U.S. State Department's point man on Iran, Bill Burns, leaves a meeting of international senior officials on Iran in a hotel in Wiesbaden, February 4, 2009. Credit: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
The Invisible Man: Bill Burns And The Secret Iran Talks -- Reuters
(Reuters) - The night before a round of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama told his chief of staff he had "absolute confidence we have the right team on the field."
Obama was not referring to his public negotiating team, led by senior State Department official Wendy Sherman, nor even to his secretary of state, John Kerry, who was soon to sweep in from Tel Aviv to join the early November discussions in Geneva.
Rather, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough recalled, Obama was talking about a secret group led by Bill Burns, Kerry's discreet, disciplined and self-effacing deputy.
Read more ....
My Comment: Bill Burns is clearly a career diplomat .... and while he may be playing an important intermediary role, it is the U.S. President who is clearly directing these talks.
No comments:
Post a Comment