Opening Statement of Senator Carl Levin at Senate Armed Services Committee Nominations Hearing

December 18, 2007 -- "Today, the Committee considers the nominations of Mary Beth Long to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; James Shinn to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs; Craig W. Duehring to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; and John H. Gibson to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management.

We welcome our nominees and their families to today’s hearing. We know the long hours that senior Department of Defense officials put in every day, and we appreciate the sacrifices that our nominees are willing to make to serve their country. We know that they will not be alone in making these sacrifices, so we thank in advance the family members of our nominees for the support and assistance that we know they will need to provide.

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For the last two years, Ms. Long has served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. If confirmed, Mrs. Long will be responsible for helping formulate DOD policy in the Middle East, Europe and NATO, and Africa.

Foremost of these challenges will be the situation in Iraq – where there is no indication that Iraq’s political leaders are taking advantage of the “breathing space” created by a reduction in violence to make the political compromises necessary for reconciliation, and in Afghanistan – where we continue to try to persuade our NATO allies to step up and provide the troops, equipment and trainers needed for the success of our mission and where NATO’s reputation is on the line.

Almost as challenging is our policy toward Iran, where a new National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, found with high confidence that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003. It also found that Iran could resume that program very easily and therefore, given its bellicose rhetoric and support for terrorists, remains a major threat.

Over the last four years, Dr. Shinn has served first as National Intelligence Officer for East Asia on the National Intelligence Council, and more recently as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. If confirmed, Dr. Shinn will be responsible for DOD policy in an area that encompasses more than half the world’s population. The challenges that he faces will include the use of Pakistani territory as a haven by al Qaeda and the Taliban, the unstable situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan themselves, and managing the U.S. relationship with the growing economic and military power of China.

Mr. Duehring has served the Department of Defense as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. If confirmed, he will face the challenge of managing the downsizing of the active duty Air Force without sacrificing the ability of the Department to accomplish its national security mission.

Mr. Gibson has served the Department of Defense as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Management Reform and acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Financial Management. If confirmed, he will face the challenge of modernizing the Air Force’s business systems so that they can provide the timely, accurate and reliable financial information needed to manage the Department.

We wish our nominees well as they take on these challenges."

Source: Senator Carl Levin