[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 127 (Monday, September 16, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AMBASSADOR TO CROATIA PETER GALBRAITH

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, during much of my time in the Senate 
I was fortunate to serve on the Foreign Relations Committee. With our 
responsibility to approve the nominations of ambassadors and others, I 
had the opportunity to meet so many of the fine men and women who serve 
our Nation overseas. One of those outstanding public servants is Peter 
Galbraith.
  I got to know Peter when I came to the Foreign Relations Committee in 
1985 and he was a staff member. I was grateful for the diligent, 
thoughtful, and excellent staff work he provided. In 1993, I was 
pleased to vote to approve his nomination as the first-ever U.S. 
Ambassador to Croatia, a position he currently holds.
  There has been a certain amount of controversy surrounding Ambassador 
Galbraith in the last year. This summer he was called to testify before 
Congress on his involvement relating to third-party transfers of arms 
to the Muslims in Bosnia. While Ambassador Galbraith has faced 
criticism from several corners, it seems to me that he was doing the 
job that ambassadors are supposed to do, and that is carry out the 
policies set forth by the President and his administration.
  Peter has at times been disparaged as an activist. If this label is 
applied to someone who wants to change things for the better, then 
Peter should be proud of that characterization. As a staffer on the 
Foreign Relations Committee, he was known as a tireless campaigner for 
human rights. The story of his trip to Iraqi Kurdistan after the gulf 
war is well known. He helped bring attention to the plight of the Kurds 
and rescued key documents before they could fall into the hands of 
Saddam Hussein's regime. Benazir Bhutto, now Prime Minister of 
Pakistan, credited Peter with helping attain her release from prison. 
And in another famous incident, he achieved in helping Senator Pat 
Moynihan--a strong advocate for the Bosnian Muslims--get into Sarajevo 
in 1992 to survey the besieged city. This event may have aggravated 
some United States military officials at the time, but it helped 
increase the Senate's understanding of what was going on in Bosnia.
  Now, as the first envoy to Croatia, a nation only 5 years old, 
Ambassador Galbraith has had the responsibility to develop the new 
relationship between our two countries. His service has occurred during 
an extremely trying and tragic period in the Balkans. Such a job is not 
easy, and it is understandable to see how one could get stuck between a 
rock and a hard place. These circumstances call for strong and able, 
even aggressive, diplomats, and Ambassador Galbraith has been just 
that.

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