Another Busted Nomination

It's another day and another Presidential nomination for a key Administration post has blown up in the Administration's face.

The latest casualty? Chas Freeman, who withdrew his nomination in the face of criticism over his ties to Saudi Arabia and his criticisms of Israel:

Freeman, 66, is a widely experienced former State Department diplomat who gained attention in recent years for his criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians and Jewish settlements and for his biting analysis of the Bush administration's foreign policy.

Last week, several House Republicans asked that his financial ties to Saudi interests be probed; this week, all seven Republicans on the Senate intelligence committee vowed to step up "oversight scrutiny" on Freeman's work if he took the post.

Just hours before Freeman's withdrawal, Blair had defended him from criticism by Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

Freeman was the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first Persian Gulf war, an assistant secretary of defense, and—early in his career—a translator during President Richard Nixon's historic first visit to China in 1972, among other jobs. Since 1997, he has been president of the Middle East Policy Council, a Washington think tank. Freeman is fluent in Chinese, Spanish, and French and conversational in Arabic.

His selection was not subject to Senate approval, and the job as chairman of the National Intelligence Council is not a policymaking position. Yet it is a highly influential behind-the-scenes job, and the selection of Freeman touched off a furious set of rhetorical attacks among some conservative and pro-Israel bloggers who were angered by his Middle East commentaries and questioned his connections to Saudi interests.

So, who will replace him? That's a great question given the difficulty in finding people to fill Administration positions.

Freeman blames the Israel lobby for his having to withdraw. You could see that coming from a mile away - the reason for all the criticism of Freeman's choice in the first place stemmed from his anti-Israel bias, writings, and statements.