Robert Dreyfuss: Is Iran "Demonic"? Ask Dennis Ross

[laststeamtrain]

Is Iran "Demonic"? Ask Dennis Ross

By Robert Dreyfuss

April 14, 2009 "The Nation" -- Does Dennis Ross believe that Iran is a "demonic" nation? Apparently so, at least according to the latest report from the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute.

Readers of The Nation may already have seen my thumbnail profile of Dennis Ross, Hillary Clinton's special envoy for "the Gulf and Southwest Asia," i.e., Iran. A smooth talking but hawkish diplomat who spent most of the past decade at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel thinktank in Washington, Ross is at best a controversial choice for an administration dedicated to opening a dialogue with Iran. Among other things, during his trenure at WINEP, Ross expressed skepticism about the value of talks with Iran.

Here's an addendum to that profile: until his recent appointment, Ross served as chairman of the board for the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI), an Israel-based organization that, according to its web site, "makes an annual presentation to the Israeli Cabinet as a whole on main developments in the Jewish world, offering its assessments and policy recommendations."

The organization adds:

JPPPI's work serves as the basis for assessments, alerts and strategic policy designs provided to Jewish decision makers, and to opinion leaders and publics at large.

In the latest of those annual presentations, the JPPPI refers to "the international threat posed by nuclear weapons capacity in Iran (and other demonic societies)." Yes, you read that right: demonic.

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http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22411.htm

[bemildred]

1. It's probably just a translation problem.

:evilgrin: