Opening Statement of U.S. Senator Jack Reed

Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

 

Room SDG-50

Dirksen Senate Office Building

Thursday, January 29, 2015

                                               

To receive testimony on global challenges and U.S. national security strategy.

(As prepared for delivery)

Secretary Kissinger, Secretary Shultz, Secretary Albright, welcome.

This morning is an extraordinary opportunity to hear from a bipartisan panel of three former Secretaries of State.  Our witnesses have been leading voices in American diplomacy and security strategy, spanning nearly a half a century.  We thank you for your service to the country and for agreeing to share your insights with the committee.  And, thank you to Senator McCain for assembling this impressive panel for us today.

Secretary Kissinger, your name is synonymous with a pragmatic approach to international relations, which emphasizes political realism over ideology.  Secretary Shultz, you served as Secretary of State at the height of the Cold War, but also during a period when the United States and the Soviet Union were able to conclude agreements on reductions in nuclear arsenals.  Secretary Albright, during your time as Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of State, you played a critical role in building coalitions to respond to the instability in Bosnia and in Kosovo.   

Each of you, throughout your extensive careers, have demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the historical, economic, religious, ethnic, and political factors affecting foreign policy and international security.  And each of you emphasized the need to use all instruments of national power—not just military power, but also diplomacy and economic power—to address the challenges facing the United States.    

The breadth and complexity of challenges to the international order, and the United States’ place in the world today, seem as complex and vexing as any faced previously.  We would be interested in your perspective on these challenges, and the principles that should guide our security strategy.

On Iran, in a recent hearing with General Scowcroft and Dr. Brzezinski, both of them urged Congress to hold off on additional sanctions, in order to give multilateral negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program sufficient time to reach a conclusion.  The Senate Banking Committee, on which I also serve, is scheduled to begin a markup of this legislation within the hour.  We would be interested in your thoughts on the negotiations with Iran and the wisdom of imposing additional sanctions at this time. 

Regarding the Middle East, during our hearing Tuesday on the military aspects of the U.S. security strategy, General Mattis emphasized the need to have a clear understanding of what our political objectives are in the region.  He also made clear that any attempt to impose a purely military solution to these conflicts would come at a very high cost.  General Scowcroft and Dr. Brzezinski discussed the important U.S. interests in the region, but also warned against the United States “owning” the conflict in Syria as a result of getting too involved in the region’s long-standing internal dynamics.  Their warnings highlight the continuing need for the United States to build an international coalition, including Arab and Muslim states, to confront the threat from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, and address the instability in Syria. We would be interested to hear your views on what the United States should seek to achieve as an end-state in Syria and Iraq and what political developments would need to occur for such an end-state to be enduring.

There are a host of other pressing issues from Russian involvement in Ukraine to the impact of cyber operations on our national security.  We will benefit from your thoughts on a wide range of issues.