Only one shoe dropped...

The appointment of Senator George J. Mitchell as Middle East envoy has generally won accolades.  This apparently leaves Iran to Dennis Ross, although there still seems to be a lot of puzzling over the parameters of his responsibilities.  Ross has been the beneficiary of some well-placed and adulatory pieces in the press, and there has been no lack of effort to put him in place.  As I noted earlier, there is some resemblance to the campaign on behalf of John Bolton in 2001.

This piece from the JTA on January 20th has some interesting remarks on mid-level Middle East-oriented positions.

Then there is this piece by Roger Cohen who wants to see some new and competent faces.