On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) questioned pending nominees on U.S.-Senegal relations during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00It's Senator Young and I are going to start a second round of questions. Mr. Harris,
00:07Algeria has historically supported the Polisario Front, whose main goal is the independence of
00:16Western Sahara from Moroccan control. They regularly deliver arms, training, financial
00:23aid. The Biden administration has sought to revive the U.N. process on the final status
00:31of the Western Sahara, but at the same time they haven't rescinded the Trump administration's
00:36policy of recognizing Morocco's claim of sovereignty over the territory. Do you
00:42perceive these two policies to be at odds and what kind of progress do you think that we can
00:47make on trying to move forward concessions or actions that we would need from Algeria
00:55to resolve this long-standing crisis? Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I think that we
01:02have spoken very clearly to the importance of enabling a U.N. political process on Western
01:07Sahara to move forward. Negotiations leading to a lasting and enduring resolution to this
01:16extremely difficult challenge developing over many years without further delay. I have had the
01:21good occasion to work very closely with the personal envoy of the Secretary General, Mr.
01:25de Mistura, as he works to intensify these consultations and also to consult privately
01:30with partners, including Algeria, about how all players could lend their influence to the success
01:36of that U.N. political process. I believe there is a recognition about the fundamental challenges
01:41at play and also the importance of ensuring that that political process is successful. Algeria
01:46certainly has a very important role to play in that conversation, and if confirmed, a central
01:50element of my efforts with the Algerian government will be to further intensify that dialogue so that
01:55that U.N. process could finally gain some traction. Great, thank you for that. Mr. Lord,
02:01talk to us a little bit about U.S.-Senegal security cooperation. Senegal is really critical to
02:09U.S. efforts – U.S. security efforts in West Africa. It's probably got the most competent
02:14security forces in the Sahel. Given the myriad problems facing Senegal's neighbors, what can we
02:24do to expand Senegal's positive security influence in the region? What are going to be the first,
02:32second, and third steps you're going to take and ask Congress to support on this mission?
02:37Thank you, Senator, for the question. Indeed, we have a long history of cooperation with Senegal
02:42on security arrangements and assistance, which has included professionalization of the forces
02:49so that they can engage in global stability operations. Senegal is, on a security and
02:56diplomatic level, engaged on the difficult problems in the Sahel, both through the West
03:03Africa Subregional Organization, ECOWAS, and through the United Nations. I think one of the
03:09key things that we can do is listen to the new government's ideas about how to approach this
03:15situation. They have intense interests in seeing a resolution. Many of our interests overlap with
03:24them. And so working together with them on a diplomatic plan, as well as providing additional
03:30support to their security forces, it's confirmed this will be a top priority in working with the
03:36new government on how to move this forward in West Africa, because we have very serious concerns,
03:41but also shared interests with Senegal. Well, I also sit on both the Defense
03:48Appropriations Subcommittee and the Foreign Relations Subcommittee, so I look forward to
03:52your recommendations on how we can continue to support that cooperative relationship.
03:58Ms. Cavito, let's talk about the embassy. So we've got a request to establish a diplomatic
04:06travel support operation facility, a DTSOF. Tell me a little bit about how we make sure
04:14that that doesn't become the sort of new permanent normal. How do we stay on track to get
04:20an embassy back up and established? And while we are in this interregnum period, where we've
04:26got this sort of temporary facility, how do we manage our risk tolerance to make sure
04:35that we are actually getting our diplomats, who may be temporarily housed there, out into the
04:41field to talk to people instead of just sitting in this facility and monitoring from inside high walls?
04:50Thank you very much, Senator. I think that this is an extraordinarily important step forward,
04:55and I was remiss in responding to Senator Ricketts with the same. So much of what we do
04:59requires us to be present on the ground. With so much at stake with Russia, with China,
05:04having a persistent presence there is absolutely key to having the flexibility, the agility to
05:09engage Libyans on all of these range of issues on a consistent basis. This decision to move
05:18forward with a persistent presence, affectionately called the DTSOF, came after two, two and a half
05:24years of an increased tempo of short visits into Libya. Throughout that process, the Department of
05:32State has reviewed at every juncture the security to ensure that everything that is being done
05:38is done with an eye towards ensuring that our personnel on the ground are able to stay safe.
05:46Of course, that requires constant evaluation, and I think that that is fundamentally the answer to
05:53your question. There is no automaticity to any part of this process. At every juncture,
05:59I commit to this committee that we will continue, that I personally will continue to review
06:04the security on the ground, which remains complicated despite the fact that the 2020
06:09ceasefire has largely held, to make sure that everything that we are doing to advance our
06:15mission there is again done with a prioritization of the security of our personnel. I'd like to,
06:21if I may add, that this commitment is extremely personal to me. Chris Stevens was a friend. I had
06:28dinner with him the week before he was murdered. It is never far from my mind, and as I said,
06:35I can only commit to you that as we move forward with engaging in Libya on a more sustained basis,
06:43and you're right, we can't sit behind walls. The Russian ambassador in Libya is using as a
06:49talking point, we are here and the United States is not. It's all over the media. We have to get
06:55out. We have to engage. Listen, his death and that tragedy is never far from our mind as well,
07:02but the reality is that tragedy did fundamentally alter our risk tolerance and calculation throughout
07:09the Foreign Service in a way that I think has not always accrued to the benefit of the projection
07:15of U.S. influence, and so I say this to all of you. I think Senator Risch and I have had a
07:19particular interest in trying to reorder the way in which we do reviews of incidents in the field
07:28so as to not be overly punitive of our leadership that often has to make tough decisions to put
07:35people in harm's way in order to represent the United States. I'm going to use my prerogative
07:40to ask Ambassador Jacobson one last question, which is a sort of a step back question. So
07:47you're a rare breed having served three times as ambassador. You've served at a very difficult time
07:53in the Foreign Service, a moment when American foreign policy changes very quickly from
08:01administration to administration. It is just an absolute marvel to me the quality and commitment
08:09of the people who work in our embassies, despite the fact that they may be running one mission
08:15before an election and asked to do something fundamentally different thereafter. Talk to me
08:20about how you try to make sure that we continue to boost and maintain morale amongst the people
08:28that you work for you. We teach flexibility and agility to our workforce, even in a moment when
08:36from election to election the mission becomes very, very different. Give us a little advice as
08:42to what you've learned during this difficult time as a leader of men and women at three different
08:48embassies. Senator, thank you so much for this question. This is really very near and dear to
08:54my heart and when you're someone as long in the tooth as I am, there is no greater privilege or
09:02pleasure than supporting the teammates who are rising up through the ranks. So the focus on morale
09:08and professional development has really been a hallmark of my career, including during three
09:13years in a leadership role at the Foreign Service Institute. It's true that we often serve in
09:18difficult conditions, war, post-war illnesses, our families may or may not be with us, and you have
09:27to think what motivates people to join the Foreign Service in the first place, and that is a sense
09:32of service. I come to this naturally from a military family. Both of my grandparents, my
09:38maternal grandparents served in the British Army during World War II. My sister was married to a
09:43Navy pilot. Service is in our blood. I think all of my classmates, all of my colleagues here have a
09:50similar story. So keeping morale up means keeping focused on why we joined in the first place,
09:56the privilege of representing the American people overseas, and also what are the missions that
10:02we're striving to achieve. I think one of the most important things that an ambassador does
10:07as a facilitator of the team's work is to keep that vision of the overarching goals first and
10:13foremost in everybody's mind. If we know what we're about, if we know what we're trying to achieve,
10:19if we've organized ourselves as an interagency team, including in collaboration with Congress,
10:25to keep our eye on those overarching goals and bring all the different skills and experiences
10:31and authorities and resources to achieve those goals, and we make a little bit of progress,
10:36that's what motivates people to keep doing the job even when conditions are tough.
10:41I could go on, but I'll stop there. Thank you, Ambassador. Senator Young.
10:48I'm almost encouraged. I want to encourage you to go on. I feel like playing some John
10:53Philip Sousa music.