U.S. announces new Mideast security envoy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday named retired Marine Gen. James Jones as her special envoy for Middle East security, focusing on Palestinian and Israeli security issues.

"Building security in the Middle East is the surest path to making peace in the Middle East and General Jones is the best individual to lead our efforts in this essential endeavor," said Rice, with Jones at her side.

Jones, a general schooled in diplomacy who was NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe until 2006, takes on the job following the U.S.-hosted Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday that revived Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Rice said Israelis must be confident that a Palestinian state would increase their security.

"He (Jones) will work with Israelis and Palestinians on the full range of issues and he will work to strengthen security for both sides," she said.

Jones, who has publicly critical of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and its chaotic aftermath, said he was looking forward to his new post.

"It is critically important. It's great to see our country play such an important leadership role and I look forward to doing whatever I can to assist," Jones said of his new job.

Jones is expected to have a broader mandate than U.S. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

REGIONAL SECURITY

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Jones would look at security issues not only between Israel and the Palestinians but also with others in the region such as Jordan and Egypt.

"We need an experienced leader who can address the regional security challenge comprehensively and at the highest levels and can provide the full support of our government to the partners as they work to meet their responsibilities," said Rice.

At Tuesday's conference, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said their goal was to reach an agreement before the end of next year.

But Olmert has said Israel will not carry out any future peace deal until the Palestinians meet their security obligations under the stalled 2003 U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. Abbas has pushed the Israelis to meet their own obligations, such as freezing all Jewish settlement growth.

Jones would not be specifically responsible for making sure that both sides implemented the road map, said McCormack.

Jones, once a student at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington and a former commandant of the Marine Corps, served from 2003 to 2006 as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the NATO alliance's top commander of operations.

He oversaw NATO's move into Afghanistan in 2003, its first security operation outside traditional Euro-Atlantic borders.

Blunt and media-friendly, he acknowledged last year that NATO had underestimated the likely resistance from Taliban insurgents when it moved into the guerrilla group's heartland in south Afghanistan, although he remained optimistic of victory.

"I will look to him for candid, independent advice and assessments of our efforts," said Rice.

(Additional reporting by Mark John in Brussels, Arshad Mohammed, Jeffrey Heller, Tabassum Zakaria and Mohammed Assadi in Washington; Editing by Jackie Frank)