Israeli leader Ehud Barak (left) with Dennis Ross
IMEMC
The White House decided on Thursday to name Dennis Ross , veteran Middle East Negotiator [often called "israel's lawyer], as the special advisor to President Barack Obama on affairs regarding the Middle East, the Arab Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia.
He will also work with top officials on several policies issues regarding Iran and Iraq. Full story
Politico
The White House sought for the first time Thursday to answer basic questions about a key player in President Barack Obama’s approach to what the administration is calling the “Central Region” of foreign policy, a vast tract of the globe spanning from Pakistan to Israel.
The National Security Council announced that Dennis Ross would serve as its senior director, and as a special assistant to the president...
Some of Ross’s more hawkish allies suggested that his arrival at the White House implied a rightward turn for the administration, but several government officials suggested that the shift is more subtle...
...Ross’s portfolio will include also include Iraq, still full of U.S. troops and civilians, and Syria, where the U.S. has hinted at a diplomatic opening aimed at separating the country from Iran. He may also, one government official said, serve – as he did on Obama’s campaign – the role of reassuring the Israelis and American friends of Israel, with whom he’s closely associated, of Obama’s intentions.
......Ross’s allies on the right trumpeted the move as a shift toward the more confrontational stance toward Iran that they, and the Israelis, have long sought.
“Dennis is much more of the view that you cannot solve major problems in the region without dealing with Iran. It’s Iran first, it’s not the Palestinians first,” said Dan Senor, a former chief spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, who also suggested that Ross would quickly trump other Obama advisors.
“He’s going to become the de facto National Security Advisor because of the portfolio he has, because of the experience he has, and because of the relationships he’s accumulated abroad,” he said. “Mitchell is marginalized because Dennis has Mitchell’s portfolio – only he’s closer to the center of decision making.”
A White House official dismissed Senor’s comment, noting that Ross reports to both National Security Advisor James Jones and Jones’s powerful deputy, Tom Donilon, and that Donilon will continue to run crucial interagency processes. Another administration official suggested Mitchell’s stance – which has at times been more confrontational toward Israel – would hold sway..... Full story
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