Senate Proceeding on Apr 21st, 2009 :: 1:04:20 to 1:24:20
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0:57:45 to 1:04:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Benjamin L. Cardin

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quorum call: mr. kaufman: madam the presiding officer: the sena cough i request the suspension of the quorum call. th objection. mr. kaufman: the nomination of ambassador chris hill to be ambassador to iraq. mr. president, i rise today in

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support of the nomination of chris hill to be ambassador to iraq. last week i had the privilege of joing senator jack reed hon a trip to rierk, afghanistan and pakistan to witness firhand the remarkable contributions of our military and civilians abroad. in each and every meeting in baghdad, we were asked about the nomination of ambassador hill,

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and it was painstakingly clear that the absence of a u.s. ambassador creates questions regarding america's commitment to the future of iraq. ieally, really cannot stress enough the concern expressed by our military and civilian leadership as well as the iraqi government that there is no high-level civilian representing

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the united states in iraq. it is in this regard that i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting ambassador hill's confirmation. you know, here in the senate we understand the intricacies of parliamentary procedures but outside this delay is interpreted differently. it is seen by far too many as

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signifying a low priority, a lack of american interest, and a sleight with the beginning of president obama's draw-down plan and the withdrawal of american forces from major summer, we absolutely, positively need an ambassador to coordinatehe increased civilian efforts

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replace our military presence. as iraqis take important steps to improve security, governance, economic development, and the training of police, we must have an ambassador to coordinate our efforts and continue to channel u.s. resources and support. and as iraq faces the challenge of continued sectarian tension,

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especially between the arabs and the kurds, ambassador hill's first task should be focusing on mitigating tensions in the north and helping the iraqis resolve difficult the status of kirkuk and the wall. the future of iraq is incumbent

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on critical milestones that were made this year. and is incumbent upon this body, the united states senate, to ensure that the u.s. emssy in baghdad, the largest in the world, has the leadership in needs to cuke seed in iraq. i've met with ambassador hill and am positive that's the right person for this critical task.

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his extensive experience in diplomacy, nation building and conflict management, especially in the balkans, has for the challenge of iraq. as a member of ambassador holbrooke's team, ambassador hill was deeply engaged in the success of the dayton peace accords in bosnia. as ambassador to macedonia, he helped to ensure refugees camps

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were established for the coughs vair refugees. and as a special negotiator for kosovo, he was the hill of our efforts to secure human rights forbe the population. when those negotiations failed, he recommended nato intervention to prevent ethnic cleansing. ambassador hill has been tested by some of the very biggest

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foreign policy challenges in recent decades, and he's demonstrated time and time again that he the skills necessary to the post in iraq is vitally important to the security in the region and i am confident that the senate will soon confirm ambassador hill fl with this in

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mind, i urge my colleagues who oppose this nomination to reconsider the reservations and concerns. for that reason i want to address a now becau it is critical to stress the importance of the protecting of human rights throughout the world, and ambassador hill z the most serious allegation against ambassador hill related to his alleged unwillingness to push

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north korea on the issue during the six-party talks. i can tell you frankly, i would not support ambassador hill's mination if i had any question about his commitment to human rights, but i have none. as assistant secretary for east sash shan pacific affairs he coordinated efforts closely with the state department's bureauf democracy, human rights and labor.

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together they worked to emit the first refugees in 2006 and expaed fundin funding and supported north korean human rights. this included support for north korea de facto organizations in south korea. he has intervened with foreign governments including china to make sure that north korean

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asylum seekers could have safe transit to third countries. in public and in private, ambassador hill has made clear to north korean officials that human rights are primary concern of the united states, as important as the nuclear pis issue. the united states must insist that any settlement with north korea take into account the atrocious records on human rights.

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and ambassador hill was clear about the human rights in the negotiations. critics of ambassador hill have looked at the six-party talks and pointed the blame at him. it is a chilling fact that without ambassador hill's involvement, the situation could have been far worse.

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in this regard, i am grateful to ambassador hill for all that he acmplished with a government well known for its intransigence. clearly, the most intransigent government on the face of the earth. mr. president, the diplomatic -- practical diplomatic skills ambassador hill demonstrated in l balkans and north korea is what we need in iraq.

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we will need his past experience with refugees and internally displaced persons. we will need his ability to interact with all parties. and we need his experience to secure the issues in the training of police. now more than ever, it is absolutely critical to demonstrate to the iraqi people and the world that we value the importance of the future of

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iraq. and at this critical turning point, bemust have a diplomat in baghdad who can confront the many challenges and provide the necessary leadership for our mission. it is in this regard that i strongly support the nomination of ambassador chris hill not only because he is a competent diplomat but because he is the right person for the task at hand in iraq.

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i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

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quorum call:

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Sam Brownback: quorum call: korean,. mr. brownback: madam pr the presiding officer: the senator mr. brownback: i ask unanimous consent further reading be dispensed. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. brownback: madam president, today is a sad y, holocaust remembrance day. this month marks the 65th anniversary of a daring escape

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Speech By: Sam Brownback

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Sam Brownback: by a teen who revealed the truth of the death camps and was ignored bit allied leadership. march 1944 the germs ans occupied hungary and prepared to deport that country's jews numbering approximately 750,000 to auschwitz. a 19-year-old prisoner, together

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Sam Brownback: with fellow inmate alfred witzler decided to do almost nobody had done: escape from auschwitz. they were determined to alert the world about the boom that hungarian jews would soon face. on april 7th, the two slipped away from the slave labor batallion and hid in a mall

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Sam Brownback: loaded identity -- hallowed out woodpile. the fugitives sprinkled the area with tobacco and gasoline which confused the german d search from them. on the second day in the wood piel the two heard allies war and closer and bombs crunched not far away a he later

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Sam Brownback: recalled in the memoir "i cannot forgive," our pulses quicken. would they bomb the camp? was the secret out? was this the end of auschwitz? the planes were actually bombing german oil factories in and around the auschwitz complex. the idea of bombing the death camp had not yet been proposed to the allied leadership and details such as the location of

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Sam Brownback: the gas chambers were not yet known to the allied war command but that on april 10, in the dead of night, the two emerg from the wood -- emerged from the woodpile and began an 80-day trek to slow slovacia and dictated a

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Sam Brownback: as the "auschwitz protocols," including details of the mass murder process, maps pinpointing the gas chambers and warnings of the imeppedding slaughter of hung -- impending slaughter of hungarian jews. "a million hungarian jews will die. auschwitz is ready but if you tell them new they

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Sam Brownback: they will never go to the ovens." a copy of the report was given to a hungarian jewish l he negotiated a deal that involved bribing the germans to permit a relatives, friends and hungarian jewish leaders to leave the country which were the centerpiece of a controversial

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Sam Brownback: trial i israel after the war. another copy of the "auschwitz protocol," was given to a rabbi, a rescue activist who wrote the first known appeal for the use of allied air power to disrupt the mass murder in. plea to the allies to bomb the railroad lines between hungary and auschwitz reached the

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Sam Brownback: roosevelt administration in ne. the responded that the reque was "impracticable,"ecause it would require "diversion of considerable air support essential to the success forces now engaged in decisive operations." he claimed the war department's position was based on "a study

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Sam Brownback: of the issue." but no evidence of such a study has ever been found by researchers. in reality his position was based on the war department's standing policy that no military resources should be allocated for rescuer victims of enemy oppression convincing the jewish agency leadership in palestine to change its position on bombing.

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Sam Brownback: agency leaders initially opposed bombing auschwitz because they believed it was a labor camp not a death camp. but after receiving the "auschwitz protocol," in june, officials lobbied british and american and soviet officials to bomb the catches or railways. the requests were rebuffe

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Sam Brownback: and a condensed version reach the u.s. government war refugee board in june and galvanized the board to mobilize international pressure on hungary to halt the deportation but the unfortunate came too late for the more than 400,000 hungarian jews shipped to their dm it spared the 200,000-plus still alive in hungary.