Clinton announces new envoys Mitchell and Holbrooke… but not Dennis Ross.
Clinton announces new envoys Mitchell and Holbrooke… but not Dennis Ross.
Standing beside President Obama and Vice President Biden this afternoon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the appointment of two high-level diplomats who will serve in critical global hot-spots. “The heart of smart power are smart people,” Clinton said, announcing the appointments of Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. “I have given you an early gift,” Obama told State Department employees, “Hillary Clinton. … She has my full confidence.”
It had been rumored that former Ambassador Dennis Ross would also be announced today as an envoy to Iran. NBC reports Ross will “not be a special envoy to Iran…but he is expected to be in charge of Iran policy.” Yglesias writes that there are some doubts about Ross’s ability to be an effective diplomat with Iranians, given that he was “was widely criticized in the Arab world for being too tight with the Israeli side during the Camp David process.”
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Yglesias writes that there are some doubts about Ross’s ability to be an effective diplomat with Iranians, given that he was “was widely criticized in the Arab world for being too tight with the Israeli side during the Camp David process.”
Would that be the Camp David process that was brokered by the Secretary of States husband….? And didn’t the SoS intimate a willingness to annihilate Iran when running for President? Can’t see that Ross is worse than Hillary vis-a-vis Iran.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 pmDennis Ross has been tried as an envoy before and found to be useless.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:38 pmAfter so many years and tens of trips he made to the Middle East he achieved nothing,due to his well known and obvious one sided bias in favor of Israel.
It was a good decision to send a fair man like Mitchell instead who will bring and achieve better results.
Oh, the wingnuts are gonna just love that quote. Obama “gives us a gift,” and it turns out to be Hillary…
It’s almost like he’s trying to brighten their day.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:38 pmSomeone, at least one person in DC needs to let Israel know we are over being the butt boy to those who kill hundreds of innocent people with just one bomb.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:39 pmYglesias writes that there are some doubts about Ross’s ability to be an effective diplomat with Iranians, given that he was “was widely criticized in the Arab world for being too tight with the Israeli side during the Camp David process.”
I realize the dynamic is much the same, but Iran ain’t Arab.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:19 pm“I have given you a gift,” Obama told State Department employees, “Hillary Clinton. … She has my full confidence.”
Sounds awfully biblical; could Obama have picked up some tricks concerning sticking coded messages into his language to appeal to evangelicals?
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” ~Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pmboudin,
I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I’m not seeing the connection you’re trying to make. Those statements do not strike me as anywhere near similar.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:44 pmHow about http://www.jstreet.org ?
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:47 pmOops:
J Street represents Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own – two states living side-by-side in peace and security. We believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 pmTo Again borrow a theme from Bill Clinton’s Campaign…
It’s the SETTLEMENTS STUPID.
Unless Israel unequivocally Halts the building of New Settlements, and the Increase in Existing Settlemets, on DISPUTED and OCCUPIED TERRITORY, the Palestinians will continue their Resistance…as well they should.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 pmname of GOD. Sheesh.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 pmBut but but…the Palestinians are living on land granted to Israel By GOD thousands of years ago! God protect everyone from fundamentalist religions. They can justify any crime in the name of Go.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 pmSorry, Wayne, I am afraid I did not do a good job of making my point. What I was commenting on was more the tone of Obama’s comment and not so much a one to one comparison with the verse I used as an example. In fact, there are many verses from the Bible I could have used instead or in addition to the one cited.
The point is that the Obama quote seemed to have a scriptural, almost messianic phraseology and to that end to be referential of the Judeo-Christian memes of gifting and offerings (this is my gift to you), surrogates and salvation (she is my representative; she is here to make your world right once more), and faith (she has my full confidence, you must have confidence in her as well).
Bush famously made use of code words to appeal to evangelicals. Again to cite but one example, No Child Left Behind was seen to refer to the Left Behind novels, though a direct comparison of the program and the books would be tenuous.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:26 pmHow Obama is supposed to bring peace to the Middle East with Clinton as SoS and Ross in charge of Iran policy is a complete mystery to me. Its like the 1990s all over again. Except today the situation of the Palestinians is much worse.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 pmPutting Dennis Ross in charge of anything in the Middle East is like letting the fox guard the hen house.
Does President Obama care that little about Peace in the Middle East?
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