--- description: The administration will also seek to tighten the visa waiver program title: Obama Names New Adviser to Focus on ISIS image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1ac10bab0e231a2/698873310b72e32ea76e70a5/obama-paris1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Obama Names New Advisor to Focus on ISIS by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2015 12:06 AM CUT  President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Le Bourget, France, on Nov. 30, 2015. President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Le Bourget, France, on Nov. 30, 2015.Eric Feferberg—AP by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2015 12:06 AM CUT President Obama has named a new senior advisor to focus solely on efforts to degrade and destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), White House press secretary Josh Earnest [announced](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/politics/white-house-counter-terrorism-campaign/index.html "undefined") on Monday. Robert Malley will advise Obama on anti-ISIS measures, using his previous experience as senior director at the National Security Council for the Middle East and Africa. His work will reportedly complement that of the State Department’s special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk, CNN reports. The administration will also seek to tighten the visa waiver program that allows citizens of certain countries to bypass the visa process in coming to the U.S. In the wake of terror attacks in Paris and elsewhere, Earnest asked Congress to pass new legislation on the program before December recess. \[[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/politics/white-house-counter-terrorism-campaign/index.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4130294/obama-isis-advisor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4130294/obama-isis-advisor/"},"headline":"Obama Names New Advisor to Focus on ISIS","datePublished":"2015-12-01T00:06:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:58:51.862Z","description":"The administration will also seek to tighten the visa waiver program","url":"https://time.com/4130294/obama-isis-advisor/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1ac10bab0e231a2/698873310b72e32ea76e70a5/obama-paris1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1ac10bab0e231a2/698873310b72e32ea76e70a5/obama-paris1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, outside Paris, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. (Eric Feferberg/Pool Photo via AP)","caption":"U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, outside Paris, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. (Eric Feferberg/Pool Photo via AP)","creditText":"Eric Feferberg—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4130294/obama-isis-advisor/","name":"Obama Names New Advisor to Focus on ISIS"}}]}] ```