John Kerry traveled to the Middle East and met with Yasser Arafat. (Hat tip: J. Lichty.)

After September 11.

After this.

KERRY: David, thank you for your comments on the speech. Look. Jimmy Carter, President Clinton, President George Herbert Walker Bush, Jim Baker.

I think Jim Baker made 14 trips there. I know he wasn’t all that popular at the end of a number of them and there were some issues. But Larry Eagleburger, Brent Scowcroft. There’s great talent out there with people who have been through this.

And it’s astonishing to me that we are not picking up somewhere near where we left off at Taba … .

I was in the Middle East after September 11th. I met at length with President Mubarak, with Crown Prince Abdullah, with King Abdullah, with Prime Minister Sharon, with Arafat in the West Bank. All of them.

And every single leader, including our own ambassador, said to me, “Senator, where is General Zinni? Why isn’t there a special envoy here? This is a moment of opportunity.” …

And I believe that a special envoy of the quality of President Clinton or of President Carter, or a combination of people, bipartisanly, would have the ability to be able to raise the day-to-day diplomacy to a level that helps to give strength to those who seek peace.