Nomination of Christopher R. Hill to be Ambassador to Iraq--Continued

Floor Speech

NOMINATION OF CHRISTOPHER R. HILL TO BE AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ--Continued -- (Senate - April 21, 2009)

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to express my strong support for Christopher R. Hill to be the next Ambassador to Iraq. I have had the privilege of working with Ambassador Hill and I know him. He is a Rhode Islander. He was born in Little Compton, where he resides. He brought his fine skills and talents to public service many years ago. He has distinguished himself in that service over many years. He is being posted to one of the most critical areas of the world.

Mr. President, you and I just returned from Iraq. One of the comments we heard from General Odierno and from our diplomatic personnel was the need to rapidly confirm Ambassador Hill. They have every confidence in him. They believe he cannot only do the job but do it extremely well. I think their support is much more compelling than the opposition I have heard on the Senate floor today.

We understand, as they do, the real step forward in Iraq is building its governmental capacity and dealing with very explicit problems, one of which--and the Presiding Officer and I have both spoken on this today--is the tension between the Kurds and Arabs around Kirkuk, with respect to oil. Our Ambassador has to hit the ground running and deal with a very difficult set of issues. Chris Hill is prepared to do that.

Together with General Odierno, they will form a team that will continue the progress that has been made over the last several months.

Ambassador Hill, as I mentioned, is from Rhode Island. He earned his B.A. from Bowdoin College and a masters from the Naval War College, also in Rhode Island. He is extremely well qualified for this position, with a lifetime of diplomatic service and facing challenges in many different arenas, and facing them with distinction. He has particular skills in bridging gaps and bringing people together, which will be critical.

Ambassador Hill entered the Foreign Service in 1977. In the 1980s, he served in various positions within the State Department in Washington. He was an economic officer in the Embassies in Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Warsaw, Poland; and Seoul, Korea.

Beginning in 1991, he spent 2 years as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania. From 1994 to 1996, he was the Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs.

Then, in 1996, he was named the Ambassador of Macedonia during a period when the United States was actively engaged in multilateral efforts to prevent the spread of ethnic conflict in Macedonia, bolster Macedonian independence and state viability, and manage bilateral disputes between Macedonia and Greece. He worked with our American military forces during that period.

The first time I met with him I was with the commander of the First Infantry Division of the U.S. Army who was on the ground. So the Ambassador is someone who has already been in a situation in which ethnic tension, bilateral relationships between regional powers, and Army military stabilization operations were underway. I think that experience will make him extremely prepared for and equipped to accomplish the mission he has been assigned in Baghdad.

Ambassador Hill was also part of a team that was assembled by Ambassador Holbrooke that negotiated the Bosnian peace settlement. He fought to ensure that protections were included for those who had been made refugees by the war. In one instance, he personally intervened at the Stenkovac refugee camp to prevent a rioting mob from beating an ethnic Roma family to death.

I think he has a sensitivity to ethnic and sectarian tension, not gleaned from textbooks but from personal involvement and engagement in these situations.

In 2004, he returned to Seoul, Korea, this time as the Ambassador. There he partnered with Korean authorities and the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, General Leon LePorte, another Rhode Islander, to develop and implement the most significant realignment of our military posture in the region since the Korean war. I think it was an effort that today is bearing fruit in terms of the ability of U.S. forces in Korea to continue their mission with a smaller footprint, and indeed to be able to support operations around the globe as units from Korea are being sent into the combat zone in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Most recently, after his experience as Ambassador to Seoul, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and also as head of--as somebody mentioned--the six-party talks, which attempted to get the North Koreans to move away from their path of nuclear progress they had been making. He worked hard to dismantle their main nuclear facility and provide a full accounting for their plutonium.

Ambassador Hill also engaged in issues of human rights. It has been pointed out that not all of the efforts have been completely successful. But what he was doing was carrying out the policy of the beneficiary administration. He was carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of State and the President of the United States. I think he did that with fidelity to his responsibilities to his superiors and also a keen commitment to improving a situation that had become very dire indeed.

Ambassador Hill has received numerous awards, including the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award, the Francis Shattuck Security and Peace Award, the Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for Peace Negotiations, and the Secretary of Defense Medal of Meritorious Civilian Service.

Ambassador Hill, with his talent, his character, and his commitment to the Nation, has also been recognized because he has been endorsed for this position by the last three Ambassadors to Iraq, including Ryan Crocker, Zalmay Khalilzad, and John Negroponte. These gentlemen did an extraordinarily good job for us there. I am particularly singling out Ryan Crocker--someone whose commitment was not just in terms of his professional skill but his physical skill--risking his life numerous times, working day and night, 7 days a week, and doing it with distinction and grace. That is remarkable.

Again, no one is going to be another Ryan Crocker. I think it is extraordinarily significant that Ryan Crocker, who probably knows that job as well as anybody, would endorse Christopher Hill to take the job. He would not do it just as a courtesy to a fellow State Department officer. He did it because I believe he understands that Ambassador Hill not only can do the job but will do it.

I also say the same thing about the commitment and sincerity and support of Zalmay Khalilzad and John Negroponte. Furthermore, I think both General Petraeus and General Odierno have indicated that not only is he someone with whom they can work, they want to be able to work with him quickly. They want him on the ground. Iraq is at a pivotal juncture in the history of that country and its relationship with the United States. The intelligence and commitment and experience of the Ambassador to Iraq is critical. Ambassador Hill has an abundance of the necessary skills. He has proven again and again he can bring a possible situation to a workable solution. He is the right man for the job. I urge my colleagues to support his nomination.

I yield the floor.

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