If the president would approach it in terms of saying, ‘ look I understand it is not easy for you to do but I ’m looking for each sides to take hard steps as proof that they are really ready to move towards finalizing and ending this conflict, I am prepared to stay invested if you are prepared to take a hard step ’.

Dennis Ross

Categorized in : Latest Headlines

Right now the expectations are extremely low, the good news with low expectations is it's not that hard to exceed them.

Holding something very close makes sense and it's not taken as a negative by the parties, because in the end, if the content isn't leaking out, it also makes sure that what would be controversial doesn't create an immediate firestorm. There's a logic to that.

The strikes may convince( Russian President Vladimir) Putin to stop further use( of chemical weapons) by Assad as it remains clear we are pulling out of Syria. The strikes don't alter that reality.

I am grateful for this incredible opportunity to serve and I look forward to the next chapter of my life which will include, in some way, continued public service, i never viewed this amazing opportunity as a job or a career. My home has been and will continue to be in Lakeland, Florida.

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We've got to focus on bringing civility and respect back, and as much as I would like to do it from the pulpit of the Congress, I would be tainted with having an agenda that would suit a particular group, this way I can do it in a fashion that I think reinstates the fundamentals of our democracy that require some respect and some decorum.

After eight years, it's time. It's been a great run. I've been very blessed. I'm not angry. I'm not upset with anybody.

The polarization is a factor in it, but I also know that I wasn't... by Dennis Ross

The polarization is a factor in it, but I also know that I wasn't going to do it for a career.

The level of disbelief between the Israelis and Palestinians, not just the leadership, but also the public, has never been wider, you have to somehow recreate a sense of possibility which has been completely lost.

One thing I know is that a one state outcome is not a solution, it's a prescription for an enduring war, because you have two national identities, they won't co-exist in one state. You will have one, which will inevitably dominate the other and by the way, look at Middle East.

I don’t think that anyone would feel they could count on the Unit... by Dennis Ross

I don’t think that anyone would feel they could count on the United States.

The president will have to work harder than ever to explain what the deal actually does, how it blocks the nuclear pathways and what happens if Iran cheats.

There’s an effort to apply leverage to the Israelis to get the prime minister to move on some things when he has a new government formed.

If you say our only choice is to do nothing or solve the whole problem, inevitably you'll do nothing, and you'll create a vacuum, and then the worst possible forces will fill the vacuum. But The notion that we'll be able to solve everything at once is also not realistic.

Successful diplomacy is an alignment of objectives and means. by Dennis Ross

Successful diplomacy is an alignment of objectives and means.

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I am the Counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Poli... by Dennis Ross

I am the Counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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Security is something that serves Israeli interests and Palestinian interests. You have a common threat and you have a common enemy and it's important to deal with that as partners.

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We can't have a failure in Iraq, but we also can't be there for the next 10 years because if we are, it's going to become, I think, a failure in and of itself.

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It is my Middle Eastern hat and my attachment to Israel that ultimately inspires my support for Obama. I know he understands that neither Israel nor America can afford four more years of Iran and the radical Islamists gaining strategic leverage in the Middle East.

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It has been an honor to work in the Obama Administration and to serve this President, particularly during a period of unprecedented change in the broader Middle East. Obviously, there is still work to do but I promised my wife I would return to government for only two years and we both agreed it is time to act on my promise.

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Arafat's whole life has been governed by struggle and a cause. Everything he has done as leader of the Palestinians is to always leave his options open, never close a door.

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