📰 Joel Rayburn: Veteran Diplomat and Strategist Nominated Anew with an Unwavering Vision for Syria

The U. S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved the nomination of Joel Rayburn as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, marking a significant return for this seasoned officer and diplomat to a central role in shaping Middle East policy under the Trump administration, with a particular focus on syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria. Rayburn’s nomination received 15 votes in favour and seven against, clearing the path for full Senate confirmation through a plenary vote. The administration had initially endorsed Rayburn’s nomination on 11 February this year, referring it to the Foreign Relations Committee, which held a public hearing but delayed a final decision. The process faced repeated postponements due to internal opposition, leaving the nomination in limbo without progression to a Senate-wide vote. Officer, Historian, and Diplomat Joel Rayburn is a leading figure in the United States’ approach to Levantine affairs. He currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Centre for Peace and security in the Middle East.

His previous roles span diplomatic, armed israeli-forces-incursion-reported-in-daraa-and-quneitra/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Israeli forces incursion reported in Daraa and Quneitra">forces/" class="auto-internal-link">forces, and academic fields. In early 2021, he advised Senator Bill Hagerty on Middle East affairs, following his tenure as U. S. Notably, special Envoy to Syria from July 2018 to January 2021. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Levantine Affairs until November 2020. During these appointments, Rayburn oversaw diplomatic teams across the Middle East and Europe and briefly led the U. S. In fact, special Mission to Syria.

These roles followed a 26-year career in the U. S. Army, culminating in his service as senior director for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon at the national Security Council from 2017 to 2018. From 2002 to 2005, he taught history at West Point before advising U. S. Central Command (CENTCOM) leadership and joining the Joint Strategic Assessment Team in Baghdad in 2007. Subsequently, he held intelligence and advisory roles in Iraq, CENTCOM, and Afghanistan, and served as principal armed forces fellow at the National Strategic Studies Institute. Between 2013 and 2016, he led a team analysing Operation Iraqi Freedom and co-authored the two-volume reference work The U.

S. Army in the Iraq War, published in 2018. Rayburn holds a master’s degree in history from Texas A&M University and another in strategic studies from the National War College. Originally from Oklahoma, he resides in Washington, D. C. He is also the author of the 2014 book Iraq After America: Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance, which combines field experience with historical analysis. This comprehensive background has positioned…