U.S. Intel Chiefs Visit Middle East to Talk Syria

By William Tucker

CIA head David Petraeus held unscheduled talks with Turkish PM Erdogan in Turkey today. While Iran and Kurdish rebels were certainly discussed, the situation in Syria was reportedly the dominate topic. In Egypt, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, is in Cairo for a two day visit. As expected, the topic du jour is Syria. It is not out of the norm for heads of U.S. intelligence agencies to make foreign visits, but to have these two individuals stopping in two important Middle East countries to discuss Syria is certainly noteworthy. This is not to say that some sort of military intervention in Syria is in the offing, rather the nature the visit may include intelligence sharing or unifying the political stance among allies. Regardless, the timing of the visits, and the individuals involved, are a good indication that something is occurring. We’ll be paying close attention to Syria and its neighbors in coming days and weeks for any indication of a change in political posture.