A while back, Barack Obama mentioned an admiration for the foreign policy of the first president Bush - no doubt a smart thing to say for a fellow worryingly lacking in foreign policy experience. No matter your party affiliation, surely you can muster at least grudging respect for team Bush’s near perfect record of dedication, professionalism and efficacy. Needless to say, implicitly associating oneself with such a quality operation might lend one a bit of credibility. But was Obama being honest in his admiration? I hoped so - but there was no way to tell. Until now.
A few days ago, Senator Obama tapped Dennis Ross to accompany him on his Middle East trip. Not only does Ross have ties to the Bush/Baker foreign policy team; he is outspoken in his admiration for its diplomatic successes - its handling of German reunification, its crucial success in winning Gorbachev's 'support' for the Gulf War, its careful dance with a Soviet Union that, though it was reconciled to giving up its empire quietly, was still worryingly susceptible to action by hard-line communists. It doesn't take much to see that a knowledge and admiration of these events will be of critical help to the next president - as he tries to reunify an essentially fragmented Iraq, as he tries (once again) to win crucial support from Russia (and China); as he tries to reconcile Iran to giving up its nuclear ambitions, mindful once more of a country's hard-line threat.
Moreover, Dennis Ross embodies everything good in American foreign policy during the last 20 years. Not just 'good' in the sense of successful; but 'good' in the sense of 'well intentioned'. Obama's choice of Ross to play a key roll in advising, shaping and executing the Obama foreign policy vision proves two very important things: 1) that a much needed seriousness, dedication, and effectiveness will return to our Middle East policy when Obama is president; and 2) that Obama meant what he said - not just that he admired Bush I, but more importantly that he really intends to reach out and create consensus, to move beyond partisanship, to listen, to compromise, to be pragmatic and productive of real solutions.
Not that Ross is a creature of the Right - he is most certainly no such thing. A life-long Democratic rather! But he's probably the single foreign policy figure that can elicit anything approaching universal praise. He is possibly the one guy who could instantly convince anyone, American, Israeli and even Arab (now that Arafat, with his desperate attempts to place blame, is no more) that President Obama is committed and well-intentioned. As 'conservative' columnists David Brooks explained of the man:
A few days ago, Senator Obama tapped Dennis Ross to accompany him on his Middle East trip. Not only does Ross have ties to the Bush/Baker foreign policy team; he is outspoken in his admiration for its diplomatic successes - its handling of German reunification, its crucial success in winning Gorbachev's 'support' for the Gulf War, its careful dance with a Soviet Union that, though it was reconciled to giving up its empire quietly, was still worryingly susceptible to action by hard-line communists. It doesn't take much to see that a knowledge and admiration of these events will be of critical help to the next president - as he tries to reunify an essentially fragmented Iraq, as he tries (once again) to win crucial support from Russia (and China); as he tries to reconcile Iran to giving up its nuclear ambitions, mindful once more of a country's hard-line threat.
Moreover, Dennis Ross embodies everything good in American foreign policy during the last 20 years. Not just 'good' in the sense of successful; but 'good' in the sense of 'well intentioned'. Obama's choice of Ross to play a key roll in advising, shaping and executing the Obama foreign policy vision proves two very important things: 1) that a much needed seriousness, dedication, and effectiveness will return to our Middle East policy when Obama is president; and 2) that Obama meant what he said - not just that he admired Bush I, but more importantly that he really intends to reach out and create consensus, to move beyond partisanship, to listen, to compromise, to be pragmatic and productive of real solutions.
Not that Ross is a creature of the Right - he is most certainly no such thing. A life-long Democratic rather! But he's probably the single foreign policy figure that can elicit anything approaching universal praise. He is possibly the one guy who could instantly convince anyone, American, Israeli and even Arab (now that Arafat, with his desperate attempts to place blame, is no more) that President Obama is committed and well-intentioned. As 'conservative' columnists David Brooks explained of the man:
I often tell candidates to hire Ross. You can wake him up at 4 a.m. and he will be able to spout off eight things the president should do right now to improve American interests in the region. The world is full of big thinkers. Few have that sort of practical intelligence.
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