74 Quotes by Dennis Ross

When the choice before us was the whole of Eretz Israel but no Jewish state or no Jewish state but not the whole of Eretz Israel, we chose a Jewish state.

Successful diplomacy is an alignment of objectives and means.

If there were an election today, Netanyahu would win. Yet, his standing in the polls is also a reflection of the weakness of Ehud Olmert, the current prime minister - who stands at 2 percent in a recent poll - and the enduring weaknesses of the Labor Party.

You don't have any communication between the Israelis and the Iranians. You have all sorts of local triggers for conflict. Having countries act on a hair trigger - where they can't afford to be second to strike - the potential for a miscalculation or a nuclear war through inadvertence is simply too high.

Force is not inevitable. Diplomacy is still the desired means. Pressure is an element of the means.

It is my Middle Eastern hat and my attachment to Israel that ultimately inspires my support for Obama. I know he understands that neither Israel nor America can afford four more years of Iran and the radical Islamists gaining strategic leverage in the Middle East.

I am the Counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

It has been an honor to work in the Obama Administration and to serve this President, particularly during a period of unprecedented change in the broader Middle East. Obviously, there is still work to do but I promised my wife I would return to government for only two years and we both agreed it is time to act on my promise.

There are consequences if you act militarily, and there's big consequences if you don't act.