U.S. President Barack Obama Friday named a new special presidential envoy for the coalition to counter the ISIS, while offering his "profound gratitude" to outgoing envoy General John Allen. Obama said that he was pleased to welcome Allen's deputy, Brett McGurk, to the position. "Brett has my full support as he continues broadening and deepening our Coalition efforts to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS," Obama said in a statement. "I have also asked him to work closely with my national security team to strengthen our partnership with Iraq and work intensively with regional partners to bring an end to the civil war in Syria, which continues to fuel ISIS and other extremist groups."
