Speculation mounted here today over the future of Joseph J. Sisco, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, in the wake of announcements of a major reshuffling at the State Department. A well placed official told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that “it is a very narrow balance whether he (Sisco) will or will not” remain. The official observed that Sisco “knows the characters and the script” at the United Nations and the Middle East but “after four years on the job he may be looking for advancement.”
President Nixon announced today that Secretary of State William P. Rogers will remain at the State Department helm when he begins his second term next Jan. Robert J. McCloskey, Rogers’ special assistant for public affairs, has been mentioned as the possible new U.S. Ambassador to Israel, succeeding Walworth Barbour. Also mentioned as a candidate for the Tel Aviv post is Sisco’s deputy, Alfred L. Atherton.
White House press secretary Ronald Ziegler stressed today that the re-appointment of Rogers represented the continuity of the administration’s foreign policy. Ziegler said the State Department, “particularly the Secretary himself, are deeply involved in a number of initiatives, among them the Middle East.” With Rogers remaining in office, it was expected that Dr. Henry Kissinger would remain as President Nixon’s advisor on national security affairs.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
