[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 23, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S3511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RYAN CROCKER DEPARTURE

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in 
the Record a statement released yesterday by Senators Graham, 
Lieberman, and myself on the decision of Ambassador Ryan Crocker to 
depart his post in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       The recent announcement by Ambassador Ryan Crocker that he 
     will be departing his post in Kabul is a great loss to the 
     United States and Afghanistan, but we fully understand his 
     decision. We are grateful beyond words to Ryan for his 
     decision to come out of retirement at the President's request 
     to serve our country one last time in one of the most 
     challenging jobs in the world. When the history of the past 
     decade is written, Ryan Crocker will rightly be recognized as 
     one of the genuine American heroes of this era. We have never 
     met a finer, more capable, or more dedicated diplomat than 
     Ryan Crocker.
       Ambassador Crocker arrived in Afghanistan at a critical 
     moment in the relations between our two countries. Thanks to 
     his efforts, we believe that the Afghan-U.S. relationship is 
     now on a much better path. In the last year, Ambassador 
     Crocker and General Allen, working with our Afghan and NATO 
     partners, successfully negotiated a Strategic Partnership 
     Agreement. If properly implemented, this Agreement could be 
     the ultimate guarantee that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban will 
     never again control Afghanistan. For this, and for so much 
     else in his long and distinguished career, Ryan Crocker 
     deserves the respect, gratitude, and admiration of all 
     Americans. We will miss him greatly, and look forward to 
     welcoming him back home to the United States.

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