Top Pentagon official for Middle East policy expected to step down

Several US officials currently involved in the Middle East policymaking are expected to step down from their positions, believed to be due to the pressures arising from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group.

As reported by the National, citing a US defence official source, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for the Middle East, Dana Stroul, has expressed her intention to leave the Pentagon. She served as a senior professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2013 to 2018, covering the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkiye. 

Jonathan Lord, a Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East security program at the Centre for a New America Security, said about Stroul that she played a vital role in US defense policy in the Middle East since taking on her current position, describing her portfolio as one of the most demanding jobs in the Pentagon for a civilian, a role that has become even more challenging after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

In a separate development, the Pentagon announced the departure of another official, Mara Karlin, who held various roles, including performing the duties of deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.