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Statement of Senator Barack Obama on Ambassadorial Nominees before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michael Ortiz, 202 228 5566
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today made the following statement on the ambassadorial nominees before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Earlier today, Senator Obama chaired the nominations hearing of:

The Honorable Barbara McConnell Barrett to be Ambassador to the Republic of Finland
The Honorable Yousif Boutrous Ghafari to be Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia
Mr. Frank Urbancic, Jr. to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus
Ms. Nancy E. McEldowney to be Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria
Mr. Kurt D. Volker to be U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of NATO

Prepared remarks provided below:
Today, the Committee meets to consider the nomination of five important diplomatic positions. The President has nominated Barbara McConnell Barrett to be Ambassador to the Republic of Finland, Yousif Boutrous Ghafari to be Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, Frank Urbancic, Jr. to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus, Nancy McEldowney to be Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, and Kurt Volker to be the U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

I am very pleased to welcome each of our nominees today. Without exception, you bring an impressive range of talents and experience to your assignments. I look forward to discussing the challenges you are likely to encounter and how you intend to strengthen our nation and its allies in the course of your service.

Your nominations come at a critical moment in the history of American diplomacy. The challenges we face are formidable: securing our country, revitalizing our alliances, bolstering young democracies, and confronting the common threats of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease. Turning these challenges into opportunities will require renewed American leadership. It will also require ambassadors who exemplify the principles that make our nation great.
Upon confirmation, each of you will work with countries that are close partners of the United States and share our common faith in the value of self-determination, accountable governments, collective security, and human rights.
Mr. Volker, if confirmed, will serve as the United States' permanent representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is the most powerful and most successful military alliance in the history of the world. No organization has done more to promote peace and security in Europe, or to create the protective shield that has allowed the democracies of the North Atlantic to grow into a free and prosperous community.

But, as we saw at last week's summit in Bucharest, NATO is not as strong, as capable, or as united as it should be. Afghanistan, NATO's first major mission beyond the borders of Europe, has been overlooked and undermanned by many members of the alliance, including the United States. Success in Afghanistan is critical to American national security, and to the security of the entire world. And a failure there would not only endanger our nation and global stability - it would cast serious doubt on the ability of NATO's military and political architecture to uphold our security in the 21st century.

Some new troop commitments to Afghanistan were made in Bucharest, and that is good news. But neither the Administration nor our allies have yet done enough to muster the resources that would win the war there and prevent Afghanistan from reemerging as a safe haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda. The Bucharest summit also left out one of three candidates for membership, and failed to provide the young democracies of Georgia and Ukraine with membership action plans. Mr. Volker, you are a professional diplomat of the first order and I have confidence that you will represent the United States ably in Brussels. However, ensuring that NATO retains its rightful place as the cornerstone of the Euro-Atlantic alliance will require that we do more to enlarge NATO to include worthy European democracies, and focus more resources on the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda. Doing so will require adroit diplomacy at NATO headquarters, but it will also mean making the case directly to the citizens of Europe that we must all increase our commitment to global security. We succeeded in coming together to confront the greatest challenges of the second half of the 20th century. We cannot succeed in confronting the challenges of the 21st unless we do so together.

Mr. Urbancic, if confirmed you will be serving in Cyprus at a time of new optimism in the long struggle to bring an end to the estrangement of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. After three decades, last Thursday's opening of the Ledra Street crossing in downtown Nicosia was a tangible indication of good will on both sides of the island to forge a settlement between two peoples who share a common home, a common history, and a common destiny. I hope that the day of Cypriot reunification comes in the course of your ambassadorial service, and that you will do everything in your power to help the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community reach a just and lasting peace.

Slovenia has been on the cutting edge of democratic change in Eastern Europe. Since its early success gaining membership in NATO and the European Union, it has been a model for progress in the Balkans. Despite its small size, Slovenia currently leads the nations of the European Union while it occupies the EU's presidency. Its citizens are helping to set the agenda for an entire continent. Slovenians are focusing Europe's attention on the unfinished business of bringing peace and prosperity to the Balkans. The people and government of Slovenia will need the help of the United States and other partners as they consolidate their democratic gains, and seek to extend those gains throughout the region.

Mr. Ghafari, as an immigrant who has truly lived the American dream, you represent the strength found in our country's diversity. Similar strength should characterize life in the Balkans - in some parts of the region including Slovenia, it already does. I hope your story and your service will resonate with people throughout the former Yugoslavia.

After a difficult transition from communism and setbacks in the 1990s, Bulgaria has made impressive economic strides in recent years. As a potential hub for oil and gas distribution, the country could play an important role in Europe's future energy security. However, Bulgaria continues to struggle with corruption and the corrosive influence of organized crime. Any failure to address these challenges could jeopardize the country's future cooperation with the European Union and, with it, much of the progress that has occurred in the recent past.

Ms. McEldowney, you will need to work aggressively to assure that the democratic backsliding which has happened in some other parts of Eastern Europe does not occur in Bulgaria. The country's institutions and judicial system will need your support and assistance in order to help Bulgaria remain on course toward full Euro-Atlantic integration. In recent years, the United States has dramatically reduced its financial assistance to Bulgaria, so you'll have to be creative. But your exemplary record as a member of the Foreign Service bodes well for your work on these critical tasks.

Finally, Ms. Barrett, you have a different task, as you will represent America in a country that has travelled further down the path of democracy and prosperity. Finland is a world leader in technology and innovation, and even outranks the United States in some measures of development. But it still faces challenges in its relationship with Russia and its longstanding position outside of Euro-Atlantic security institutions. At some point soon, Finland may move toward membership in NATO. Should the Finish people and government chose to pursue that objective, I hope you will be their biggest booster.

All of you are coming before this Committee at a defining moment in America's story. Now is not a time for half-hearted diplomacy. We need to raise the bar for our allies and that must begin with raising the bar for ourselves. Together with our partners in Europe, I am confident that we can make whole a world that is in need of repair.
I
look forward to a more detailed discussion of the challenges and opportunities that await you.

http://obama.senate.gov/press/080408-statement_of_se_16/