[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

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                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: 
Calendar No. 842, William Crowe, Jr., to be Ambassador Extraordinary 
and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to the consideration 
of executive business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The nomination will be stated.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of William J. Crowe, Jr., 
to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States 
of America to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, it is really a privilege for me to be here 
on behalf of not only this distinguished gentleman but also his lovely 
wife. We are sending a team together to take on this most important of 
our diplomatic posts, and I was thinking coming down the hall, Mr. 
President, how the Department of State will score this. Is this a 
political appointee, or career?
  I opt to say it is a career appointment; Admiral and Mrs. Crowe have 
given the better part of their lives to the United States as careerists 
in public service, and this is but another chapter of a long, very 
distinguished pair of careers.
  The Admiral and his first lady have been selected by not one, not 
two, but many Presidents, Democrat and Republican, to take on important 
assignments. I first knew them when I was privileged to serve in the 
Department of the Navy, 1969-1974. The Admiral has often said that he 
very wisely steered his ship, his course, around me so as to make 
certain that he stayed on a steady course, but nevertheless he 
succeeded was recognized, went to the very top--Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff.
  I have just left a room with Gen. Colin Powell, who incidentally 
sends his very warmest regards to you, but I think it is important that 
you think of this as a team effort. I hope Great Britain recognizes 
that we have selected from many the two that we think are the very, 
very finest.
  Admiral Crowe will bring with him an understanding not only of 
diplomacy--a number of his assignments in the Navy were involved with 
diplomacy--but he will bring an understanding of the strategic military 
situation worldwide. I could think of no better adviser for our 
President to have in Great Britain today.
  So, it is an honor for me to join Senator Nickles in recommending to 
the Senate Admiral Crowe.
  I have but one concluding remark. We are here today simply because of 
a famous battle that took place in Virginia, the Admiral's State, for 
it was at Yorktown the British were defeated.
  At the Battle of Yorktown, the French Navy, the dominant naval force, 
linked wtih the U.S. Navy to blockade relief to the British.
  That defeat enabled this country to come into being, and my research 
thus far indicates this is the first time the United States ever sent 
an admiral of the U.S. Navy to be Ambassador to the Court of St. James.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am delighted to join my colleague, 
Senator Warner, in addition to Senator Boren and others, in expressing 
my strong appreciation to Admiral Crowe for his service to our country. 
We have also had the pleasure of getting to know his wife, Shirley, 
over the last several years, and they are an outstanding team, as 
Senator Warner alluded to.
  I think the President could not have done better. He has made an 
outstanding recommendation, one that I am more than confident will be 
readily confirmed by the Senate, and there is no need to tell this 
committee of the importance of the United States Ambassador to Great 
Britain.
  The next Ambassador to Great Britain must be a person possessing the 
command of foreign policy and the impact that policy toward one nation 
or region has on other nations. Admiral Crowe clearly has a sound 
understanding of foreign relations.
  He is the current chairman of the Washington Institute of Foreign 
Affairs and serves as a counselor on the Center for Strategic and 
International Studies. He is on the advisory board of the Eisenhower 
World Institute, and, foremost in my opinion, he is professor of 
geopolitics at the University of Oklahoma.
  In addition to his roles of chairman, adviser, counselor, professor 
to foreign policy think tanks, Admiral Crowe also has published 
numerous articles on foreign and military policy.
  Admiral Crowe has a very distinguished 47-year naval career. Among 
the many rewards he has received during these years of service are the 
Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Service Medal. While in the 
service, Admiral Crowe has served as Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Forces 
in the Pacific, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, 
and Commander-in-Chief in Southern Europe, NATO Command. He finished 
his very distinguished career in the Navy by serving 4 years as 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  Admiral Crowe has attended some of the Nation's finest institutions 
of higher learning. He attended the University of Oklahoma for 2 years 
before graduating from the Naval Academy, where he was president of his 
class. He also has advanced degrees from Stanford and Princeton.
  In addition to his distinguished military career and active 
participation in foreign policy think tanks, and achieving a high level 
of education, Admiral Crowe is very active in a number of civil 
organizations that round out his life of service to his country and 
community.
  I believe the nomination of Admiral Crowe, a man with extensive 
military and foreign policy experience, is an excellent selection. I 
also believe that the respect and regard that Admiral Crowe enjoys 
beyond our borders will certainly enhance our relations abroad, and I 
think it is desperately needed.
  So I am delighted that the President has made this recommendation. I 
am delighted that Admiral Crowe and his wife, Shirley, are willing to 
take this very prestigious ambassadorship, and I think it is going to 
be of real benefit to this country; and his experience is needed, and 
we look forward to him serving in this capacity.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I feel it necessary to bring to the 
Senate's attention my concern regarding the nomination of retired Navy 
Adm. William J. Crowe, Jr., to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of 
St. James.
  In no way do I intend to demean the exemplary Navy career of Admiral 
Crowe, spanning more than 40 years in service to his Nation. He 
demonstrated firm leadership of our military forces as Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff during the tense years preceding the fall of the 
Berlin Wall, and he led the Pentagon in the difficult reorganization 
mandated under the Goldwater-Nichols Act.
  Rather, my concern with Admiral Crowe's nomination to this very 
important position stems from his statements and judgments in the years 
following his retirement from the Navy. It seems that his views and 
attitudes changed significantly when he became a private citizen.
  Specifically, I am concerned about Admiral Crowe's statements in 
opposition to military intervention in the Persian Gulf in the early 
days of Operation Desert Shield. In a hearing before the Senate Armed 
Services Committee in November 1990, Admiral Crowe repeatedly urged 
that the world community rely on economic sanctions against Iraq for a 
lengthy period of time to compel Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait. His 
judgment was at odds with the judgment of senior U.S. military 
personnel and policymakers at that time.
  At the time of the hearing, the United States was well along in the 
process of deploying several hundred thousand military personnel to the 
Persian Gulf area. Certainly, Admiral Crowe should have realized, as a 
former military commander, the impact of his dissenting comments on the 
morale of the troops who were preparing to go into harm's way to defend 
their Nation's interests in the Middle East. Fortunately, the forces of 
the multinational coalition were well-led and well-prepared when the 
air war of Operation Desert Storm began less than 2 months after that 
hearing. Our forces were successful, with a minimal loss of American 
and allied lives, in quickly forcing Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait. 
The judgments of wiser heads prevailed in achieving the swift 
liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.
  On another matter, Admiral Crowe has consistently stated his strong 
personal belief that Soviet Marshal Sergei Akhromeyev was not involved 
in the 1991 attempt to depose then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. 
Marshal Akhromeyev committed suicide after the coup attempt failed, an 
act which some attribute to remorse over his participation in plotting 
and implementing the coup attempt. I recognize that these two men had 
developed a personal friendship as a result of their professional 
affiliation over a number of years, and I understand Admiral Crowe's 
sadness at the death of his friend. However, I fear that Admiral Crowe 
has let his personal views of Marshal Akhromeyev color his professional 
judgment on this matter.
  Finally, Admiral Crowe seems undisturbed about the deep cuts in the 
defense budget proposed by President Clinton. I and others have stated 
many times the belief that the defense budget is being cut too deep and 
too fast. I fear that the United States could soon find itself with 
``hollow'' military forces when faced with a crisis somewhere on the 
globe. Admiral Crowe served as a senior military officer during the 
decade of the 1970's, when America's military forces were neglected and 
not ready to defend our national interests. He then served in a pivotal 
role as the United States expended billions of dollars during the early 
1980's to regain our military posture. That experience should make it 
clear to Admiral Crowe that the Clinton administration is driving the 
military back to the decade of the 1970's in terms of military 
capability and readiness.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to consider carefully their vote 
on Admiral Crowe's nomination.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate consider the following nominations:
  Calendar 888. Fred W. Garcia, to be Deputy Director for Demand 
Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy;
  Calendar 889. Marca Bristo, to be a member of the National Council on 
Disability;
  Calendar 890. Kate Pew Wolters, to be a member of the National 
Council on Disability;
  Calendar 891. Leo J. O'Donovan, to be a member of the National 
Council on the Arts;
  Calendar 892. Patricia Ann Brown, to be a member of the National 
Council on the Arts;
  Calendar 893. Ira Ronald Feldman, to be a member of the National 
Council on the Arts;
  Calendar 894. Barbara Wallace Grossman, to be a member of the 
National Council on the Arts.
  I further ask unanimous consent that the nominees be confirmed, en 
bloc, that any statements appear in the Record as if read, that upon 
confirmation, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en 
bloc, that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action, and that the Senate return to legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations considered and confirmed en bloc are as follows:

                   Executive Office of the President

       Fred W. Garcia, of Colorado, to be Deputy Director for 
     Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy.

                     National Council on Disability

       Marca Bristo of Illinois, to be a member of the National 
     Council on Disability for a term expiring September 17, 1995.
       Kate Pew Wolters, of Michigan, to be a member of the 
     National Council on Disability for a term expiring September 
     17, 1995.

           National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities

       Leo J. O'Donovan, of the District of Columbia, to be a 
     member of the National Council on the Arts for a term 
     expiring September 3, 1998.
       Patricia Ann Brown, of New York, to be a member of the 
     National Council on the Arts for a term expiring September 3, 
     1996.
       Ira Ronald Feldman, of New York, to be a member of the 
     National Council on the Arts for a term expiring September 3, 
     1998.
       Barbara Wallace Grossman, of Massachusetts, to be a member 
     of the National Council on the Arts for a term expiring 
     September 3, 1998.

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