Ambassador Shuffle: Iraq, Jordan, Turkey
Ambassador John R. Bass is expected to be nominated as Ambassador to Turkey, Ambassador Jordan Stuart E. Jones is expected to be nominated as Ambassador to Iraq, and Alice Wells is expected to move to Jordan.
![Bass, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tbilisi John Bass, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tbilisi, March 16, 2011. Georgia and the United States will inaugurate on Friday a $100 million biological research facility in the capital Tbilisi, the U.S. ambassador said, in an effort to combat the global spread of diseases and bioterrorism. Picture taken March 16, 2011. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili (GEORGIA - Tags: POLITICS SCI TECH) - RTR2K1P2](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/old%20backchannel/RTR2K1P2.jpg/RTR2K1P2.jpg?h=e90f008b&itok=PYpTsR0U)
State Department executive secretary John R. Bass, a former US ambassador to Georgia, is expected to be nominated to be the next US Ambassador to Turkey, U.S. officials told the Back Channel.
Bass, a career member of the Foreign Service, previously headed the Baghdad Reconstruction team, and served as the director of the State Department operations Center from 2005-2008, during which time he led the State Department response to 25 crises, including Hurricane Katrina. He served as a special advisor to then Vice President Dick Cheney from 2004-2005 on Europe and Eurasia.