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Daniel Kurtzer, Alon Ron
Last update - 10:53 02/12/2008
Obama mulls ex-ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, as special Mideast envoy
By Akiva Eldar
Tags: Daniel Kurtzer, Barack Obama 

Click here for more articles by Akiva Eldar

President-elect Barack Obama is considering the appointment of Daniel Kurtzer, former American Ambassador to Egypt (1997-2001) and Israel (2001-2005), to become his administration's presidential envoy to the Middle East, a senior Israeli diplomatic source said this week.

Obama's decision to appoint a special envoy reporting to him directly, rather than to the secretary of state, indicates that the president-elect attaches special importance to the regional peace process. Reportedly, several of Obama's advisers recommended the appointment.
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The special envoy job could infringe on the prestige of Hillary Clinton, who was appointed secretary of state on Monday. On the other hand, it could ease any apparent conflict because of Bill Clinton's close ties with the Gulf States.

Kurtzer, 59, joined Obama's primary and presidential campaigns as a senior member of the president-elect's foreign advisers. He also helped prepare Obama's visit to the region and was among the main writers of Obama's address on the Middle East to AIPAC in June 2008, which was seen as one the candidate's most important speeches on international affairs.

Kurtzer refused to be interviewed on Monday.

An observant, Hebrew-speaking Jew, Kurtzer has filled several positions on the State Department's Middle East desk and was on the Clinton administration's peace team, headed by Dennis Ross.

In the mid-1980s Kurtzer served as political adviser in the United States' embassy in Tel Aviv. At the end of the '90s Clinton appointed him U.S. ambassador in Egypt and in 2001 President Bush appointed him ambassador to Israel. He held the post until 2005.

In an interview with Haaretz at the end of his term, Kurtzer said he believed that the Arab world was gradually moving toward coming to terms with Israel and that terrorists are "on the losing side of history."

Asked whether the road map would be implemented and the Palestinian state be established in the near future, as President George W. Bush promised, he said "the diplomatic infrastructure exists but the implementation depends on the sides fulfilling their obligations."

During his term in Israel, Kurtzer constantly protested against the settlements and the separation fence route. Consequently, his relations with then-prime minister Ariel Sharon were quite cool.

In a lecture in Tel Aviv in July 2002 Kurtzer said that the question where the U.S., Israel and the Palestinians were heading reminded him of a quote by the legendary baseball player Yogi Berra, whose sayings are considered a national asset in America - "You have to be careful if you don't know where you're going because you might not get there."

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      1.   Why waste the time and money? 04:55  |  Texas 02/12/08
      2.   Why waste the time an money 05:00  |  Mark Lincoln 02/12/08
      3.   Daniel Kurtzer, a good idea as special ME envoy 05:24  |  Smadar 02/12/08
      4.   Well Thank God BIBI will say No 06:36  |  Ralph Levy 02/12/08
      5.   Humility 07:21  |  Chanan Mazal 02/12/08
      6.   Clinton and Gulf States 07:25  |  Garry 02/12/08
      7.   Another one of "those types of Jews"-out to get us 08:47  |  meir gush etzion 02/12/08
      8.   How about a neutral USA middle east envoy for once? 09:42  |  Johnboy 02/12/08
      9.   Will our American friends ever learn......???? 10:02  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/12/08
      10.   Why a Jew? Why not a Muslim? 10:27  |  Michael 02/12/08
      11.   God Forbid 10:49  |  Ari Cohen 02/12/08
      12.   Kurtzer is a positive candidate to carry through the Saudi Plan 11:18  |  Ivar 02/12/08
      13.   BAD NEWS.Kurtzer should always be addressed in English or Arabic: 11:58  |  EL 02/12/08
      14.   "War is Peace" -- Orwell. "Change is Recycling" -- Obama. 12:26  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 02/12/08
      15.   #2 Indeed ... 12:41  |  Edith 02/12/08
      16.   #7 I am waiting for the appointment of a Muslim too 12:45  |  Edith 02/12/08
      17.   He already failed before-why should he succeed now 13:12  |  Herbert Kaine 02/12/08
      18.   He already failed before-why should he succeed now 13:12  |  Herbert Kaine 02/12/08
      19.   Kurtzer 14:09  |  DT 02/12/08
      20.   DANGEROUS 14:42  |  daat y 02/12/08
      21.   # 16 Edith 15:06  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/12/08
      22.   10 Your problem Michael is that you assume 15:30  |  S Judah 02/12/08
      23.   # 16, EDITH 15:47  |  indrajaya 02/12/08
      24.   # 23 indrajaya, are we "zigzaging" a little bit....???? 16:28  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/12/08
      25.   # 24, SWISS (DINO) 16:52  |  indrajaya 02/12/08
      26.   22 Imagine what Israel and AIPAC would say to a US Muslim envoy! 17:07  |  Michael 02/12/08
      27.   #8 Johnboy who is Australias Mid east Envoy , is he neutral? 17:21  |  Big Sur 02/12/08
      28.   Kudos 17:50  |  Peter 02/12/08
      29.   No fair solution 18:35  |  Jan Elshout 02/12/08
      30.   I can see the upcoming peace initiative 18:45  |  Mark Lincoln 02/12/08
      31.   Swiss(Dino) will never learn Switzerland never was neutral... 18:57  |  Israeli cititzen 02/12/08
      32.   Another pandering politician 19:16  |  Mike 02/12/08
      33.   Kurtzer - We Know Him Well 19:24  |  Tod Zuckerman 02/12/08
      34.   We need somebodu neutral 20:22  |  terry 02/12/08
      35.   That`s what we feared of! 20:29  |  Dan 02/12/08
      36.   Kurtzer is strongly anti-Zionist 20:38  |  Gush Katif 02/12/08
      37.   Kurtzer, Oy Vey! 20:39  |  Sol 02/12/08
      38.   Bill Clinton as special envoy 21:01  |  Eitan 02/12/08
      39.   A Better Choice - Abizaid 21:49  |  Mark of Lewiston 02/12/08
      40.   Envoys are NOT Free Agents 21:53  |  Mark of Lewiston 02/12/08
      41.   He Helped Prepare The AIPAC Speech - Need More Be Said? 21:58  |  chet 02/12/08
      42.   To The Europeans Who Post here 01:42  |  Alan 03/12/08
      43.   #11 God forbid indeed, Ari.... 02:46  |  Johnboy 03/12/08
      44.   Michael in the UK 04:18  |  Yuhannon 03/12/08
      45.   To Allan (42) 05:45  |  Magnus K. 03/12/08
      46.   #40 A good point to make, Mark of Lewiston 06:47  |  Johnboy 03/12/08
      47.   To JB (#8) 08:17  |  Morris Valentine 03/12/08
      48.   Magnus#45 You didn`t actually reply to my posting 10:42  |  Alan 03/12/08
      49.   #47 Morris, turn the question around 03:26  |  Johnboy 04/12/08
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