Episode 93: Dennis Ross

My guest today, Dennis Ross is an American diplomat best known for his role as the key mediator and facilitator of some of the most important Palestinian and Arab-Israeli peace agreements of the 1990s. He was Bill Clinton's middle east envoy during the height of the peace process and prior to that he served on then secretary of state James Bakers policy planning team.

He's had a long career in foreign policy, but he started out as a political organizer in the 1960s, working on a number of campaigns. That career was devastated and upended on June 6, 1968 when at a rally attended by the young Dennis Ross, his candidate, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated.

We discuss his journey in public service, including some high highs and ultimate disappointment of failing to secure a lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace deal. We kick off though discussing his newest book: Doomed to Succeed: The US-Israeli relationship from Truman to Obama.