Dennis Ross Watch: "Super-Envoy Post May Not be Done Deal"

Ross Super-Envoy Post May Not be Done Deal
Jim Lobe


I understand from various sources that Dennis Ross’ prospective status as Middle East super-envoy and, as the WINEP memo disclosed by The Nelson Report claimed, Clinton’s “top advisor on a wide range of Middle East issues, from the Arab-Israeli peace process to Iran,” is not yet a done deal.

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Given Ross’ lack of experience with and knowledge about Iran — not to mention his long-standing ties to WINEP and other key components of the “Israel Lobby,” or his participation in and his endorsement of that dreadful Bipartisan Policy Center report by Michael Rubin and Michael Makovsky — the notion that he will have any major role on U.S. Iran policy under Obama is still alarming to those who hope for a fresh, less antagonistic approach toward Tehran. But the apparent likelihood that he will not be given the authority to effectively oversee all of Middle East policy from the “seventh-floor office …designed especially for him,” as the WINEP memo put it, offers at least some consolation...

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http://www.ips.org/blog/jimlobe/?p=217