An important post is currently open that most people have never even heard of with the position of under secretary of state for public diplomacy recently being vacated by Karen Hughes.  Clifford May had advanced the name of Fouad Ajami and now the editorial board of The New York Sun (my favorite newspaper) is putting their support behind the idea as well. 

Ajami is the Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies.  He has also been a contributing editor for U.S. News & World Report since 1989 and has written numerous essays for leading periodicals worldwide.  Most importantly:

1. He is a Shia born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon.
2. He is intimately knowledgable concerning all aspects of Middle East politics.
3. He is a supporter and defender of the Iraq War.  For those of you from the other side of the political aisle that believes that this automatically makes him a naive fire-breathing Bush Kool-Aid drinking zombie, then please read Ajami's most recent book, The Foreigner's Gift.  While not ignoring the great problems that the Iraqis and the U.S. face, as well as his opinions as to the mistakes that have been made during the occupation, Ajami offers his explanations as to what has been wrong with Iraq and the Middle East for so long and why the war was indeed one of a humanitarian nature for the Iraqis themselves, and of the utmost importance to the Middle East as a whole.  It is easily one of the best books that I have read in years and for a very in-depth understanding of the underlying problems over there, I recommend it to everyone.

Fouad Ajami as under secretary of state for public diplomacy would be an immensely inspired choice and would provide a voice of great intelligence and credibility towards the idea, goal, and need for continuing and strengthening the foreign policy of the Bush Administration for greater democracy in the Middle East.  Well, click on the link below because The New York Sun probably makes its case a lot better than I do...

Ajami's Voice