US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Brett McGurk as National Security Council’s MENA coordinator. McGurk was a special envoy for struggling ISIS between 2015 and 2018.
Turkey analysts see the appointment as a sign of no change or even a new worse level in US-Turkish relations. McGurk is accused of arming and supporting YPG, a branch of the PKK, a designated terrorist organization. YPG was renamed as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during his term.
After being discharged from his post by Trump, he had unveiled his Turkey and Erdogan hatred in his twitter account. As Biden’s most unwanted bureaucrat by Turkish authorities, his personal policies are expected to further damage US-Turkish relations. Salim Yılmaz, a Turkish journalist said “the alliance between two friendly states will be ruined by one person who is full of Turkey hatred. Biden should have been careful and considered concerns of other countries”. Another journalist, Erkan Güzel, argues that Biden’s return to world politics might damage the world order more than Trump. He added “I am afraid that Biden is coming to create just turmoil and hurt other states. I am sure he had more alternatives for the post McGurk was appointed but he chose McGurk, a notorious pro-terror guy”.
