Term of Appointment: July 2018
Joel Rayburn began serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the

Levant and Special Envoy for Syria on July 23, 2018. He

previously served in the Administration as Senior Director for Iran,

Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon at the National Security Council from

January 2017 to July 2018.

Rayburn is a retired U.S. Army officer who served in a variety of

assignments in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States

from 1992 to 2018. He also taught history at the U.S. Military

Academy at West Point and is the author of several books and

articles on the Iraq War. He was commissioned into the Army

after graduating from West Point in 1992 and holds a master’s

degree in History from Texas A&M University and in National

Security Studies from the National War College. He is originally

from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.