Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Retired General James Jones, a former NATO commander and Marine Corps commandant, will become a special U.S. envoy for Middle East security as part of a push for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

``In this new role, General Jones will advance our objective of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today in Washington with Jones at her side.

The announcement came after President George W. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to firm up their pledges, made yesterday at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to pursue peace negotiations once they return home.

Bush said the U.S. will stay actively engaged as Israeli and Palestinian leaders attempt to negotiate a Middle East peace deal by the end of next year, leading to the possible creation of a Palestinian state. Hamas, the Islamic movement that runs the Palestinian Gaza Strip, opposes the U.S. plan.

Jones is currently chief executive officer of the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of Commerce and sits on corporate boards.

`Brilliant Strategist'

Rice called Jones a ``seasoned diplomat'' and ``brilliant strategist'' who ``understands the security challenges of the Middle East'' and how to address them. Jones said he looked forward to the task and will coordinate with the Defense Department as needed.

``I'm looking forward to getting back to a part of the world that I have spent some part of my last 17 years in uniform, since 1990, getting to know,'' Jones said.

As Rice's adviser, Jones will be working with Lieutenant General Keith Dayton, who is already leading a U.S. effort to train and equip Abbas's security services. Jones will look at how that work relates to the Israeli security effort and consult with neighboring states on security, officials said.

Olmert welcomed the appointment, saying all American security advisers in the past have been ``very satisfactory.'' Speaking with the Israeli traveling press, Olmert said the U.S. has so far been a fair judge of how Israel and the Palestinians implement their peace and security pledges, ``so I have no reason to be afraid that this basic attitude will change.''

Military Posts

Jones ended his four-decade military career by serving as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe from 2003 to 2006. He was Marine Corps commandant from 1999 to 2003 and before that served in U.S. military relief operations in northern Iraq and Bosnia.

After retiring from the military in February, Jones, 63, headed a commission that reported to Congress on the state of Iraqi security forces.

The panel concluded in September that the Iraqi army, while improving, was still 12 to 18 months away from being able to maintain security on its own. It said the police were widely regarded as ``dysfunctional and sectarian.''

In June, Jones was named to the board of directors of Chicago-based Boeing Co., the second-largest maker of commercial aircraft. He is also on the board of Cross Match Technologies Inc., a Palm Beach Gardens, Florida-based provider of biometric security technology. Its customers include the State Department and British government, according to the company's Web site.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janine Zacharia in Washington at jzacharia@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 28, 2007 16:35 EST