The Cable

The Cable goes inside the foreign policy machine, from Foggy Bottom to Turtle Bay, the White House to Embassy Row.

Names

Sources tell The Cable that former Clinton-era NSC official Gayle Smith, now with the Center for American Progress, has been tapped to serve as NSC senior director on development and sustainable security. Smith was the senior lead for the Obama campaign on development and democracy as well as for Africa foreign policy advisory groups. She ...

Sources tell The Cable that former Clinton-era NSC official Gayle Smith, now with the Center for American Progress, has been tapped to serve as NSC senior director on development and sustainable security. Smith was the senior lead for the Obama campaign on development and democracy as well as for Africa foreign policy advisory groups. She didn't immediately respond to a query, and the NSC didn't immediately have comment.

Sources tell The Cable that former Clinton-era NSC official Gayle Smith, now with the Center for American Progress, has been tapped to serve as NSC senior director on development and sustainable security. Smith was the senior lead for the Obama campaign on development and democracy as well as for Africa foreign policy advisory groups. She didn’t immediately respond to a query, and the NSC didn’t immediately have comment.

Former Clinton-era NSC official Eric Schwartz, now executive director of the Connect U.S. Fund, is expected to be appointed head of the State Department bureau on Population, Refugees and Migration, several sources close to Schwartz say. He previously declined to comment.

Fletcher School professor and FP colleague Daniel Drezner relays word that he got confirmation from Stephen Bosworth, the dean of the Fletcher School, that he will be serving at least part time as diplomatic envoy on the six party talks on North Korea. Bosworth told Drezner that providing continuity on the task will be Amb. Chris Hill, who it’s recently been reported will be nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq. How Hill will manage Iraq and North Korea at the same time was not explained. Another plugged-in North Korea hand said former Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) may also be in the North Korea mix.

As always, lots of rumors about Middle East positions flying. Responding to the latest, former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk denied to The Cable a rumor that he’d be appointed deputy to George Mitchell, U.S. Middle East envoy. "Not me," Indyk e-mailed from Doha. Spotted this week: Dennis Ross at the Madison Hotel, meeting with a U.N. official.

Laura Rozen writes The Cable daily at ForeignPolicy.com.

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