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Dennis Ross to be ousted as Obama's envoy to Iran
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News —
... Bill Clinton will deal primarily with regional issues related to the peace process. Washington insiders speculate that a number of reasons moved the administration to reassign Ross. One possibility is Iran's persistent refusal to accept Ross as a U.S. emissary given the diplomat's Jewish background as well as his purported pro-Israel leanings. Ross is known to maintain contacts with numerous senior officials in Israel's defense establishment and the Israeli government." Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093058.html From the archives: Obama picks Ross as Mideast ...
Dennis Ross to be ousted as Obama's envoy to Iran
Israel Matzav —
... Haaretz reports that veteran diplomat Dennis Ross is to be ousted as President Obama's envoy to Iran. According to Haaretz, Ross will be reassigned to a position in which he will deal with 'regional issues related to the peace process.' Haaretz gives three possible reasons for Ross's departure. One is the Iranian refusal to accept a Jewish envoy with known 'pro-Israel leanings.' If that is correct, the Obama administration has reached a new low in which it allows its enemies to even dictate the identity of their interlocutors. The second possible reason for Ross's ouster is ...
ThinkFast: June 15, 2009
Think Progress —
... The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Dennis Ross will be relieved of his duties as U.S. envoy to Iran in the coming days and speculates that his removal may be a result of “Iran’s persistent refusal to accept Ross as a U.S. emissary given the diplomat’s Jewish background as well as his purported pro-Israel leanings.” But, a diplomatic source in Jerusalem suggested that perhaps Ross is looking for a “more enhanced role” at the National Security Agency. ...
Report: U.S. Envoy to Iran 'Will Abruptly Be Relieved of His Duties'
Weekly Standard Blog —
Haaretz reports:
Dennis Ross, who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be relieved of his duties, sources in Washington told Haaretz. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.
The Obama administration will announce that Ross has been reassigned to another position in the White House. In his new post, the former Mideast peace envoy under President Bill Clinton will deal primarily with regional issues related to the peace process.
Washington insiders ...
Haaretz: Dennis Ross to be Reassigned
Matthew Yglesias —
... An intriguing story from Barak David at Haaretz:
Dennis Ross, who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be relieved of his duties, sources in Washington told Haaretz. An official announcement is expected in the coming days. [...] A diplomatic source in Jerusalem speculated that perhaps Ross preferred to work for the National Security Agency, which answers directly to President Barack Obama, and would thus be considered a more enhanced role.
The second part of ...
Interesting Rumor
The Agonist - thoughtful, global, timely —
This is certainly an interesting rumor. Can't say I saw it confirmed yet, but still, if it plays out, I won't be sad to see Ross go.
Ross out?
Ben Smith's Blog —
The Israeli paper Haaretz reports:
Dennis Ross, who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be relieved of his duties, sources in Washington told Haaretz. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.
I haven't been able to confirm this one.
UPDATE: Sources familiar with the move say there's a shift afoot, but it will be played, at least, as something less dramatic than his being "abruptly...relieved of his duties." Jewish community officials inquiring are being told to wait for a State ...
Dennis Ross's Future On The Iran Desk
The Atlantic Politics Channel —
Haaretz asks: "Why is Dennis Ross being ousted as Obama envoy to Iran?" 1. Ross, a veteran diplomat, was never envoy to Iran. He was a "special adviser" with responsibility for providing advice about the entire Middle East region (except for, um, a lot of other countries in the Middle East.) The U.S. government never wanted an envoy to Iran because an official appointment would signify that Iran merited the same official attention and respect as, say, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama's engagement policy is more cautious than that. 2. His position at the State ...
Ross Ousted as Iran Envoy
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire —
Dennis Ross, "who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be relieved of his duties," sources told Haaretz. ...
Dennis Ross out at the Iran desk?
Hot Air » Top Picks —
... With Iran undergoing its biggest upheaval in decades, this seems like a bad time for the US to make a roster change in its foreign-policy team for the Islamic Republic. Ha’aretz reports that the Obama administration will remove Dennis Ross as its senior adviser on Iran just at the time when the administration can least afford the discontinuity. And according to its sources, the move may send exactly the wrong signal to the mullahcracy — and to the protestors in the streets: Dennis Ross, who most recently served as a special State Department envoy to Iran, will abruptly be ...
Dennis Ross abruptly removed from Iranian envoy slot.
RedState: Conservative News and Community —
... First off, let’s avoid euphemism, particularly when it involves the Iranian regime: Dennis Ross does not have a ‘Jewish background.’ He is Jewish. Jewish mother, observant of the Conservative sect of Judaism, co-founded a ...
Kelly: Ross still at State, today
Ben Smith's Blog —
... "He has not been fired. He is not being ousted," Kelly said in response to a report in the Israeli paper Haaretz. "He is in the building today, I was in his office today, he’s working very hard on the same issues that we’vebneen discussing the last 15 minutes." ...
“Another Round of Violence and Bloodshed”
Weekly Standard Blog —
... with relief, “Looks like we finally have a friend in the White House who is sympathetic to the Arab cause”—won’t be helped much by the disarray into which U.S. foreign policy seems to be falling, whose practitioners in any case have bigger fish to fry at the moment, as they ponder who in Iran will be the one to shake their open hand. ...
Dennis Ross Is Moving To The White House
Swampland —
Massimo Calabresi and I have been able to confirm the Haaretz report that Dennis Ross is moving from the State Department, where he was a special adviser on Southeast Asia (read: Iran), to the National Security Council. Read our story ...
