The Would-Be Iraq Envoy

Rumor has it Christopher Hill, a top US nuclear negotiator with North Korea, is Obama’s pick for Iraq ambassador. But what of retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni? He says the Obama administration offered him the post—and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed it Jan. 26. “I started making arrangements,” the former head of Central Command told The Washington Times. But he heard nothing further from the State Department, and when he called National Security Adviser Jim Jones on Monday, he was told the job was going to Hill—who, unlike Zinni, has zero Iraq experience. No explanation was given, and “that kind of bothered me,” Zinni said. “I was told that I had it.” A White House spokesman, echoing an Obama campaign talking point, said, “Zinni would be on anybody’s short list.”