news White House, Democrats defend Iraq envoy choice

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White House, Democrats defend Iraq envoy choice


22 minutes ago





By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and Senate Democrats on Friday defended President Barack Obama's choice for ambassador to Iraq, saying veteran diplomat Chris Hill was the right person to grapple with the complex political situation.
Hill's nomination this week to head the important Iraq post was challenged by two influential Republican senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who said Hill left a "controversial legacy" from negotiations aimed at scrapping North Korea's nuclear program.
In an effort to address the concerns, Hill requested a meeting with McCain. A McCain aide said they would meet early next week.
Critics have said Hill was not tough enough on Pyongyang as lead U.S. negotiator in the multi-party talks during the latter part of the administration of former President George W. Bush.
The United States took North Korea off a terrorism blacklist last year, but the talks deadlocked over a disagreement about how to verify Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Hill, the assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs since 2005, had the skills needed for Iraq, where Obama has pledged to withdraw U.S. combat troops by the end of August 2010.
"Chris Hill is ... uniquely qualified in a very tough political environment that remains in Iraq to seek an end to some of the political disputes that are vexing to the Shi'ites, Sunnis, Kurds. The president has extraordinary respect for his ability," Gibbs said.
CONFIRMATION HEARING 'AS SOON AS POSSIBLE'
The Senate must vote to confirm Hill, but that could be difficult if opponents decide to use a procedural tactic known as a "hold," requiring the support of 60 senators to move to a vote on his nomination. Democrats only control 58 votes.
Democrats hope concerns over Hill can be addressed quickly. He would replace Ryan Crocker as ambassador in Baghdad.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry issued a statement challenging what he said was the Republicans' implication that Hill was responsible for North Korea's detonation of a nuclear device in 2006, while Bush was president.
"The responsibility for that lies first and foremost with North Korea and second with President Bush and his senior advisers, who did not empower Ambassador Hill to engage in direct talks with Pyongyang until after the North had withdrawn from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, exported nuclear technology to Syria, and tested a nuclear bomb," Kerry said.
"In fact, had Ambassador Hill not been hamstrung by in-fighting among senior members of the Bush administration, President Obama might not have inherited such a dangerous problem on the Korean Peninsula," Kerry, a Democrat, added.
A spokesman said Kerry would hold a confirmation hearing soon. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also a Democrat, said he looked forward to confirming Hill "as quickly as possible."
Another concern listed this week by Graham, McCain and a third Republican senator, Sam Brownback, was that Hill lacked experience in the Middle East.
But Reid noted that in addition to running delicate North Korea talks, Hill was part of the negotiating team for the Dayton peace accords that ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia.
Hill is "precisely the kind of diplomat America needs in the Middle East and Iraq, where a long-term resolution must be achieved politically and diplomatically, not militarily," Reid said