Senate Confirms Christopher Hill As Iraq Envoy Despite Republican Opposition

April 22, 2009 5:43 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Senate late Tuesday confirmed Christopher Hill as ambassador to Iraq despite opposition from some Republicans that the veteran negotiator had no experience in the Middle East in spite of his "long and dedicated career" in the State Department.

Hill was confirmed by a 73-23 vote, with all nay votes coming from the GOP. Those against his nomination included Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican in the Senate Armed Services Committee. But 17 Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the nomination, including Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), the top GOP in the Committee on Foreign Relations.

The previous day, Democrats had successfully thwarted a Republican filibuster by limiting debate with a 73-17 vote on cloture.

Hill, currently the assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs and a special envoy to Kosovo under the Clinton administration, was nominated last month by President Barack Obama.

McCain had echoed colleagues in a floor speech before the confirmation vote by saying the previous ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, was more qualified to head the largest U.S. embassy in the world.

"While Ambassador Hill has developed regional expertise, it is not in the Middle East," McCain said. "He has served as ambassador in Europe and Asia, and speaks three European languages, but does not speak Arabic. He has not had the opportunity to work with leaders in Iraq or in the region, and has limited experience at best in working with the military in the areas of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency."

"I also have questions arising from his tenure as U.S. envoy to the Six Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program. His legacy in those talks was controversial, as evidenced by complaints that other members of the interagency process were cut out of crucial policy deliberations," he added.

Sens. Kit Bond (R-MO), Sam Brownback (R-KS), John Ensign (R-NV) and and Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) had sent the President a letter last month indicating their opposition to Hill.

"He has served in at least seven overseas posts, but none in or around Iraq," the Republicans had said. "Nothing in his resume suggests more than a basic familiarity with the complicated issues at hand in Iraq and in the region... We do not believe that now is the time to appoint an ambassador who may need the equivalent of a crash course in Iraqi affairs... Moreover, we found aspects of Ambassador Hill's most recent work in the Six Party Talks for North Korean nuclear disarmament to be deeply troubling."

Iraq has been taking an increasingly larger share for its security from American forces. Obama announced in February that U.S. combat troops will all be pulled out from the nation by August next year but a residual force of 35,000 to 50,000 troops will remain to help in the transition until 2011.