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Daily Sabah, Turkey
July 31 2014
SENATE PANEL CLEARS NEW US ENVOY TO TURKEY
Ragıp Soylu
WASHINGTON, D.C. ` The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved
the nomination of John R. Bass, a career diplomat and former executive
secretary of state, to be the new ambassador to Turkey in an
unscheduled evening meeting on Tuesday.
Bass' nomination was cleared by the committee along with 12 other
names, the Senate's Executive Agenda indicates. Congressional sources
said that Bass' approval in the Senate would likely be left for after
Congress' summer holiday, which starts Aug. 2 and lasts for a month.
Meanwhile the last possible blockage on Bass' nomination was removed
on Monday after Republican Senator Ted Cruz lifted his hold on all the
State Department nominees following his meeting with Federal Aviation
Authority officials, which banned all U.S. flights to Israel for two
days last week and drew furious reaction from the senator.
Still, there are some people who don't like Obama's choice for the
American envoy in Ankara. The American National Committee of Armenia
(ANCA), the official Armenian lobby on Capitol Hill, issued a
statement regarding the nomination of Bass and said that his Senate
testimony proves that he is retreating even further from the truth
about the Armenian Genocide. "It is simply unacceptable. The United
States must be represented in Ankara on April 24 of 2015 by a clear
and compelling voice for truth," the statement read.
Currently the U.S. does not have ambassadors in more than a quarter of
the countries in the world, according to a McClatchy article. Partisan
divisiveness in the Senate has put Obama administration in a tough
position in a time of major crises flaming up in the Middle East and
Ukraine that require hard choices and constant attention.
Turkey's current ambassador, Francis Ricciardone, will retire next
month and a quick replacement is a must, according to experts.
After minutes of intense congressional questioning, John Bass was
forced to say that Turkey is drifting toward authoritarianism under
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an. U.S. Senator John McCain put Bass
under pressure at a Congressional hearing in Washington during a terse
back and forth over Turkey's human rights record.
McCain grilled Bass for two minutes at the hearing beginning with the
question: "Do you believe that many of the actions that [ErdoÄ?an has]
taken, suppressing social media, YouTube and Twitter, and restrictions
on Internet freedom and independent media, is a drift toward
authoritarianism?"
As Bass hesitated, McCain added, "You are putting your nomination in
jeopardy by not answering the question." Bass deferred to answer the
question for two minutes, as McCain remained insistent on a "yes" or
"no" answer. Bass finally said, "It's a drift in that direction, yes,
Senator."
"Thank you. It took 3 minutes and 25 seconds," McCain said in response
to Bass, who eventually agreed with McCain's negative views of
ErdoÄ?an.
Bass served as U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012 and is
currently the executive secretary of state. He has worked on Turkey,
Cyprus and NATO-Russia negotiations during his time with the U.S.
State Department.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/07/31/senate-panel-clears-new-us-envoy-to-turkey
July 31 2014
SENATE PANEL CLEARS NEW US ENVOY TO TURKEY
Ragıp Soylu
WASHINGTON, D.C. ` The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved
the nomination of John R. Bass, a career diplomat and former executive
secretary of state, to be the new ambassador to Turkey in an
unscheduled evening meeting on Tuesday.
Bass' nomination was cleared by the committee along with 12 other
names, the Senate's Executive Agenda indicates. Congressional sources
said that Bass' approval in the Senate would likely be left for after
Congress' summer holiday, which starts Aug. 2 and lasts for a month.
Meanwhile the last possible blockage on Bass' nomination was removed
on Monday after Republican Senator Ted Cruz lifted his hold on all the
State Department nominees following his meeting with Federal Aviation
Authority officials, which banned all U.S. flights to Israel for two
days last week and drew furious reaction from the senator.
Still, there are some people who don't like Obama's choice for the
American envoy in Ankara. The American National Committee of Armenia
(ANCA), the official Armenian lobby on Capitol Hill, issued a
statement regarding the nomination of Bass and said that his Senate
testimony proves that he is retreating even further from the truth
about the Armenian Genocide. "It is simply unacceptable. The United
States must be represented in Ankara on April 24 of 2015 by a clear
and compelling voice for truth," the statement read.
Currently the U.S. does not have ambassadors in more than a quarter of
the countries in the world, according to a McClatchy article. Partisan
divisiveness in the Senate has put Obama administration in a tough
position in a time of major crises flaming up in the Middle East and
Ukraine that require hard choices and constant attention.
Turkey's current ambassador, Francis Ricciardone, will retire next
month and a quick replacement is a must, according to experts.
After minutes of intense congressional questioning, John Bass was
forced to say that Turkey is drifting toward authoritarianism under
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an. U.S. Senator John McCain put Bass
under pressure at a Congressional hearing in Washington during a terse
back and forth over Turkey's human rights record.
McCain grilled Bass for two minutes at the hearing beginning with the
question: "Do you believe that many of the actions that [ErdoÄ?an has]
taken, suppressing social media, YouTube and Twitter, and restrictions
on Internet freedom and independent media, is a drift toward
authoritarianism?"
As Bass hesitated, McCain added, "You are putting your nomination in
jeopardy by not answering the question." Bass deferred to answer the
question for two minutes, as McCain remained insistent on a "yes" or
"no" answer. Bass finally said, "It's a drift in that direction, yes,
Senator."
"Thank you. It took 3 minutes and 25 seconds," McCain said in response
to Bass, who eventually agreed with McCain's negative views of
ErdoÄ?an.
Bass served as U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012 and is
currently the executive secretary of state. He has worked on Turkey,
Cyprus and NATO-Russia negotiations during his time with the U.S.
State Department.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/07/31/senate-panel-clears-new-us-envoy-to-turkey