Another important sign that Obama is changing the water in the aquarium. The Israel lobby is openly derided in this piece on Foreign Policy's Cable, which, echoing the new conventional wisdom in Washington, virtually mocks Dennis Ross's lack of a meaningful portfolio under Under Secretary of State William Burns, who will have the real Iran duties (thanks to Jack Ross):
Other sources suggested the U.S. government was sensitive to Iran's
perception that Ross, a former senior fellow at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, is a pro-Israel hawk whose writings on
U.S. policy toward Iran have suggested a high degree of continuity with
the Bush administration's approach of carrots and sticks."I
understand the Iranians have let it be known that they won't deal with
him," said one former senior U.S. official who has dealt with Persian
Gulf issues.
