Thursday, November 29, 2007
The secretary of state praised Jones’ experience.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The retired Marine general who will advise Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on security aspects of the new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has a reputation for outspoken independence.
James L. Jones, whose decorated Marine Corps career spanned five decades, most recently drew attention for a blunt, sometimes critical assessment of U.S. efforts to train Iraqi police and soldiers. Retired for less than a year, he has been in high demand in Washington for his rich résumé.
“I believe we need an experienced leader who can address the regional security challenges comprehensively and at the highest levels and who can provide the full support of our government to the partners as they work to meet their responsibilities,” Rice said in announcing the appointment Wednesday. She said that Jones will serve as her special envoy for Middle East security.
Rice called him “the best individual to lead our efforts in this essential endeavor.”
Jones, standing at Rice’s side in the State Department’s historic Treaty Room, said he was eager to begin. “I look forward to doing whatever I can to assist,” he said.
In his many military assignments Jones was never based in the Middle East, but Israel was within his command area as head of U.S. European Command from 2003-06.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders formally announced their intention Tuesday to resume peace talks after seven years of violence.
Security issues are central to the long-stalemated peace process. In the new set of negotiations, for example, Israel will likely insist on continued control of the airspace above a Palestinian state, that such a state not have an army and that Israel maintain a military presence in strategically sensitive areas of the West Bank. The Palestinians will not easily accept those demands.