Mitchell to the Rescue

"Ex-Senator Considered as Envoy to Mideast"
A10, Monday 1/19/09
By Elisabeth Bumiller

Former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, author of the famed, yet unresearched blame-both-sides Mitchell Report in 2001, is now being touted as Mideast envoy to the Obama administration.

Aaron David Miller, defending his place as the Times go-to man on these issues, opines that a Mitchell appointment suggests “Obama is going to free himself of the exclusive relationship that we’ve had with the Israelis.” Miller, who last week was given a platform to whine about the supposed exclusivity of the US-Israel relationship, again with no elaboration, is tapped again.

Talk of Mitchell is "the clearest indication they’re trying to inject more balance into the Israeli-US relationship,” continues Miller.

Exclusivity and balance…two terms yet to be fleshed out by this oft-cited analyst. For those who want to see a smarter and tougher U.S. approach to Arab-Israeli peace, Miller’s predictions about a Mitchell appointment should be a concern.