Secretary Kerry Testifies in Senate Hearing
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday for a budget hearing titled “National Security and Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY 2015 International Affairs Budget.” But instead of having Kerry testify to priorities found in next year’s budget, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee used the occasion to question the Secretary on what several committee members considered to be the Obama administration’s incoherent and failing foreign policy in the Middle East.
This was Kerry’s first appearance in front of a congressional committee since November 2013, allowing the Foreign Relations Committee to question the Secretary on three of the U.S.’ primary diplomatic efforts: the Syrian conflict, Iran’s nuclear efforts, and the Israeli Palestinian peace process.
In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said that recent events have shown the need for United States’ leadership in global affairs before he broadly agreed with the FY2015 budget request, which is the same amount as FY2014’s enacted sum. Ranking member Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) quickly pivoted away from discussing the budget, saying, “we don’t really pass budgets or reconcile them” and that he would concentrate his remarks and questions on policy issues. Corker maintained his confrontational stance on the administration’s Syria policy that he presented during the March 26 committee hearing on Syria, and said he was looking forward to a hitherto unfulfilled commitment to a classified hearing on new developments on Syria. Corker also lamented over allegations that Secretary Kerry was engaged in an interagency dispute with the Pentagon over the United States’ Syria policy before saying he was looking forward for the Secretary to clarify what the administration’s policy is.
Secretary Kerry opened his remarks by saying that U.S. leadership worldwide was more critical and in demand than ever before and stressed that this was also the case with the Middle East peace process, where both Israeli and Palestinian leaders continue to support American mediation. Kerry also touted the United States’ leadership in forging an unprecedented economic sanctions regime on Iran and its engagement in a diplomatic effort to solve the nuclear impasse with Iran. Finally, Kerry addressed “the moral and security imperative that is Syria,” saying that the U.S. was routing increased amounts of aid to Syrian rebels and would continue to strengthen the opposition.
Faced with questions from the committee, beginning with a question on negotiations with Iran from Sen. Menendez, Kerry said he was “agnostic” rather than “optimistic” on the possibility of successfully resolving the major differences between Iran and the P5+1 negotiating team. Kerry explicated the enormous effort the U.S. and its allies was expending in inspecting Iran’s nuclear activities and constructing an accountable program to verify Iran’s actions. Pressed about Iran’s breakout capacity by Sen. Menendez, Kerry responded that sanctions would not prevent the Iranians from racing to build a nuclear weapons should they decide to do so. Finally, Kerry said that the administration would be legally obligated to bring any possible comprehensive agreement before Congress.
Sen. Corker concentrated his questions on Syria, asking for Kerry to clearly state “what is our Syria policy today?” Kerry recounted the administration’s Syria policy since he became Secretary of State and reiterated that the administration is supporting the moderate opposition in Syria more than ever before, though Kerry would not describe the details in the open session.
Sen. John Risch (R-ID) prompted Secretary Kerry to describe the status of Middle East peace negotiations. Kerry said that both sides had committed themselves to difficult positions which were preventing progress in the talks, specifically mentioning the Palestinians’ application to 15 UN treaties and the Israel’s refusal to adhere to an agreed-upon fourth round of prisoner releases and its announcement of 700 new housing units.
In what was the testiest exchange, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said the following: "Geneva II was a total collapse as I predicted to you that it would be. … The Israeli-Palestinian talks, even though you may drag them out for a while, are finished. And I predict that even though we gave the Iranians the right to enrich, which is unbelievable, those talks will collapse, too." McCain continued to say that the current administration had Theodore’s logic of speaking softly and carrying a big stick backwards, saying, “what you're doing is talking strongly and carrying a very small stick, in fact, a twig."
Kerry responded: "Let me begin with … your premature judgment about the failure of, hum, everything," he told McCain. "I guess it's pretty easy to lob those judgments around, particularly well before the verdict is in on any of them." Kerry continued to defend the United States’ diplomatic activities.
Despite the negative and confrontational tone throughout the majority of the hearing, some Senators were more conciliatory, praising Kerry for the more successful aspects of U.S. policy. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) stated that during a recent trip to the region, numerous U.S. allies lauded the administration’s dedication to the region and more specifically, the U.S.’ commitment to alleviating the deteriorating humanitarian condition in Syrian refugee camps.