Man in Middle: Obama Adviser Defends Israel.

WASHINGTON -- Five days ago, during a closed-door meeting with a group of Middle East experts, administration officials, and journalists, King Abdullah II of Jordan gave his assessment of how Arabs view the debate within the Obama administration over how far to push Israel on concessions for peace with the Palestinians. From the State Department, ''we get good responses,'' the Jordanian king said, according to several people who were in the room. And from the Pentagon, too. ''But not from the White House, and we know the reason why is because of Dennis Ross'' -- President Obama's chief Middle East adviser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]