MSNBC & Reuters: Retired General James L. Jones Likely to be Named National Security Adviser

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 11.21.2008

Who is he, and what does he bring to the table?

MSNBC and Reuters are reporting that President-Elect Obama is leaning toward retired general James L. Jones as his National Security Adviser.

Jones is a former Marine Corps Commandant and NATO Supreme Allied Commander of Europe from 2003-2006. His most notable political accomplishment was acting as Chairman of the Congressional Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq. Late in 2007, he was appointed as a special envoy for Middle East Security. He also sits on the boards of Chevron and Boeing as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Early in the general election season, Jones was rumored as a possible vice presidential candidate for Barack Obama, but Jones quashed those rumors by tacitly supporting Obama's Republican rival, John McCain. Officially, though, Jones has refused to align himself with either party, and relations between Obama and Jones have remained cordial.

Jones brings a wealth of military and foreign policy experience to the table. He is universally respected among both Democrats and Republicans, but he did ruffle neo-conservative feathers by calling the war in Iraq a "debacle." His reputation as a "big picture" guy worries some right-wing Israeli bloggers who fear that his more even-handed approach will favor the Palestinians. According to The Jerusalem Post, leaked notes from Jones' Middle East Security report are highly critical of Israel's actions in the U.S.'s role in building a Palestinian security forces.

Coupled with Hillary Clinton's expected nomination as Secretary of State, Jones' selection could signal a seachange in U.S. foreign policy with relation to the Arab-Israeli conflict. A Clinton-Jones team would likely find their first task to aggressively resolve the "Core Issues" blocking the path to a recognized Palestinian state, which many feel is the lynchpin to normalizing relations between the U.S. and Middle East.