--- title: Obama Names New Adviser to Focus on ISIS description: The administration will also seek to tighten the visa waiver program canonical: https://time.com/4130294/obama-isis-advisor/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-01T00:06:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:58:51.862Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Names New Adviser to Focus on ISIS og:description: The administration will also seek to tighten the visa waiver program og:url: https://time.com/4130294/obama-isis-advisor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1ac10bab0e231a2/698873310b72e32ea76e70a5/obama-paris1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: 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) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Names New Adviser to Focus on ISIS twitter:description: The administration will also seek to tighten the visa waiver program twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1ac10bab0e231a2/698873310b72e32ea76e70a5/obama-paris1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Names New Advisor to Focus on ISIS > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Eric Feferberg—AP by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Dec 1, 2015 12:06 AM UTC 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) 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. \[[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/politics/white-house-counter-terrorism-campaign/index.html)\] ```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. 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