Hearing Of The Senate Committee On Foreign Relations - Nominations

Statement

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SEN. KAUFMAN: I'm honored to chair -- truly, I'm honored to chair this hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations committee as we consider the nomination of Ms. Judith McHale to be undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs, and Colonel Philip Crowley to be assistant secretary of State for public affairs.

I am confident that President Obama has made the right choice with these two exceptional nominees, and I welcome both Ms. McHale and Colonel Crowley to the committee.

Today we will hear from two nominees in the field of public affairs and public diplomacy, which are essential components of our U.S. foreign policy. With the rise of asymmetrical threats and insurgency, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, there's been a realization that military power alone is not the answer to strengthening international security.

Rather, we must use the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic and military -- to engage the global community. As Secretary Clinton testified before this committee in the Obama administration, diplomacy will be the vanguard of our foreign policy.

This represents the view that nonmilitary, soft power can be the most powerful weapon in our arsenal, and it must be utilized accordingly. As defined by Joseph Nye -- kind of the father of soft power -- "Soft power is the ability to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction, rather than use the carrots and sticks of payment or coercion."

In the past we have seen the results of an overreliance on sticks in the implementation of foreign policy. We have also seen the dangerous consequences of relying on military force as the first, as opposed to the last, policy option.

Public diplomacy requires an approach that can prevent costly military action through promotion of greater understanding and engagement. It primarily consists of three categories of activities: one, international information programs; two, education and cultural exchange programs; and three, international nonmilitary broadcasting.

The undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs, for which Ms. McHale has been nominated, administers the Bureau for International Information Programs and the Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs, while serving as a board member on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which manages and oversees all U.S.-international nonmilitary broadcasting.

Since 9/11, we've heard the oft-repeated cliche that America must aim to win the hearts and minds globally. In this context, I would caution: Winning hearts and minds should not be mischaracterized as the selling of U.S. foreign policy. Rather -- this is really important to me -- to be successful, public diplomacy requires an approach that is fair, balanced and sensitive to the wide range of global differences and cultural intricacies. Public diplomacy should aim to cultivate a greater understanding of the United States through the dissemination of unbiased information, and it should aim to build mutual trust and respect globally.

In my view, these principles should guide our public diplomacy strategy, whether it's through international broadcasting, educational exchanges, information programs, language training or the establishing of the American Corners or libraries.

I believe that President Obama shares this vision, and that is why he has nominated two qualified candidates who've demonstrated commitment to public affairs and an understanding of public diplomacy.

The first is Judith McHale, a veteran of private sector media. Most recently, Ms. McHale served as the president and CEO of Discovery Communications, parent company of the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, and a host of other networks.

In her 11 years at Discovery, she oversaw its worldwide expansion to 1.4 billion subscribers in 170 territories and countries.

Prior to serving at Discovery, Ms. McHale was the vice president of legal counsel at MTV Networks, where she was responsible for all legal aspects of MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1. Ms. McHale received numerous, and I mean numerous, awards for distinguished service. And I look forward to her testimony.

The second nominee is Colonel Philip Crowley, who has almost 30 years experience in the public sector. During the Clinton administration, Colonel Crowley served as senior director of public affairs at the National Security Council, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and deputy press secretary in the White House.

Colonel Crowley served for 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he served in numerous media relations posts and retired at the rank of colonel in 1999. He's a veteran of operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Provide Comfort. And he's also received numerous honors, awards for his distinguished public service.

I want to congratulate both Ms. McHale and Colonel Crowley on the nominations and give them an opportunity to introduce their family and committee before giving the statement.

Also, I think we should go ahead and when the members of Congress come to introduce you, I think they can speak at that time.

So Ms. McHale, do you want to introduce members of your family and friends?

MS. MCHALE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do, indeed. I'm delighted to have my family here today supporting me, as they do every day.

But may I introduce my husband Michael O'Halloran and my two sons, Brian O'Halloran and Mark O'Halloran?

SEN. KAUFMAN: Excellent. Glad to have you here.

Proceed.

MR. CROWLEY: And Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I'm supported by my daughter, Mary, who's in Boston, my son, Chris, who's a sophomore at the University of San Francisco and undergoing exams. But joining me today is the other colonel in our family, retired Air Force Colonel Paula Kougeas, my spouse of 35 years.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Glad to have you.

Ms. McHale, why don't you start with your statement?

MS. MCHALE: Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It is an honor and a privilege to appear before this committee. I want to thank the president and Secretary Clinton for the trust they have placed in me with this nomination.

And I'm very pleased to be joined by my friend P.J. Crowley, a dedicated public servant and one of this country's finest communicators.

As the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, I was taught that there is no higher calling than public service. When my father was stationed in apartheid-era South Africa, I saw what it means to live in a society that is not free. That experience instilled in me the importance of fulfilling our responsibilities as citizens and of standing up for what we know is right. Throughout my life I have tried to live those values.

At Discovery Communications, which I helped lead for two decades, we prided ourselves on building bridges of knowledge and information that connected people all over the world. And in recent years I have worked to launch an investment fund to support entrepreneurs throughout Africa. So it is an honor to help lead our nation's renewed engagement with the people of the world.

I believe passionately that public diplomacy is both integral to our foreign policy and essential for our national security.

The communications revolution of recent years has changed the attitudes and aspirations of people everywhere. And those changes are shaping world affairs to an unprecedented degree. I saw this transformation as I helped guide Discovery's expansion into 170 countries and 35 languages.

We believed in engaging people internationally, on their own terms, respecting their languages, customs and interests. So I believe that in today's world the United States must continue to move beyond traditional government-to-government diplomacy and seek innovative ways to engage directly with foreign publics.

We have to listen more and lecture less. And we have to learn how people in other countries and cultures listen to us. We need to understand their interests and aspirations and use our leadership to provide them with information and services they value.

They must see their relationship with us, the United States of America, our government, and our greatest asset of all, the American people, as essential to their ability to achieve progress and prosperity and to fulfill their dreams of a brighter future. And we must remember that we're not the only ones who see the potential of increased engagement. China, Iran and others are moving quickly. The Iranian public diplomacy network in the Middle East and beyond includes satellite television and radio networks in several languages, more than 100 newspapers and magazines, and thousands of websites and blogs.

We must act boldly and decisively to develop a clear, consistent and comprehensive approach to public diplomacy, and we must do it now.

If confirmed, I will be guided by the following core principles.

First, public diplomacy must be integrated into the policy process at every level -- form formulation through implementation. Our decisions must be informed by sound research, and we must provide context for those decisions as they are rolled out, rather than after the fact.

Second, our public diplomacy must be run strategically. We need a clear mission and a steady eye on the long-term global goals, accompanied by careful assessment of programs, personnel and expenditures.

Third, results require resources. If confirmed, I look forward to working with you to ensure that public diplomacy receives the resources and support it needs and that those resources are efficiently -- are used efficiently and effectively.

Fourth, rewards require risk. If we are going to develop new strategies, we must create a culture that nurtures innovation and tolerates risk.

Fifth, new technology, used effectively and creatively, can be a game changer. It provides unprecedented opportunities to engage people directly, to connect them to one another and to dramatically scale up many traditional public diplomacy efforts.

Finally, public diplomacy is not something the government can or should do alone. We must tap into the spirit, optimism and diversity of the American people. We face large challenges and stretched resources. We must take full advantage of private/public sector partnerships which can serve as force multipliers of our efforts.

I will look to this committee for frequent advice and guidance, if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed. From rebuilding our network of American centers and strengthening our cultural diplomacy to ensuring a public diplomacy structure with clear lines of authority and accountability, from striking an appropriate balance between the departments of Defense and State, to maintaining a coherent interagency process, your leadership will be absolutely essential.

I believe this is a moment of rare opportunity to renew our nation's engagement with the people of the world and restore our reputation as a global force for good.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your attention to this vital issue and for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today. I'm happy to answer your questions.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Thank you, Ms. McHale.

Colonel Crowley.

MR. CROWLEY: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is an honor to be here this morning as President Obama's nominee to be the assistant secretary of State for public affairs. And I'm grateful for the trust and confidence that the president and the secretary of State have placed in me.

I'm also pleased to be on the panel this morning with Judith McHale. And if confirmed, I think we'll make a great team.

I look forward to working with her and the dedicated men and women of the State Department as we communicate U.S. foreign policy to the American people and citizens of the world.

Almost 20 years ago, when my wife and I were assigned to Germany, when the Berlin Wall ceased to divide east from west, President Reagan had challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear it down. But it was the people of East and West Germany who responded by literally pushing until the wall was breached and ultimately removed.

The people of Eastern Europe rejected communism and moved swiftly to associate themselves with the United States and the West. This was public diplomacy at its best, a cornerstone of our policy of containment.

Ten years later, NATO went to war for the first time, but the 79- day air campaign did not defeat Slobodan Milosevic. Kosovo was a battle of images and political will. We succeeded because of skilled public diplomacy and political solidarity. I was proud to play a small role at NATO headquarters, helping the world see the conflict through the faces of the displaced people of Kosovo. They now live in an independent country.

Today, to paraphrase Secretary Gates, we are involved in a struggle of ideas against a guy in a cave, the same kind of ideological struggle we faced during the Cold War. Success will require similar patience, determination and skill, reinforcing our strategic narrative while diminishing that of al Qaeda.

If confirmed, one of my foremost responsibilities will be to ensure that public diplomacy informs public policy and helps instill new confidence in American leadership. We are still an admired country, but we know we have a lot of work to do. President Obama and Secretary Clinton have already taken meaningful steps to change both the tone and substance of our relationship with the world. Efforts by the distinguished of this committee will be significant as well.

Today's global communications environment is dramatically different than it was even a few years ago. A digital image can be transmitted from anywhere in the world at an instant, as we saw with the cell phone image of the execution of Saddam Hussein and its impact. If we are to communicate strategically, we must be just as dynamic and use all available means to engage in a global dialogue 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all corners of the world.

It is a sobering yet exhilarating challenge, one that, with the consent of the Senate, I am anxious to tackle. I pledge to work closely with this committee and the Congress on any issues related to the Bureau of Public Affairs.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and look forward to your questions.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Thank you, Colonel Crowley.

And we're honored to have today the excellent congressman from the state of Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, who's an expert in foreign policy, and we're proud to have him here to introduce Ms. McHale.

Thank you, Congressman.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Thank you, Senator Kaufman. And, Mr. Chairman, thank you for the privilege of being here on this special occasion.

I apologize for running a little bit late, but it is a great privilege for me to be back in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee room. And I say back because I had the honor of serving as a staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee back in the 1980s under former chairman of the committee, Senator Pell and before that for one of the senators who was a member of the committee, Senator Mathias of Maryland.

And I can't think of a better reason to be back before the Senator Foreign Relations Committee than to strongly recommend that the committee support the president's nomination of Judith McHale to be the undersecretary of State for public diplomacy. I've known Judith for more than 15 years now. I've watched her in action as the president and CEO of Discovery Communications. I've seen her leadership at work as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education. And I've seen her get involved in a thousand different ways in our local community, bringing diverse groups together.

We also share something else in common, other than living in the same community, which is we are both children of American Foreign Service officers, affectionately known as Foreign Service brats. And while I grew up many of my early years in South Asia where my father and mother served, Judith McHale grew up, many of her early years, in apartheid-era South Africa. And there she became friends with many of the anti-apartheid activists. Her home was subjected to police surveillance. And during that period, she developed a lifelong commitment to social justice and to engagement with development issues, especially in Africa.

And she also, I think, learned a very important skill, which is having a very keen sense of how American policies and actions can be perceived overseas and developed a better understanding about how to communicate with people from different parts of the world and different cultures. And she put those talents to work throughout her career. As president and CEO of Discovery Communications, she literally built a company and helped develop a company that was dedicated to reaching out and communicating to people in different parts of the world.

I won't go through all the different aspects of Discovery Communications. I don't know whether Judith has an opportunity to cover those in her issues. But I encourage the committee members to look at the reach and worldwide scope of Discovery Communications because they have been really, in some ways, uniquely successful in communicating their messages from their different programs to people throughout the world. And that was built on a sense that in order to communicate you need to have an appreciation of local cultures, you need to communicate in local languages in order to bring your messages there. And she did that very skillfully at Discovery Communications.

In addition, while she was there, they launched the Global Education Partnership, which supplied free programming and video supplies, educational materials, to young people and students around the world. And for that, she was recognized in many ways, including receiving the Global Corporate Citizenship Award from the World Affairs Council.

So just in conclusion, if you look at that experience plus her current efforts in developing a growth fund to seed capital for small businesses in Africa, her work on other international institutions and participation on boards of organizations like NDI, I think we have before us somebody who is really perfectly positioned to understand how to communicate America's story and message to different parts of the world at a time where we desperately need to effectively communicate that message.

She knows how to do it substance-wise, she knows the technology for getting that message across, and she is somebody who has literally spent her whole life connecting with people and building bridges of common interests with people around the world. That is the kind of leader we need in this very important position, undersecretary of public diplomacy, at this very critical point in our history. And I'm very pleased that the president nominated Judith McHale and it's a great privilege for me to be here to support that nomination.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Thank you, Congressman. And come on back. You've been here before, come back again. And there's no reason for you -- I know how busy you are today, so if you want to leave to pursue your other work, then feel free to do it.

REP. VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.

I just give my best wishes to Bertie Bowman, who was the clerk of the committee when I was here as a staff member. It's great to see --

SEN. KAUFMAN: Who keeps us all straight and has for a long time, thank goodness.

Thank you, Congressman.

REP. VAN HOLLEN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. KAUFMAN: We're honored to have today a member of Congress I've known for a number of years from the great state of Virginia and knowledgeable in foreign policy. And here to introduce Colonel Crowley is the Honorable Jim Moran from the state of Virginia.

REP. JIM MORAN (D-VA): Thank you so much, Senator. Thank you.

I'm absolutely delighted to recommend the Obama administration's nominee to be assistant secretary of State for public affairs. P.J. Crowley is an outstanding public servant. He's also, of course, a constituent and, in fact, an alumnus of the College of Holy Cross. But that's less relevant, but it is to me. (Laughs.)

But I've known P.J. for more than 20 years. I first met him when I was mayor of Alexandria and he and his wife, Paula, have just been absolutely invested in our community, which I think says a lot about them. In fact, for many, many years, he was a soccer coach and he would always have his cell phone on because he was also working for the National Security Council. So they would refer to him as the coach with the cell phone. Of course, he was invariably winning as well, but he understands the importance to balance some of the people's priorities. And his wife, Paula, has done the same thing through the Air Force and she's been teaching in a number of schools and volunteering at shelters.

But more for our purpose this morning, I can't think of a more qualified candidate than Colonel Crowley to explain the foreign policy of the United States to our citizens and to foreign publics around the world. That's why I enthusiastically recommend him. In fact, he has a wealth of experience that has equipped him for this job -- 30 years of distinguished policy and public affairs experience. His military service included deployments to Desert Storm and the humanitarian relief that followed the first Gulf War. President Clinton dispatched him from the National Security Council to Brussels to support the NATO secretary-general during the Kosovo crisis. After he retired from the military in 1999, he continued his public service as a political appointee, first at the Pentagon as principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense, and then back at the White House as a special assistant to President Clinton and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

When P.J. left government service in 2001, he worked in New York, only three blocks from the World Trade Center, and he witnessed that tragedy as it unfolded. And I know those searing images reinforced his determination that the nation must confront and, in fact, defeat political extremism around the world.

John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, pulled P.J. back into national security policy in 2003 when he formed his think tank. And there P.J. worked on national security and homeland security issues. Almost weekly, he would brief the members of Congress on those issues. And the breakfasts where he appeared were invariably more widely attended than most, I have to say, because he is so articulate and knows his subject. He did help us strategize in terms of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as on protecting infrastructure in terms of homeland security.

I guess even more importantly than all of this is that he is a person of the very highest integrity. He's dedicated. He's thoughtful. He's honest. He's a straight shooter. And these are the kinds of attributes that we obviously need at the Department of State at this critical time -- people who can be trusted, not just domestically but particularly around the world.

Both he and Ms. McHale should be part of our foreign policy team. They have an enormous job ahead of them, but they are the kind of people who can strategically communicate the policies of our government to domestic and foreign audiences using all of the media channels available. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have created new opportunities for the United States in our relationships with the world. We need to put a team to work with them in place as soon as possible and this is the kind of sustainable partnership that I know can help us solve these many urgent challenges that we face. And it's not just from a military conflict standpoint. The climate change, the nonproliferation, the global health, all of our policies to counter radicalism around the world -- they're all interconnected.

P.J. Crowley understands that, and, given his wide experience and skills, he is ideally suited to play this role. And so that's why it's an absolute privilege and pleasure to recommend him as the nominee to be the next assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of State.

Thank you, Senator.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Thank you, Congressman. Again, if you have somewhere to go, we will understand how busy you are.

REP. MORAN: Thank you.

SEN. KAUFMAN: I just have a few questions for each of the nominees.

Ms. McHale, what's your strategy for making public diplomacy more effective?

MS. MCHALE: I think that one of the things that we need to do is to -- first, it's an enormously complex process, public affairs, and I think there are multiple dimensions to it.

In the first case, if you sort of break it down into its essence, there are two key components that I would be looking at, one of which is how do we communicate with foreign publics? We have to get better at that. We have to listen to them. There's a lot of talk about listening. But we have to also understand how they listen to us. We have to find out ways of engaging with them. And I believe one of the things that we're going to have to do and get better at is providing context for our decisions so that they understand what we're doing before the fact rather than after the fact. In some cases, that's created some enormous difficulties for us.

So as we communicate, it needs to be based on sound research. We need to understand what they're opinions are, how they're going to react to what we're doing. And although that's not -- foreign opinion should never be the sort of only determinative for foreign policy, it clearly is a critical component. And one of my goals is to be sure that public diplomacy is in at the beginning of policy formulation so those policies can be informed.

The second part of it is, and what I would call engagement, we have got to sort of build on the history that we have, through programs such as Fulbright and others, of really reaching out and building bridges that connect people around the world. In doing that, I think we have to understand what's important to them and provide foreign publics with the kinds of services and information that they need. And I think if we do that and continue to do that, we will build long-lasting, enduring relationships, which, as we proceed, will provide a basis for us to continue to connect and communicate and hopefully gain support for us as we go forward with our foreign policy.

SEN. KAUFMAN: With this plethora of different areas that you're going to control, which are going to kind of be your priorities when you show up for work on the first day?

MS. MCHALE: You know, I've been -- obviously I've given a lot of thought to that and tried to sort of figure out the number of things that we're going to have to do. One of the things that I think is absolutely critical and essential is to have a strategic plan in place for public diplomacy, one looking forward. There have been plans in the past, but I think it's important for us to go back and review that, to have a strategic plan which we can clearly communicate to all the public diplomacy officers and posts around the world so that we have that plan against which we can set our goals and objectives as we move forward in it.

I'll continue to sort of review all the assets within the State Department to be sure that we're using them in the most effective and efficient way that we can as we go forward. But I think, from my perspective, it really probably will start with a strategic plan so that we all have a common understanding of what we want to do.

As you said, there are a lot of things that I'll have to be looking at as we go forward -- I think reviewing the interagency process to be sure we're all on the same page. The challenges we face as a nation across the board are so significant, I think it's critically important to leverage all the assets that we have at our disposal as a government to be sure we're going out in a coordinated fashion as we move forward.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Can you kind of explain your understanding of the firewall between the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors?

MS. MCHALE: Certainly. I think when you look at -- and again, I will be on the board of the Broadcast Board of Governors, obviously, one member of the team. But one of the things that I learned in my years at Discovery which is critically important when you're trying to communicate, when you're overseeing broadcasts and media outlets, is to protect the editorial integrity of the product that you're offering. And it's challenging. It's very, very difficult to be able to do that. But the law provides that. Our broadcast outlets need to be free to go out and to deliver their programs in an unfettered way. And so I think it will be critically important to be sure that those guidelines are, in fact, in place and enforced.

And, again, I know the political realities sometimes intervene, but at the end of the day, the most valuable thing we have is our integrity for the truth and the accuracy of the information that we're putting out. And so it will be important to continue to enforce that.

SEN. KAUFMAN: Thank you.

Colonel Crowley, why don't you talk about -- you have a very extensive background. Can you talk about how that's prepared you for this job that you're taking on?

MR. CROWLEY: I think one of the advantages that I have, having worked in, you know, two other agencies of government -- the National Security Council and the Department of Defense -- you know, what we do within the interagency is vitally important. We have to work collaboratively and act and communicate consistently. It's not that the United States or, you know -- a theory is that we should, the government should speak with one voice. Well, there are many voices. If we are working cooperatively together, it will be a symphony. If we are working at odds with each other, it will be a cacophony.

So part of my challenge is to make sure that what we're thinking and doing and saying at the State Department is consistent with what is happening at the Defense Department, we're able to compare notes on actions of one and how they impact the other. You know, you look at the situation of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. It is a military challenge, it's a diplomatic challenge, it's a global political challenge, and we'll only be able to do that if we work collaboratively across the interagency.

SEN. KAUFMAN: What are your thoughts about how to make the State Department better communicate with the American people on what's gone on and what their priorities are -- strategies, plans?

MR. CROWLEY: I think as Judith has said as well, we have to make sure that we're thinking and planning and acting and communicating strategically every single day. And there's obviously tension here. You know, it's easy on a day-to-day basis to sacrifice the short term for the long term. You know, we have, at times, said one thing and at least be seen around the world as doing something different. We'll have to close that gap so that we are actually seen by the world as practicing what we preach. And that just takes making sure that you have effective planning. Public affairs and public diplomacy are central to the policymaking process; they -- we inform the policymaking process and then, you know, we make sure that we're being seen and acting strategically every single day, focused on the long term, not just the immediate challenge of the day.

SEN. KAUFMAN: I want to thank both of you. I want to thank you especially for your public service and being willing to make the sacrifices both of you made to do this.

I want to thank the congressmen for coming over.

I want to thank the family and friends. It's a great honor to have you here today when we go through this hearing.

I'll keep the record open until noon tomorrow, Thursday, May 14th. The next committee business meeting will be on Tuesday and I hope we can consider your nominations at that time.

And with that, I'm going to adjourn the hearing. (Sounds gavel.)

MS. MCHALE: Thank you.

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