Top Obama Advisor Has Long Ties to Neocons

Michael Flynn,
Inter Press Service,
Nov 2

Dennis Ross, Bill Clinton's Mideast envoy whose record includes
supporting the pro-Iraq War advocacy campaigns of the Project for the
New American Century and serving as a consultant to the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a bastion of Israel-centric
policy thinking in Washington.

Generally regarded as a political moderate who has the ear and respect
of both Republicans and Democrats, Ross, a former Soviet specialist,
reportedly has told friends and foreign officials that he hopes to nab
a very senior post in an Obama administration, one that at least
covers Iran policy, if not the entire Greater Middle East.

But Ross's record as a Mideast peacemaker during the Clinton years,
longtime association with hawkish political factions, and track record
promoting a hard line vis-à-vis Israel's Arab neighbours have spurred
concern that he would be a less-than-ideal pick for a Middle East
portfolio in an Obama administration, which many presume he will be
offered.

As one Clinton official, asked about Ross's role in the Obama
campaign, told Time magazine earlier this year, "If Obama wants to
embody something new that can actually succeed, it's not just a break
from [George W. Bush] Bush that he's going to need, but a break from
Clinton."

Despite some successes as Clinton's envoy crafting agreements between
Israel and its neighbours, Ross's efforts to negotiate an end to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict were a failure. In his writings, Ross has
emphasised Palestinian intransigence - in particular, Yasser Arafat's
- as being the cause for the failure, although he doesn't exempt
Israel from blame.

Other participants in those negotiations have pointed their finger at
Ross. In their book "Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace", Daniel Kurtzer,
who is also an Obama adviser, and Scott Lasensky cite a number of
anonymous officials who were critical of Ross.
…
Likewise, a former Clinton administration representative told the
authors, "By the end, the Palestinians didn't fully trust
Dennis…[T]hey thought he was tilted too much towards the Israelis."

Ross got his start in high-level policy-making working under Paul
Wolfowitz in the Pentagon during the Carter administration. Wolfowitz
- who is better known for his role pushing the Iraq War after the 9/11
terrorist attacks and for his controversial tenure as World Bank head
- tasked Ross with helping draft a study assessing threats to U.S.
interests in the Persian Gulf. The 1979 study, titled the Limited
Contingency Study, concluded that aside from the Soviet Union, a key
threat to the region's oil fields was Iraq.
…
Ross also helped produce the 2008 report "Meeting the Challenge: U.S.
Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear Development", which was published by a
study group convened by the Bipartisan Policy Centre, a group led by
several former legislators.

The lead drafter of the report was AEI's Michael Rubin, an outspoken
proponent of U.S. military intervention in the Middle East. Other
participants included hawkish arms control analyst Henry Sokolski;
Michael Makovsky, a former aide to Douglas Feith; Stephen Rademaker,
who worked under former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton in the State
Department; and the neoconservative Hudson Institute director, Kenneth
Weinstein.
…
Among the report's proposals are undertaking a major military build-up
in the Gulf; pressuring Russia to halt weapons assistance; and, if the
U.S. agrees to hold direct talks with Tehran without insisting that
the country first cease enrichment activities, setting a
pre-determined compliance deadline and be prepared to apply
increasingly harsh repercussions if these are not met, leading
ultimately to U.S. military strikes.