[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 97 (Friday, June 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1307-E1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY 
                                MEETINGS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 15, 2007

  Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I recently led a bipartisan House 
delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly meetings in Madeira and 
Lisbon, Portugal, and to additional meetings in Tunisia and Morocco 
from May 24-June 3. The co-chair of my delegation was the Hon. Paul 
Gillmor. In addition, Representatives Ralph Regula, Jo Ann Emerson, 
John Shimkus, Ellen Tauscher, Dennis Moore, Tom Tancredo, John Boozman, 
Baron Hill, Ben Chandler, Kendrick Meek, and Charles Melancon, and 
staff, worked to make this a highly successful trip in which we 
examined a range of NATO and Mediterranean security issues.
  The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, NPA, consists of parliamentarians 
from all 26 NATO member states. In addition, members of parliament 
present from such associated governments as Russia, Georgia, Croatia, 
and Afghanistan join discussions and debates over the key issues of 
interest to the alliance. The NPA thereby provides a forum for elected 
officials to analyze issues that NATO discusses in Brussels. Delegates 
have the opportunity to learn first-hand the views and concerns that 
other countries have over the key security issues of the day. An 
invaluable aspect of the meetings is the chance to meet and come to 
know members of parliaments who play important roles in their own 
countries in shaping the security agenda that their governments debate 
at NATO headquarters. These contacts can endure through a career, and 
can provide an invaluable private avenue for insights into each ally's 
particular views on an issue.
  The key issues before NATO today are Russia, missile defense, and the 
conflict in Afghanistan. Each of these was on vigorous display at the 
NPA meetings. Russia under Putin is following an increasingly assertive 
policy in its use of energy supplies as a political lever, and in 
efforts to intimidate neighboring states such as Estonia and Georgia. 
It was clear from our meetings that not only the United States and 
NATO, but the European Union as well, are concerned about Moscow's 
posture on a wide range of issues. The Bush Administration's missile 
defense proposal for Europe was also a central subject of discussion. 
While many governments accept in the abstract the need to consider such 
a defensive system in an era of missile and nuclear proliferation, the 
meetings revealed a wide array of views among the allies on the 
efficacy and timeliness of this particular system. The United States 
has approximately 25,000 troops in Afghanistan, of whom 17,000 are 
engaged in NATO's International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, 
fighting the Taliban.
  Portugal hosted the NP A meetings in Madeira. Before the opening 
sessions, the delegation had a detailed briefing and discussion with 
Ambassador Victoria Nuland, the U.S. representative to NATO. She very 
ably prepared us for the nuances of the discussion of the issues that 
would be debated in the NPA sessions. There followed another private 
meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who gave an 
overview of member state perspectives on the most controversial issues 
confronting the alliance; he later addressed the NPA's plenary session. 
The Prime Minister of Portugal also addressed the plenary, and 
emphasized the importance of Mediterranean security issues, which were 
a recurrent theme in our trip.
  There followed 2 days of NPA committee meetings. There are 5 NPA 
committees. In each, parliamentarians present reports on issues before 
the alliance, which are then debated by all members of the committee 
who may make counter-arguments or suggestions for amending a  report. 
We divided our delegation so that U.S. Members were present in each 
committee meeting.

  I chaired the Economics and Security Committee, which heard reports 
on the Republic of Georgia's progress towards democracy and its 
increasingly close association with NATO, on defense resource 
management, and on economic developments in East Asia. Representative 
Boozman was the co-rapporteur of this last report, which he very ably 
presented, and which aroused an interesting discussion. Rep. Boozman 
noted the growing commercial interests of the United States and its 
allies in East Asia, and the political and security implications of 
this growing web of economic connections. The Committee also heard a 
provocative and interesting presentation by Lawrence Korb of the Center 
for American Progress. He discussed the U.S. defense budget debate, and 
the effects that the Iraq war is having on U.S. military capabilities 
around the world.
  The NPA Political Committee, of which Rep. Chandler is a vice-
chairman, heard several reports that touched off sometimes contentious 
debates. Most notable were exchanges between the Russian delegates and 
their counterparts from NATO parliaments over the cyber attacks on 
Estonia's government and business electronic systems, in all 
probability launched in retaliation for Estonia's relocation of a 
Soviet-era war memorial. There was also a report by a Canadian delegate 
on the conflict in Afghanistan. Backed by her U.S. colleagues, she 
called for a reduction in caveats--restrictions that some allies place 
on their forces in Afghanistan--and a greater sharing of the combat 
burden among member states.
  The Defense and Security Committee also heard a report on Afghanistan 
that concentrated on military operations there. Representative Shimkus 
then gave a clear, succinct, and analytical presentation on his report 
on the NATO-EU security relationship. He called for better coordination 
between the 2 organizations so that member governments might pool and 
share resources more smoothly as NATO and the EU work more closely 
together in such missions as Afghanistan and Kosovo. His report was 
well-received, and led to an interesting debate. Representative 
Tauscher is a vice-chair of one of the Committee's subcommittees.
  The Science and Technology Committee heard reports on climate change 
and on the transformation of warfare brought on by the increasing use 
of computers and other high technology. A report by a Russian delegate 
set off a broad debate on the administration's missile defense 
proposals. The concerns of Moscow were clearly, if ideologically, laid 
out by the Russian delegate, with responses from a range of European 
delegates. Representative Tauscher provided a clear and concise 
congressional perspective on missile defense after a presentation on 
the issue by a U.S. Department of Defense official.
  The Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security heard reports on a 
range of issues, the most interesting of which was the protection of 
critical infrastructures. The issue of the recent cyber attacks in 
Estonia was again raised; vulnerability of communications and other 
electronic networks in allied states is likely to become a matter of 
growing debate in the alliance. Representative Emerson is a vice-chair 
of one of the Committee's subcommittees.
  The rapporteurs will present updated drafts of their reports during 
the next NPA meetings, which will occur in Reykjavik, Iceland, October 
5-9, 2007.
  The delegation also met with a member of the Afghan parliament who is 
an observer delegate to the NPA. We discussed NATO operations, the 
narcotics trade in Afghanistan, and governance issues with him.
  The delegation next went to Lisbon on May 28-29 for meetings there 
and visits to 2 military bases. After a briefing by U.S. Ambassador 
Alfred Hoffman and his staff, the delegation visited the NATO Joint 
Command just outside Lisbon. Joint HQ Lisbon is an allied mobile 
command that becomes a sea-based command in the initial stages of 
operations ranging from peacekeeping to war fighting. It is a 
reflection of NATO's ongoing transformation into a lighter, more mobile 
military structure able to counter crises around the world. Joint HQ 
Lisbon currently provides the headquarters structure for the NATO 
mission in Darfur.

[[Page E1308]]

  The delegation then visited the NATO Joint Command for Combined Air 
Operations Center, CAOC, which has highly sophisticated electronic 
systems that monitor all air traffic off southwestern Europe, 
northwestern Africa, and in the western Mediterranean. The CAOC can 
scramble aircraft to counter any potential aerial threat to the region.
  The delegation again picked up the themes of Mediterranean security 
in Tunis on May 30-31. Tunisia is part of NATO's Mediterranean 
Dialogue, in which NATO governments join a number of Arab governments 
along the Mediterranean coast and Israel to discuss and begin to train 
for counter-terror and counter-proliferation efforts. Bilaterally, 
Tunisia is also an important friend of the United States in countering 
terrorist threats in North Africa. At the same time, some Members 
raised concerns about the need for the Tunisian Government to make 
greater progress on the road to democracy.
  In 1942-1944, 2,841 American soldiers gave their lives in the effort 
to defeat German and Italian forces in the North African theater during 
the Second World War. The delegation visited their resting place in the 
North African Cemetery, managed by the U.S. American Battle Monuments 
Commission. While we tend to think of U.S. cemeteries in the Second 
World War theater as being located in Europe, the cemetery outside 
Tunis is a monument to the brave soldiers who gave their lives in the 
strategically critical and often extremely difficult battles that 
weakened Germany's lines of defense and supply in preparation for the 
conclusive battles of 1944-1945 in Europe. Accompanied by other members 
of the delegation, I laid a wreath at the cemetery's central monument. 
Members of the delegation then walked to individual graves of fallen 
soldiers from their states. This was perhaps the most memorable and 
poignant moment of the delegation's trip.
  After a briefing by U.S. Ambassador Robert Godec, the Members had a 
lengthy and highly informative meeting with the Tunisian President, 
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, where we discussed the key issues in U.S.-
Tunisian relations, as well as matters of Mediterranean security. There 
followed meetings with the Foreign and Defense Ministers, where issues 
of U.S.-Tunisian cooperation and U.S. military assistance were 
discussed in detail. These meetings provided a precise, focused 
discussion of how the United States and Tunisia might work more closely 
together on security issues. The delegation also visited the Tunisian 
parliament.
  On June 1-2, the delegation went to Rabat for meetings with Moroccan 
officials on security issues. Morocco has experienced an increase in Al 
Qaeda activity; the Madrid train bombings of March 2004 were largely 
carried out by Moroccan Islamist extremists. Morocco, which is on a 
path of moderate democratization, is one of the United States' oldest 
allies, and was the first government to recognize U.S. independence.
  After a briefing by U.S. Ambassador Thomas Riley and his staff, the 
delegation held meetings with the Moroccan Defense Minister and with 
upper-level officials in the Foreign Ministry. The focal points of 
these discussions were Morocco's participation in NATO's Mediterranean 
Dialogue, and U.S.-Moroccan bilateral efforts to counter proliferation 
and terrorism. We also visited the Moroccan parliament for a meeting 
with the chamber of deputies' leader, comparable to our Speaker of the 
House.
  The U.S. Air Force Reserve elements from Scott Air Force Base piloted 
our aircraft and security for it was provided by members of the United 
States Air Force Reserve from Andrews Air Force Base. Our military 
personnel provide a quiet but invaluable service in ensuring safety and 
an efficient schedule for U.S. congressional delegations, and this 
group of service men and women was no exception. I thank them for their 
hard work and their dedication to duty.

                          ____________________