doi:10.7916/nx5n-4s88Oral history interview with Dennis Ross, 2020Ross, Dennisoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesArab-Israeli conflict--Peace.--1993-Arab Spring, 2010-United States Foreign relations Middle EastRoss, DennisObama, BarackNational Security Council (U.S.)United States. Department of StateDennis Ross discusses his contributions to the Middle East foreign policy of the Obama administration, in which he served as special advisor to the secretary of state for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia, senior director for the central region on the National Security Council, and as an informal advisor and negotiator on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Ross describes the internal debates and decisions surrounding notable events with which he was closely involved, including the initiation of backchannel communications with Iran, Obama's June 2009 speech in Cairo, and the Arab Spring uprisings. Ross provides details about formal and backchannel talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials from 2009 to 2013, outlining the structure of the delicate negotiations, notable points of disagreement and collaboration, the relationship between domestic politics and the possibility of progress, and the importance of a firewall between formal and backchannel processes. Also discussed are the relationship between the State Department and the National Security Council, the administration's organization of relevant departments and advisory bodies, the ideological range of the administration's foreign policy staff, and Obama's management of deliberative meetings