11. Why did your government become the world’s largest sanctions buster on behalf of Iran with illegal proceeds, according to SDNY court filings, lining the pockets of senior Turkish officials? Where has all that money (billions) gone?

    14 replies 337 retweets 721 likes
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  25. Nov 13

    10. Why, as a NATO ally, an alliance built on shared interests and values, do Turkish citizens who criticize your policies, particularly on Syria, routinely wind up exiled, purged, or jailed? (Why is a NATO ally the world’s largest jailer of journalists?)

    13 replies 383 retweets 821 likes
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  26. Nov 13

    9. Why, despite years of effort, hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars, and deployment of our best military planners to Ankara, were the Syrian opposition groups you insisted on supporting to fight ISIS found far too extreme for U.S. troops to partner with safely?

    11 replies 301 retweets 727 likes
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  27. Nov 13

    8. Why did you agree to joint patrols with Putin and Russian forces in Syria but rejected joint patrols in adjacent areas with American troops, and then placed our troops in grave danger with an unprovoked attack that ceded 2/3 of NE Syria to Russia and Assad?

    17 replies 333 retweets 793 likes
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  28. Nov 13

    6. How exactly did 40,000 foreign fighters travel freely through Turkey into Syria, many of whom became the backbone for AQ and ISIS? 7. Why did you reject repeated and specific requests to help close your border to ISIS, then sealed the border only after the SDF defeated ISIS?

    27 replies 427 retweets 927 likes
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  29. Nov 13

    5. In the last few weeks, you claim to have arrested a number of Baghdadi’s relatives to include one of his wives. Why didn’t you arrest these relatives of the world’s most wanted terrorist until now? And what were they doing in Turkey?

    21 replies 340 retweets 800 likes
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  30. Nov 13

    3. When you demanded that the U.S. move the SDF 30km from your border, did you know Baghdadi was living with his family <5km from your border? 4. Why do the areas of Syria that you claim to control or influence so often become permissive havens for AQ and/or ISIS leaders?

    19 replies 397 retweets 872 likes
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  31. Nov 13

    15 quick questions Trump may want to ask Erdogan, but won’t: 1. How exactly was Baghdadi living in a safe house with well-prepared tunnels less than 5km from your border? 2. Why was Baghdadi’s number two found in Jarabulus, a small town on your border that you fully control?

    83 replies 765 retweets 1,325 likes
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  32. Nov 13

    “If you forgive the fox for stealing your chicken, it will steal your sheep, and then your cow.” That seems to be Trump’s approach towards Erdogan. It’s precisely how not to deal with an authoritarian leader. Rewards cede respect, and beget worse behavior.

    219 replies 1,649 retweets 3,285 likes
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  33. Retweeted
    Nov 10

    ‘Filled with hatred and a lust for blood’: Turkey’s proxy army in northern Syria accused of abusing civilians. by .

    67 replies 381 retweets 482 likes
  34. Nov 10

    Sunday reading: AMB Roebuck’s searing report from Syria (he’s spent more time there than anyone) and testimony of Fiona Hill, AMB Taylor, AMB Yovanovitch, LTC Vindman, etc., for a sense of what public servants do every day on behalf of our country.

    Breaking News: In a searing memo, the top U.S. diplomat in northern Syria criticized the Trump administration for not trying harder to prevent Turkey’s invasion
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    59 replies 339 retweets 791 likes
  35. Retweeted
    Nov 8

    Since the US troop withdrawal in Syria, the Russians and Syrians have filled the power vacuum. The Kurds continue to be at grave risk. & are on the WorldAffairs podcast to discuss w .

    28 replies 121 retweets 201 likes
  36. Nov 6

    I’ve worked for three presidents and participated in a number of foreign leader calls. I cannot recall a president that seems to believe — and then parrots — whatever a foreign leader tells him on the phone. Such information is often false, intended to influence more than inform.

    382 replies 2,309 retweets 5,721 likes
  37. Retweeted
    Nov 4

    ICYMI: joins the to discuss the U.S. military strategy against ISIS, al-Baghdadi's death, where the organization stands now, and more with Michael :

    17 replies 59 retweets 188 likes
  38. Nov 3

    As reports, Trump is deploying mechanized units without a clear mission and with essential rules of engagement undefined as US forces have already abandoned 2/3 of NE Syria and left the SDF largely to the mercy of Putin and Erdogan.

    Confusion reigns over US plan to 'secure the oil' in Syria as commanders await orders - CNNPolitics
    126 replies 1,014 retweets 2,103 likes
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  39. Nov 3

    I spent a lot of time with US Special Forces on the ground in Syria where they had a clear mission over two administrations to defeat ISIS. These images of US forces now in Syria with an ill-defined mission to guard small oil fields make me cringe.

    838 replies 5,974 retweets 15,111 likes
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  40. Nov 1

    Terrific event before a packed house yesterday at the venerable for a discussion of presidential history with and his new book at the Brink. Bret’s book reads as a testimonial to diplomacy and statesmanship in wartime.

    22 replies 40 retweets 279 likes
  41. Oct 31

    Despite this new force, we apparently stand helpless to deter war crimes and population displacement our sudden retreat across NE Syria unleashed. That’s happening under airspace the US reportedly still controls. Totally incoherent, indefensible, immoral.

    73 replies 741 retweets 1,262 likes
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