As might be expected of a former senior official with Israel's spy agency Mossad, Uzi Arad -- the most trusted political adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister -- has become used to being in the shadows as he exerts influence.
Arad has been outspoken both in rejecting Palestinian statehood and in promoting the military option against Iran, positions believed to be shared by the Israeli prime minister and that will be at the root of a possible confrontation in the coming months with the Obama administration.
Arad, recently appointed the head of Israel's revamped National Security Council, will oversee an organization that Netanyahu regards as the linchpin of the new government's security and foreign policy.
One military analyst, Amir Oren, has noted that, given Netanyahu's unstable coalition, Arad "is likely to emerge as a strong adviser to a weak government."
clipped from: electronicintifada.net 