The junket, planned from January 8-15, will see Pompeo in Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman. Iraq is said to be on the list, although no confirmation has been made by the state department due to security concerns, according to Politico.
Announced on Friday, the hastily-organized tour follows deep uncertainty among US allies in the region after a sudden Trump avowal for a swift military troop withdrawal from Syria was followed by another conflicting declaration by the president that the process would be "slow" and "careful."
Pompeo will also visit Israel and Turkey, following in the footsteps of Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who will arrive in the area Friday. Bolton is expected to engage in political damage control over Trump's conflicting Syria pullout remarks, according to Politico.
While in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, the US secretary of state is expected to deliver a speech about America's "commitment to peace, prosperity, stability, and security in the Middle East," according to the state department, cited by Time.com.
Trump and his advisors were forced to backpedal the sudden Syria pullout declaration, stating that a more considered plan would be created and explaining the new position as a method by which Daesh could be kept scattered and weak and that Kurdish allies fighting alongside the US would not be left unsupported.
A senior State Department official said on Friday that the US had no official timeline to match Trump's unscheduled remarks on the Syria pullout.
"We have no timeline for our military forces to withdraw from Syria," an unnamed official confirmed in a telephone news briefing, cited by Politico.
"It will be done a deliberate, coordinated way," as a means of keeping pressure on Daesh, it was reported.
US State Department officials noted that during the course of Pompeo's lengthy Middle Eastern visit, the top official will likely "speak about America as a force for good in the region," cited by the Washington Post.
