Ross title announced

Posted By Laura Rozen Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 2:54 AM Share

We knew he was working in Foggy Bottom for weeks. Finally, State Department spokesman Robert Wood has revealed what Dennis Ross's title is: special advisor to the secretary of state for the Gulf and Southwest Asia.

Wood's full statement, via Politico's Ben Smith:

The Secretary is pleased to announce the appointment of Dennis B. Ross to the position of Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for The Gulf and Southwest Asia. This is a region in which America is fighting two wars and facing challenges of ongoing conflict, terror, proliferation, access to energy, economic development and strengthening democracy and the rule of law. In this area, we must strive to build support for U.S. goals and policies. To be successful, we will need to be able to integrate our policy development and implementation across a broad range of offices and senior officials in the State Department, and, in his role as Special Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador Ross will be asked to play that role.
Specifically, as Special Advisor, he will provide to the Secretary and senior State Department officials strategic advice and perspective on the region; offer assessments and also act to ensure effective policy integration throughout the region; coordinate with senior officials in the development and formulation of new policy approaches; and participate, at the request of the Secretary, in inter-agency activities related to the region.
Ambassador Ross brings a wealth of experience not just to issues within the region but also to larger political-military challenges that flow from the area and have an impact outside of the Gulf and Southwest Asia, and the Secretary looks forward to drawing on that experience and diplomatic perspective.

Notice a country Wood seems to go out of his way to not explicitly mention in the job description?

EXPLORE:IRAN, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

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MONEYINABOX

2:48 PM ET

February 24, 2009

Could someone please explain

Could someone please explain to me the logic of appointing Ross to the Iran portfolio? From everything I've read, he is ridiculously anti-Iran and despised by most of the people in its government. Aren't we trying to reengage diplomatically with Tehran and raise the level of discourse? I understand the importance of maintaining our resolve, but this to me reeks of the same cynicism that infected many of the Bush Administration's diplomatic appointments. No? Please, anybody, shed some light on this for me.

SAM

4:47 PM ET

February 24, 2009

I agree, somewhat, Ross

I agree, somewhat, Ross advocates a gradual approach, basically, this is what has been done so far during the Bush administration. The problem is Tehran no longer wants to engage in tactical contacts with the US, she doesn't feel any need for it and nor does she find any benefit in it, things like inviting Iran to Afghanistan conference can be considered as a typical Ross idea, which won't work no more. Iran doesn't want to talk to U.S. about Afghanistan, Iraq, terrorism, etc. these are not Iran's problems, Iran's problems are the sanctions, the presence of U.S. in the Persian Gulf, the energy pipeline from the Caspian Sea, and the general strategy of Regime Change, unless U.S. is ready to talk seriously about these issues, there is no hope, and I have lost my hope in Obama long time ago, the guy just talks

ADRIAN77

7:30 AM ET

February 25, 2009

"Gulf"?

If his main job will be dealing with Iran, shouldn't they have avoided pre-emptively annoying the Iranians by using "The Gulf" rather than "The Persian Gulf" in his title?