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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 27 2014
US senators expected to stall Obama's nomination for Turkey envoy
John Bass is widely expected to be the White House's nominee to
replace outgoing Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone.(Photo:
Reuters)
May 27, 2014, Tuesday/ 18:22:24/ DENÄ°Z ARSLAN/ ANKARA
While current US Ambassador to Turkey Frank Ricciardone is getting
ready to leave his post this summer, two US senators are planning to
stall the White House's nominee for Ricciardone's replacement, widely
expected to be Executive Secretary of State and Ambassador John R.
Bass.
The aim would be to put pressure on US President Barack Obama over his
once-close relationship with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an, Today's Zaman has learned.
The White House has not yet officially announced its nominee for the
post. But Washington sources who wish to remain anonymous told Today's
Zaman on Tuesday that the US government had officially notified Turkey
about the White House's intention to nominate Bass.
On April 23 US-based think tank the Atlantic Council named current US
Ambassador to Turkey Ricciardone a vice president and director of its
Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, adding that Ricciardone will
join the council in September.
Bass, a special assistant to US Secretary of State John Kerry,
previously headed the Baghdad reconstruction team and served as
director of the US State Department Operations Center from 2005-08. He
also served as a special adviser to US Vice President Dick Cheney from
2004-05 on Europe and Eurasia.
If Bass gets the nod, his nomination first needs to be officially
announced by the White House. After that, ambassadorial nominations
must pass the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee's
chairman, Robert Menendez, is a staunch supporter of Armenia; his
committee passed a resolution on April 10 recognizing the `Armenian
genocide.' An expert closely following Turkish-American relations told
Today's Zaman that it will be very difficult to get this nomination
past the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. First, Menendez needs to
put the nomination on the committee agenda.
Menendez for months delayed the confirmation hearing of a political
consultant President Obama tapped for a South American ambassadorship
last summer. Forty-four-year-old Noah Mamet, a Los Angeles consultant
who helped Obama raise millions for his re-election campaign, was
nominated in June 2013 to be the next ambassador to Argentina. Mamet
struggled until February of this year to get his hearing scheduled.
When he was finally called for a hearing, Mamet admitted to the
committee that he had never been to Argentina. Republican Senator
Marco Rubio from Florida has delayed Mamet's confirmation, according
to a recent report in The Washington Post.
The expert told Today's Zaman that even if a Bass nomination passes
the committee, it will be brought to the Senate floor for
confirmation. He said there is a talk in Washington that two US
senators are ready to stall the nomination, though he didn't provide
any names. He pointed out that a hold on the nomination will not be
about Bass, but about creating an opportunity for senators to express
their uneasiness about recent developments in Turkey.
Obama has already taken criticism from the Senate over compliments he
paid ErdoÄ?an and his close relations with the Turkish prime minister,
especially after reports in the Western press claiming that
al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists were using Turkey's southern border as
a transit point between Syria and Europe.
Among other issues that the two senators may bring up are the
government's tight control over Turkish media; limitations on press
freedoms and freedom of expression; blocking social media; officials'
increasing use of anti-American, anti-Israeli rhetoric; and Turkey's
close relations with Iran.
A comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue and Turkey's relations
with Armenia are also expected to be brought up for discussion on the
Senate floor as part of any confirmation hearings. On those two
foreign policy items, Cyprus and Armenia, Turkey seems to be pushing
for progress. Long-stalled negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus
resumed in early February this year. On the Armenian front, on the eve
of April 24 -- which Armenians commemorate what they call `genocide'
-- ErdoÄ?an made a surprise statement extending condolences to the
grandchildren of Armenians who were killed under Ottoman rule at the
end of World War ll.
If Bass' nomination gets stalled on the Senate floor, the identities
of the senators behind the hold don't necessarily have to be revealed.
According to the expert, the senators may reject the nomination
without even providing a reason.
A deal between Senate majority leader Harry Reid and minority leader
Mitch McConnell in 2010 means that Obama cannot appoint any nominees
while the Senate is in recess either. While the Senate is in recess
the president can usually make recess appointments to fill vacant
positions. Recess appointments still need to be approved by the Senate
by the end of the next session of Congress, however.
Turkey, the expert said, may remain without a US ambassador in Ankara
for a long time.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-348916-us-senators-expected-to-stall-obamas-nomination-for-turkey-envoy.html
May 27 2014
US senators expected to stall Obama's nomination for Turkey envoy
John Bass is widely expected to be the White House's nominee to
replace outgoing Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone.(Photo:
Reuters)
May 27, 2014, Tuesday/ 18:22:24/ DENÄ°Z ARSLAN/ ANKARA
While current US Ambassador to Turkey Frank Ricciardone is getting
ready to leave his post this summer, two US senators are planning to
stall the White House's nominee for Ricciardone's replacement, widely
expected to be Executive Secretary of State and Ambassador John R.
Bass.
The aim would be to put pressure on US President Barack Obama over his
once-close relationship with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an, Today's Zaman has learned.
The White House has not yet officially announced its nominee for the
post. But Washington sources who wish to remain anonymous told Today's
Zaman on Tuesday that the US government had officially notified Turkey
about the White House's intention to nominate Bass.
On April 23 US-based think tank the Atlantic Council named current US
Ambassador to Turkey Ricciardone a vice president and director of its
Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, adding that Ricciardone will
join the council in September.
Bass, a special assistant to US Secretary of State John Kerry,
previously headed the Baghdad reconstruction team and served as
director of the US State Department Operations Center from 2005-08. He
also served as a special adviser to US Vice President Dick Cheney from
2004-05 on Europe and Eurasia.
If Bass gets the nod, his nomination first needs to be officially
announced by the White House. After that, ambassadorial nominations
must pass the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee's
chairman, Robert Menendez, is a staunch supporter of Armenia; his
committee passed a resolution on April 10 recognizing the `Armenian
genocide.' An expert closely following Turkish-American relations told
Today's Zaman that it will be very difficult to get this nomination
past the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. First, Menendez needs to
put the nomination on the committee agenda.
Menendez for months delayed the confirmation hearing of a political
consultant President Obama tapped for a South American ambassadorship
last summer. Forty-four-year-old Noah Mamet, a Los Angeles consultant
who helped Obama raise millions for his re-election campaign, was
nominated in June 2013 to be the next ambassador to Argentina. Mamet
struggled until February of this year to get his hearing scheduled.
When he was finally called for a hearing, Mamet admitted to the
committee that he had never been to Argentina. Republican Senator
Marco Rubio from Florida has delayed Mamet's confirmation, according
to a recent report in The Washington Post.
The expert told Today's Zaman that even if a Bass nomination passes
the committee, it will be brought to the Senate floor for
confirmation. He said there is a talk in Washington that two US
senators are ready to stall the nomination, though he didn't provide
any names. He pointed out that a hold on the nomination will not be
about Bass, but about creating an opportunity for senators to express
their uneasiness about recent developments in Turkey.
Obama has already taken criticism from the Senate over compliments he
paid ErdoÄ?an and his close relations with the Turkish prime minister,
especially after reports in the Western press claiming that
al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists were using Turkey's southern border as
a transit point between Syria and Europe.
Among other issues that the two senators may bring up are the
government's tight control over Turkish media; limitations on press
freedoms and freedom of expression; blocking social media; officials'
increasing use of anti-American, anti-Israeli rhetoric; and Turkey's
close relations with Iran.
A comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue and Turkey's relations
with Armenia are also expected to be brought up for discussion on the
Senate floor as part of any confirmation hearings. On those two
foreign policy items, Cyprus and Armenia, Turkey seems to be pushing
for progress. Long-stalled negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus
resumed in early February this year. On the Armenian front, on the eve
of April 24 -- which Armenians commemorate what they call `genocide'
-- ErdoÄ?an made a surprise statement extending condolences to the
grandchildren of Armenians who were killed under Ottoman rule at the
end of World War ll.
If Bass' nomination gets stalled on the Senate floor, the identities
of the senators behind the hold don't necessarily have to be revealed.
According to the expert, the senators may reject the nomination
without even providing a reason.
A deal between Senate majority leader Harry Reid and minority leader
Mitch McConnell in 2010 means that Obama cannot appoint any nominees
while the Senate is in recess either. While the Senate is in recess
the president can usually make recess appointments to fill vacant
positions. Recess appointments still need to be approved by the Senate
by the end of the next session of Congress, however.
Turkey, the expert said, may remain without a US ambassador in Ankara
for a long time.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-348916-us-senators-expected-to-stall-obamas-nomination-for-turkey-envoy.html