{"id":69541,"date":"2019-09-18T14:01:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T14:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/18\/trump-names-hostage-negotiator-as-national-security-adviser\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:38:15","slug":"trump-names-hostage-negotiator-as-national-security-adviser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/18\/trump-names-hostage-negotiator-as-national-security-adviser\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump names hostage envoy O\u2019Brien national security adviser"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Robert O\u2019Brien, his chief hostage negotiator and an established figure in Republican policy circles, as his new national security adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O\u2019Brien, the fourth person in two years to hold the job, becomes the administration\u2019s point person on national security amid<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/17\/iran-says-there-will-be-no-talks-with-us-while-saudi-arabia-aims-to-restore-full-oil-production-within-the-month\/\" target=_blank> rising tensions with Iran<\/a> following the weekend attack on Saudi oil installations and fresh uncertainty in Afghanistan after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/09\/us-troop-reduction-in-afghanistan-unclear-as-trump-says-peace-talks-with-taliban-are-now-dead\/\" target=_blank>the halt in peace talks with the Taliban<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcement of O\u2019Brien\u2019s selection comes a week after<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/2019\/09\/10\/trump-dumps-bolton\/\" target=_blank> Trump ousted John Bolton<\/a> from the post, citing policy disagreements. O\u2019Brien, who made headlines in July when he was dispatched to Sweden to monitor the assault trial of American rapper A$AP Rocky, was among five candidates Trump said Tuesday were under consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am pleased to announce that I will name Robert C. O\u2019Brien, currently serving as the very successful Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, as our new National Security Advisor,\u201d Trump tweeted. \u201cI have worked long &amp; hard with Robert. He will do a great job!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/09\/11\/iran-urges-us-to-put-warmongers-aside-after-bolton-firing\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19246257441779.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iran urges US to \u2018put warmongers aside\u2019 after Bolton firing<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Iran\u2019s president urged the U.S. on Wednesday to \u201cput warmongers aside\u201d as tensions roil the Persian Gulf amid an escalating crisis between Washington and Tehran in the wake of the collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump abruptly forced out Bolton on Sept. 10, after he and his hawkish national security adviser found themselves in strong disagreement over the administration\u2019s approach to Iran, Afghanistan and a host of other global challenges. The sudden exit marked the latest departure of a prominent voice of dissent from Trump\u2019s inner circle as the president has grown more comfortable following his gut instinct over the studious guidance offered by his advisers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the State Department, O\u2019Brien worked closely with the families of American hostages and advised administration officials on hostage issues. He helped secure the release in February of American citizen Danny Burch, who was freed after 18 months in captivity in Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has also worked on the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/08\/14\/family-still-holding-out-for-hope-at-7-year-mark-of-syrian-disappearance-of-marine-veteran-austin-tice\/\" target=\"_blank\">missing U.S. journalist and Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice<\/a>, who was captured in Syria in 2012. O\u2019Brien has said he is confident Tice is still alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19261486323773.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19261486323773.jpg.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19261486323773.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19261486323773.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19261486323773.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this March 6, 2019, file photo, former U.S. hostage in Yemen, Danny Burch, left, listens as President Donald Trump speaks, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, next to Vice President Mike Pence, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Robert O&#8217;Brien. At back, to the right of Trump, is then-national security adviser John Bolton. (Jacquelyn Martin\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House sent O\u2019Brien to Sweden to monitor the case of A$AP Rocky, who was charged with assault. The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was permitted to return to Los Angeles to await the verdict of a Swedish court that found him guilty in a street brawl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, Hua Qu, the wife of a Princeton University graduate student detained in Iran, told reporters that she would like to see the same level of personal attention from the government as A$AP Rocky received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday, a Twitter account that advocates for the release of the student, Xiyue Wang, congratulated O\u2019Brien on the appointment but also said: \u201cWe watched with frustration as this administration put all its energies into releasing celebrity A$AP Rocky from Sweden; meanwhile, (asterisk)multiple(asterisk) Americans suffer under terrible conditions in #Iran. Let\u2019s put all Americans first, not just famous ones. #AmericansFirst.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/13\/some-world-hot-spots-see-possible-openings-in-bolton-firing\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19028742741190-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Some world hot spots see possible openings in Bolton firing<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In the world&#039;s hot spots from Iran to North Korea \u2014 and even among allies \u2014 some see opportunity in President Donald Trump&#039;s firing of his national security adviser, John Bolton.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O&#8217;Brien previously helped lead the department&#8217;s public-private partnership for justice reform in Afghanistan during the Bush and Obama administrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He began to emerge as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/12\/trump-says-hes-considering-5-candidates-to-replace-bolton\/\" target=\"_blank\">a front-runner to replace Bolton<\/a> last week when it became clear that an early favorite, Iran envoy Brian Hook, would face opposition from hawks who think he has not been tough enough on Iran, according to Republicans familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another short-listed candidate, North Korea envoy, Stephen Biegun, was taken out of the mix when Pompeo suggested he might be better placed as Deputy Secretary of State to replace John Sullivan, who is widely expected to be nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 2008 through 2011, O&#8217;Brien was a presidentially appointed member of a government committee that advises on issues related to the trafficking of antiquities and other cultural items. In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated O&#8217;Brien to be U.S. Representative to the U.N. General Assembly, where he worked with Bolton. O&#8217;Brien was confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also was an adviser on the Republican presidential campaigns of former Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier in his career, O&#8217;Brien was a senior legal officer for the U.N. Security Council commission that decided claims against Iraq that arose from the Gulf War. He was a major in the U.S. Army Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O&#8217;Brien has a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and co-founded a law firm in Los Angeles focused on litigation and international arbitration issues. O&#8217;Brien is the author of &#8220;While America Slept,&#8221; a collection of essays on U.S. national security and foreign policy billed as a &#8220;wake-up call to the American people.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book warned that the world had become more dangerous &#8220;under President Obama&#8217;s lead-from-behind foreign policy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Robert O&#8217;Brien, his chief hostage negotiator and an established figure in Republican policy circles, as his new national security adviser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":104230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,62],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3846,3065,2653],"class_list":["post-69541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MDWRZGJSSVBZJPFBXUZJH7VMF4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2019\/09\/18\/trump-names-hostage-negotiator-as-national-security-adviser\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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