In shift, Obama’s National Security Council staff step up public case for...
Exercising the White House prerogative to operate mostly in the dark, President Obama’s National Security Council staff have tended to be seldom heard and seen; but in recent weeks, that’s changed, and...
View ArticleLinks: ‘Tea in Doha while Syria burns,’ Israeli Arab students’ new shtick
Former Israel PM Ehud Olmert mulls a comeback. Ori Nir: Supporting Israeli media strengthens its democracy EU agrees to new Iran sanctions. Iran Deputy FM Aragchi: Iran not in a hurry to sit at 5+1...
View ArticleWhite House denies report that US and Iran agreed to direct talks
The White House on Saturday denied a report in the New York Times that the United States and Iran had agreed to hold one–on-one talks on Iran’s nuclear program after the US presidential elections next...
View ArticleWhy John Kerry may have to cool his heels on Secretary of State
Conventional wisdom has rapidly taken hold in the wake of President Obama’s reelection victory that Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) is first in line of candidates to...
View ArticleRoundup: Abbas’s ‘redline,’ McDonough mulled for WH chief of staff
Abbas says new Israel settlements a “red line.” Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough emerges as frontrunner for White House chief of staff, the Wall Street Journal reports, noting foreign...
View ArticleRoundup: Nebraska Jews defend Hagel, Salehi not running
Obama likely to pick his Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough for White House chief of staff. Meet the new chief of staff. Nebraska Jews refute Hagel anti-Semitism charge. Elliott Abrams...
View ArticleAppointments: Philip Gordon to White House, Jake Sullivan to OVP
As the Back Channel first reported, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Philip Gordon will be taking over the former Dennis Ross “Central Region” portfolio on Obama’s National Security Staff, the...
View ArticleWhite House names Philip Gordon new coordinator for Middle East, Persian Gulf
The White House on Saturday named Philip Gordon Special Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf, as the Back Channel first reported was in the...
View ArticleRouhani proposes nuclear transparency, easing US-Iran tensions
Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rouhani ushered in the post-Ahmadinejad era Monday with a sometimes extraordinary 90-minute press conference in which he stressed he would take a pragmatic and moderate...
View Article
