[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 86 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONFIRMATION OF BARBARA A. LEAF

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise in support of Ambassador Barbara 
Leaf to be Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
  It has been almost 400 days since President Biden announced this 
nomination to one of the most critical regions in the world when it 
comes to U.S. foreign policy interests. It is unconscionable that the 
post has remained vacant for so long.
  Since her hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the 
region has only become more complicated. Libya has been stuck in a 
stalemate since failed elections. In Tunisia, the President sacked the 
Prime Minister and suspended Parliament in a coup against 
democratically elected representatives. ISIS remains active in Syria, 
attacking a prison with guns and car bombs to free extremists earlier 
this year. A fragile ceasefire in Yemen followed blatant attacks on the 
UAE and Saudi Arabia by Iranian-backed Houthis using drones and 
missiles. Our staunch ally Israel is fending off rocket attacks. Iran 
is engaging in brinksmanship as negotiations drag on over its nuclear 
program, which has the potential to transform the balance of power in 
the region. And the Russian war against Ukraine has set off a major 
global food security crisis across Africa and the Middle East, adding 
to an already strained humanitarian situation in parts of the region.
  Meanwhile, there are opportunities to seize. Our diplomacy in the 
Negev Summit process is as important as ever. Elections in Lebanon, 
government formation in Iraq--they are all developments that require 
deft American diplomacy.
  These are some of the most important issues we confront in American 
foreign policy. We must have our A-team in place to advance American 
leadership and values. And no one is better suited for this job than 
Barbara Leaf, a dedicated public servant who devoted her career to the 
Foreign Service.
  She has served as our Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Arabian Peninsula in the 
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She directed the critical Basrah U.S. 
Provincial Reconstruction Team on the ground in Iraq, and she was the 
Department's first Director of the Office of Iranian Affairs. She 
speaks Arabic, French, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian.
  She currently works as the Special Assistant to the President and 
Senior Director for Middle East and North Africa Affairs on the 
National Security Council. She is up to speed and ready to hit the 
ground running as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern 
Affairs.
  The Senate's failure to confirm Ambassador Leaf earlier left a 
critical post vacant and the United States without a strong and 
powerful advocate for our Nation's interests across the Middle East and 
around the world. It is long past time for Ambassador Leaf to be in her 
Senate-confirmed role advancing our interests. I am pleased that 
Assistant Secretary Leaf can now begin to tackle the many challenges 
that await her.

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