Syria ambassador ... & VP Biden, "unofficial Iraq Envoy"...

LR, in the Cable, here

"...We hear two names are in the running, neither of whom could immediately be reached: Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S.ambassador to Israel and Egypt, and Jake Walles, currently serving as the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem....

and ...

Although hiring in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs is on hold until the nominee to be assistant secretary, Jeffrey Feltman, is confirmed, several people are
lined up for key positions. ...

and...

When The Cable reported last week on the much-anticipated official announcement of Dennis Ross's move to the NSC, we noted that one influence for shifting the Iraq portfolio from Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the holdover war czar, to Puneet Talwar, the NSC's senior director for Iran, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf, was Talwar's former boss on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Joseph Biden, now the vice president.(becoming the unofficial Iraq Envoy ).."