Director Burns' Middle East Mission

Director Burns’ Middle East Mission

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 20: Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns (L) arrives for a closed-door hearing in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on June 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. Burns and National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone testified before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee about their proposed FY2024 budgets. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Posted: November 7th, 2023

By Hollie McKay

Hollie McKay is a writer, war crimes investigator, and the author of “Only Cry for the Living: Memos from Inside the ISIS Battlefield.” (Jocko Publishing/Di Angelo Publications 2021). She was an investigative and international affairs/war correspondent for Fox News Digital for over fourteen years, where she focused on war, terrorism, and crimes against humanity.

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING – CIA Director Bill Burns is in the Middle East as part of a Biden Administration push to ease tensions in the region amid fears of a broader, more violent regional conflict. The director is reportedly planning to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Mossad Chief David Barnea. His trip follows a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.

While the CIA does not comment publicly on the director’s schedule, media outlets are citing Israeli officials for details of Burns’ visit in which he is also expected to meet leaders in Qatar and Egypt as well as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

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