*EPF412 04/26/01
Text: Under Secretary-Designate Dobriansky Testifies
(Global Affairs nominee in confirmation process) (1180)
U.S. foreign policy must be bipartisan and supported by both the Congress and the public, said Paula J. Dobriansky April 25 in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Dobriansky is President Bush's nominee to become the Under Secretary for Global Affairs in the State Department.
The portfolio of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs includes issues such as human rights, environment, migration, counter-narcotics, and international crime. The Under Secretary-nominee described herself as "acutely aware of the challenges" these issues pose today and in the years to come.
"Proper handling of these issues may well determine whether the 21st century would be a period of unprecedented international stability and global prosperity or whether it would be plagued by intensifying regional tensions and conflagrations," Dobriansky said in remarks submitted to the committee.
Currently the vice president and director of the Washington office of the private, nonprofit Council on Foreign Relations, Dobriansky served previously in government at the National Security Council and the State Department under both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
Following is the text of Dobriansky's remarks as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
STATEMENT
PAULA J. DOBRIANSKY
UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS NOMINEE
April 25, 2001
Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Thank you Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
It is a great honor for me to appear today before you. This is one of the most exciting moments in my professional life. I am deeply grateful to President Bush for the trust and confidence he has placed in me, by nominating me for the position of Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. I am looking very much forward to joining his superb national security team and returning back to the State Department, where I had the privilege of serving during President Bush Senior's Administration. Working with Secretary Powell will be a particular pleasure. If the Senate confirms my nomination, I also look forward to working closely with the members of this Committee, and other members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, to meet the very serious challenges we face in the areas within the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs' authority.
History proves that close coordination and cooperation with Congress is essential to achieving a president's foreign policy goals. Such cooperation is, in fact, indispensable. In this respect, I know that both President Bush and Secretary Powell believe strongly, as do 1, that the foreign policy of the United States must be bipartisan and fully supported by members of Congress, as well as the American people. This is especially true of foreign policy issues, such as human rights, democracy, labor, the environment, humanitarian relief and refugee assistance, science and technology, public health matters and international crime and law enforcement cooperation, that transcend the day to
day relationships among states, and implicate areas of domestic policy that often become divisive and contentious.
I am acutely aware of the challenges that I would face as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. The matters for which I would be responsible include the promotion of democracy and human rights, labor, population, migration and refugee issues, counter- narcotics, international crime and law enforcement, as well as environmental and scientific concerns. They transcend any particular country or geographical region and are on the cutting edge of American diplomacy. You may recall that, the National Intelligence Council (NIC) recently released an important unclassified study, entitled "Global Trends 2015", developed over a period of 18 months by a large group of government analysts and private sector experts. Significantly, the report highlighted the fact that demographic pressures, access to natural resources, environmental and health problems, scientific and technological factors and last, but not least, transnational organized crime and law enforcement trends have now become and will continue to be the key drivers in shaping the global environment. Proper handling of these issues may well determine whether the 21st century would be a period of unprecedented international stability and global prosperity or whether it would be plagued by intensifying regional tensions and conflagrations. Since most of these issues belong to the portfolio of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs, I guess I can anticipate, paraphrasing an ancient Chinese saying, serving during interesting times.
If confirmed, my future job would also fuse well my professional and academic pursuits. Shaping the disposition of many of the global issues I have just mentioned, would often entail the exercise of what one of my former Harvard University professors, Joe Nye, described as "soft power". I intend to draw on America's enormous cultural, ideological, and scientific appeal and accomplishments, so as both to promote appropriate solutions to global problems, as well as to persuade others, in particular our allies and friends, to support us. Over the years, there has been much intellectually sterile "debate" about whether, in the post-Cold War era, these "soft power" issues have supplanted the more traditional "hard power" foreign policy concerns. I think these debates have missed the point. Both hard and soft power issues have to be on our foreign policy agenda; as the NIC study points out, an inept handling of a given "soft power" issue may well precipitate a civil war or even a regional conflict. In fact, one of the most challenging issues for American statecraft today, is how to integrate all of these issues into a coherent and successful overall foreign policy mix, that is capable of advancing our national interests and that is congruent with our political and constitutional values and traditions. I am looking forward to being a participant in this process of policy development and integration, as well as policy implementation.
Another important policy imperative is that many of these "soft power' issues, in addition to being complex, controversial, and urgent, involve areas where the approach of the United States, and that of our closest allies and friends, have often diverged. As important as these issues are, it is critical that we work with our allies and friends to ensure that such disagreements do not obscure the fact that our long-term interests in a stable, prosperous and free world, remain the same. We should not sweep our differences under the rug, but instead pursue collegial, yet frank, dialogue and debate. it is also essential to engage the non-governmental community on these issues.
In closing, I would like to express my appreciation to the excellent State Department career professionals who have already made me feel welcome. I feel privileged to have been asked to join Secretary Powell's outstanding team. I also want to thank both former Under Secretaries for Global Affairs, Frank Loy and Tim Wirth. Both have been generous with their time, and have graciously provided me with invaluable insights.
I would be pleased to answer the Committee's questions.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN