Mitchell eyed for Mideast post

WASHINGTON – George J. Mitchell, the former Senate Democratic leader, is expected to be named as incoming Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s special envoy for the Mideast, diplomatic officials said Wednesday.

The officials said the White House was preparing an announcement, but the parameters of Mitchell’s role were not immediately clear. Recent reports indicated that Dennis Ross, longtime U.S. negotiator, would be an adviser to Clinton on Mideast policy and that remains the plan, said the officials.

In taking the Mideast envoy post, Mitchell, 75, will return to a role he pursued during President Bill Clinton’s presidency after his tenure as Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1995. Mitchell took on several difficult diplomatic assignments, including chairing peace talks on Northern Ireland.

Mitchell also led an international commission to investigate violence in the Middle East. His report, issued in spring 2001, called for a freeze on Israeli settlements on the West Bank and a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism.