Report: Zelikow Resigned Out of Frustration Over Middle East, Iran Efforts

There has been significant media reaction to the resignation of Philip Zelikow. State Department officials said yesterday that "this is one of those rare cases in Washington where someone is leaving on their own terms." However, it appears that he has not decided to leave public service for personal reasons, but for professional frustration.

The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler writes that Philip Zelikow's departure deprives Secretary Rice "of a key sounding board at a time when she is still searching for a new deputy and faces difficult challenges in the Middle East." Helene Cooper of the New York Times writes that Zelikow resigned because of what one official described as "frustration with the pace of the administration's diplomatic efforts on the Middle East, Iran and North Korea."