ASHINGTON, Jan. 9 — The White House announced today that President Bush will nominate Roger F. Noriega, the United States representative to the Organization of American States, to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, the most senior diplomat for Latin America.
Mr. Noriega will replace Otto J. Reich, whose own nomination to be assistant secretary was blocked by Senate Democrats in 2001 and who served in the position under a temporary "recess appointment" that expired in November.
Though Mr. Reich's supporters had thought Mr. Bush would renominate him after the Republicans captured the Senate in November, their hopes were dashed when senior Republicans, including Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Democrats in opposing him.
His opponents argued that Mr. Reich, a staunchly anti-Communist Cuban exile, botched relations with Venezuela and had taken too hard a line on Cuba. Mr. Reich, these critics said, also did not have the support of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, acknowledged the bipartisan opposition to Mr. Reich today in explaining why Mr. Bush had decided to pull him into the National Security Council, a position that does not require Senate approval.
"The principal reason was because the president wanted his expertise here," Mr. Fleischer told reporters. "I never ruled out that there could have been other factors as well, and it's always important to gauge the inclinations of the Senate."
Mr. Noriega's nomination comes at a time when South America is in turmoil and the Bush administration is under fire for paying too little attention to the region.
Venezuela is in the 39th day of a general strike against President Hugo Chávez that has halted oil production, driving up gas prices in the United States; Argentina's economy has been shrinking, weakening much of its middle class; and Colombia is racked by a bloody civil war that shows few signs of abating.
Against that backdrop, some analysts said they hoped that if Mr. Noriega could gain quick Senate approval, the Bush administration could mount a more aggressive initiative to stabilize the region.
But it was unclear whether Mr. Noriega could win quick approval. Aides to Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who led the opposition to Mr. Reich, called his nomination "disappointing."
Like Mr. Reich, Mr. Noriega served in the State Department during the Reagan administration, helping forge fiercely anti-Communist policies toward Latin America.
"There are a number of individuals with a great deal more stature and strong bipartisan support who could do this very important job," Mr. Dodd's spokesman said.
24 September 2002 -
OAS Envoy Addresses Hemispheric Security Architecture - (Stresses democracy, prosperity, ability to bolster peace and security) (1580)
U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) Roger Noriega addressed hemispheric security cooperation initiatives for the 21st century during September 20 remarks before the Inter-American Development Bank.
Noriega discussed the role of the OAS in promoting security and combating terrorism in the Western Hemisphere, as well as OAS efforts to adapt to diverse and evolving threats. OAS initiatives to combat terrorism, fight narcotics, respond to natural disasters and strengthen democracy and economic development were among the efforts he outlined.
Regional security "depends on the pillars of democracy, prosperity and the ability to bolster peace and security," Noriega said. He suggested several steps to achieve these objectives, including better definition of current threats and the development of tools to deal with them.
He also called for reaffirming the purpose of the existing hemispheric security infrastructure, the strengthening of conflict-prevention capabilities, and the development and implementation of new confidence- and security-building measures in the region.
Perhaps most importantly, the nations of the Western Hemisphere must be mindful of the "new and dynamic environment" in crafting hemispheric security architecture for the 21st century and beyond, Noriega concluded.
Following is the text of Noriega's remarks, as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Cooperative Hemispheric Security Architecture for the 21st Century
Ambassador Roger F. Noriega, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States Remarks to the Conference at the Inter-American Development Bank Washington, D.C. September 20, 2002
The dangers of the Cold War have faded. And new and prominent threats in the Hemisphere have emerged, requiring coordinated, cooperative, and multilateral responses. Recognizing that the international and regional system has changed substantially in the past decade, it is important to redefine the collective goals of our nations in the hemisphere.
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance ("Rio Treaty") sets a standard whereby nations would respond in their common defense, with the ultimate goal of creating a more secure environment. Our experience since September 11th in mobilizing hemispheric support and responses to fight terrorism under the OAS Charter and "Rio Treaty" proves that the current hemispheric security structure can address the region s security needs quite well. It also demonstrated the flexibility of our security architecture to address the new and emerging threats we face.
Yet, a genuinely stable and secure environment cannot be created by solving our national defense problems alone. For example, we recognize that threats to our security can stem from conflicts within states as well as from conflicts between states. As new threats and security challenges have evolved and emerged, the states of the Americas have stepped up to meet them.
Since 1995, the OAS has built an impressive record of achievement. Over 90 resolutions on regional arms control, demining, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs) and other aspects of defense and security policy have been adopted by consensus. In addition, three conventions concerning illicit trafficking in firearms, transparency, and terrorism have also been adopted. By actions and deeds, not mere words, this body of work defines our hemispheric security, as we know it today.
The OAS has served as the catalyst for hemispheric cooperation and a broader "inter-American system of hemispheric security," which now includes the Pan American Health Organization, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, the Inter-American Defense Board, and meetings such as the Defense Ministerial of the Americas and Conferences of the American Armed Forces.
Because today s security concerns have broadened to encompass far more than just internal and external military conflicts, the region has taken specific steps to address these threats.
In the war against terrorism, the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE) was established in October 1999 to coordinate Member States activities against terrorism, including special training and facilitating exchanges of information. The terrorist attacks of September 11th have awakened hemispheric concerns and, more importantly, drove hemispheric actions to address terrorism in a comprehensive manner. In January, CICTE identified urgent actions aimed at strengthening inter-American cooperation to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism in the Hemisphere. Moreover, the OAS adopted at the General Assembly in Barbados an Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism that expands our legal obligations to work together to both prevent and respond to terrorism. CICTE s activities, in conjunction with the invocation of the Rio Treaty, constitute a strong institutional base for the hemispheric fight against terrorism.
In the fight against illegal narcotics, OAS member states have developed a drug abuse control program (CICAD) -- launched in 1987 - which has developed model legislation and fostered cooperation across the broad range of narcotics issues. In 1996, the OAS negotiated the Anti-Drug Strategy for the Hemisphere, providing the policy context for the multilateral evaluation mechanism.
In the effort to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, the OAS created the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction to mitigate or prevent the effects of natural calamities that befall the Americas. This mechanism will assist in identifying and preventing problems dealing with preparedness. It will also take hemispheric action to respond to natural disasters.
In the campaign to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, the OAS has worked to support democratic institutions and governments, developing election observation missions and assisting member states in political reconciliation. In 1997, the Washington Protocol took effect, amending the OAS Charter to permit, as a last resort, the suspension of a member state whose democratically constituted government is overthrown by force. Last September, the OAS further strengthened democracy by the historic adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which commits us to defend and promote democracy through preventive measures to head-off ruptures in the democratic or constitutional order.
Finally, economic development and prosperity are important underpinnings of democracy and security in the region. The OAS has a broad mandate to address the economic and social agenda of fundamental importance to our societies. A great challenge facing the world today is how to raise the living standards of the world s poor and integrate them into the global economic system. The Summit of the Americas has identified this challenge and our Governments have concluded that the primary engines for economic advancement are trade, foreign investment, and a healthy private sector.
We can all agree that our security depends on the pillars of democracy, prosperity and the ability to bolster peace and security. With this as an objective, let me suggest steps in that direction.
First, we must seek to define the current threats and sources of insecurity, take stock of existing tools for dealing with them and consider any additional methods and measures required. There is considerable temptation to define "security" to include virtually any source of discomfort or inconvenience in our world. Some at the OAS have even raised "trade disputes" as an example of a threat to hemispheric security. While it is true that we should consider the impact of extreme poverty and even internal stability on our common security, we should take care not to settle for an overly broad, unfocused, definition that renders the term "security" meaningless and renders our hemispheric security agenda unattainable.
For that reason many issues, such as development, public health, the environment, and social concerns are being handled within the appropriate summit and OAS architectures rather than within the Inter-American system related to hemispheric security.
We must continue to support existing mechanisms and institutions, and reaffirm the essential purposes of our hemispheric security architecture. The region must be ready to deter and to defend against any threat of aggression towards another nation. Yet, due to the existence of other destabilizing factors, the hemisphere must also promote wide-ranging partnership, cooperation, and dialogue with one another, with the ultimate aim of increasing transparency, mutual confidence, and the capacity for coordinated action.
We must stand ready to contribute to effective conflict prevention and to engage actively in crisis management, including crisis response operations. Our security architecture must identify early potential sources of conflict and take measures to address them. The Inter-American conflict prevention and resolution capabilities must be strengthened by adoption of appropriate mechanisms, measures and tools for early warning, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the prevention of conflict. This applies to conflicts within states, as well as those between states.
Our security architecture must have a more formal structure and process conducive to the development, implementation, and consideration of new confidence- and security-building measures.
Our security architecture must recognize the important contributions of sub-regional arrangements, agreements and measures that foster hemispheric security. For example, the Regional Security System (RSS) of the Caribbean and the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America both play an important role in defining our present and future security architecture.
The Special Conference on Security also should recognize that the OAS must have the educational, technical and advisory expertise on defense and security issues that it needs to better serve its member states.
The product of this review must be a structure that all States find relevant to their security concerns and in which they can enthusiastically participate.
One year ago yesterday, the invocation of the Rio Treaty demonstrated the ability of the existing Western Hemispheric security architecture to respond to the challenge of September 11 and the specter of international terrorism.
acing the new and dynamic environment of the 21st century, it is incumbent upon the States of the Western Hemisphere to seize the unique opportunity to design a Cooperative Hemispheric Security Architecture for the 21st Century and beyond. I know we will succeed.
Thank you. (end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
