"From the State Department, “we get good responses,” the Jordanian king said, according to several people who were in the room. And from the Pentagon, too. “But not from the White House, and we know the reason why is because of Dennis Ross” — President Obama’s chief Middle East adviser.
Mr. Ross, King Abdullah concluded, “is giving wrong advice to the White House.”" Helene Cooper - NY Times
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The real question is whether or not Obama takes Ross's advice seriously. Abe Foxman likes Dennis Ross? What a surprise! Ross was or is a member (chair) of the board of an institute in Jerusalem, "The Jewish People's Policy Institute," that is an arm of the "Jewish Agency" the core establishment of Israeli political life. This institute exists specifically for the purpose of studying means for advancing the prosperity and well-being of "the Jewish People." When he took the position Ross remarked something to the effect that "they are my people." Well, if they are his people what are the rest of us in the US?
Dennis Ross is in the White House and at BHO's elbow because the money men who will float Obama's campaign demand that he and several others be there. Donilon, McDonough and all that crew understand that kind of thing.
Ross is actually quite honest. He does not pretend to be impartial in the issues that lie between the Israelis and the Palestinians. In my opinion he is 100% on the Israeli side in everything that he does. His lack of impartiality is so blatant that it makes a hypocritical farce of anything the US tries to do to resolve that most persistant of conflicts.
That being said, how is one to comprehend BHO's speech and Bibi's enraged reaction? Let me know if you figure it out. pl
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/world/middleeast/21ross.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ross