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US Middle East Envoy Recalls The Day Terrorism Came To America
The National
War Of Ideas: US Middle East Envoy Recalls The Day Terrorism Came To America
Even the most seasoned Middle East negotiator was affected by 9/11, as an adviser and a father
by Holly Aguirre
Ambassador Dennis Ross began his White House tenure with Jimmy Carter and ended it with Barack Obama, and has remained a consistent shaper of America's Middle East peace process under Democratic and Republican administrations.
Mr Ross's reputation as a skilled negotiator allowed him to transition from the administration of George HW Bush to that of Bill Clinton, where he was appointed special Middle East envoy reporting directly to the Oval Office.
The signing of the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, known as the Oslo agreement, solidified his standing among world leaders.
As the Clinton years were winding down, Mr Ross says that no other president was more dedicated to Middle East peace, a bold statement given his past with the Carter administration.
After the election of George W Bush, Mr Ross returned to academia and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which he established with Martin Indyk, who was twice ambassador to Israel.
Mr Ross would later return to the White House as Barack Obama’s “Middle East quarterback”.
On September 11, 2001, he was giving a lecture at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington on the lessons of peacemaking in the Middle East, which was abruptly ended.
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