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“TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR DENNIS B. ROSS--SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST COORDINATOR” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2168 on Dec. 11, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR DENNIS B. ROSS--SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST COORDINATOR
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HON. TOM LANTOS
of california
in the house of representatives
Monday, December 11, 2000
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues in the Congress to join me in paying tribute to Ambassador Dennis B. Ross, who has served both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of State as the Special Middle East Coordinator at the Department of State. Over the past decade, Dennis has done more than anyone else in the effort to bring peace and stability to that troubled region of the world.
A short while ago, Dennis made public his intention to work through the end of this current Administration, but he also made clear that he does not intend to work in the next administration. The reasons for his departure are quite understandable--he wants to spend more time with his wife and three children. Considering the time that he has devoted to shuttling between the United States and the Middle East--many times at very short notice and under extremely difficult circumstances--he deserves the opportunity for more time with his family.
Dennis Ross will be sorely missed as we seek to bring an end to the violence, hostility and instability that have plagued the Middle East for so long. He has played a critical role in dealing with that troubled part of the world for over the past decade. He knows all of the key players, he has worked with them, he understands their political constraints, and he has an intimate grasp of their ideological points of view.
A native of California, Dennis Ross did undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, where his doctoral thesis focused on Soviet decision-making. He began his career in Washington in the early 1980s working at the Department of Defense and the Department of State. From 1986 to 1988 he held the Middle East portfolio at the National Security Council staff at the White House. At the beginning of the George Bush Administration, Dennis became Director of the Policy Planning Staff of the Department of State with the rank of Ambassador. He worked closely and directly with James A. Baker on a broad range of U.S. foreign policy issues, but he played a particularly critical role in bringing about the Madrid Conference of 1991 which began the peace process negotiations that led to the Oslo accord of 1993.
When the Clinton administration took office in early 1993, Dennis remained at the Department of State as Special Middle East Coordinator. He continued his efforts to further the peace process, working actively and directly with Secretary Warren Christopher and Secretary Madeleine Albright.
Mr. Speaker, Dennis Ross has been an outstanding and a devoted public servant--he has spent incredible time and energy in furthering the foreign policies of the United States. His service to our nation is the epitome of bipartisanship in foreign policy. I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Dennis Ross for his committed service to our nation and in wishing him success in his future endeavors.
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