No more delays in confirming U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan

By: Sen. Conrad Burns

www.washingtonexaminer.com

As a Lutheran, we have our celebrations and rituals, and I do my best to abide by them. In the Muslim faith, Ramadan is upon us.
It is a time for fasting and a time to re-evaluate one's convictions and deeds. It is a time to mend troubled relationships, give charity, find forgiveness for others, and refocus on worshipping Allah.
As such, Ramadan is a good time for me to remind my former colleges in the Senate of their duty.

While the House and Senate toiled toward this year’s August recess, the American people witnessed competing stories of stimulus spending, job creation and necessary changes to our nation’s tax laws. These top level issues captured the headlines day after day.
What many people didn’t pay attention to are the seemingly mundane legislative proceedings going on behind the headlines that have profound impacts on our lives and how our country is viewed around the globe.

When President Obama traveled to Egypt last year to deliver a major address reaching out to the Muslim community, eyebrows around the world were raised, especially here at home in the United States.
The president faced huge political risk, yet delivered the speech knowing some of our strongest allies in the world are made up of largely Muslim populations. Americans sometimes forget who the real enemy is and who our strongest friends really are.

I was initially wary of the address and the message it may send, but in the end the overall message was, and remains, important. Let’s set aside our differences, look at our commonalities and step forward with strong leaders to work toward a common good. Today, I urge the United States Senate to follow his advice.

Before adjourning for August, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed a vote to confirm Obama’s nominee, Matthew Bryza, to be the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan. It appears this opposition is based upon senators responding to special interest groups whose sole purpose is to oppose all things related to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of the United States and was one of the first countries to stand side-by-side with us following the attacks of September 11. They immediately granted air space clearance, seized bank accounts suspected of supporting terrorists, sent troops to Iraq and continue to aid our efforts in the region to this day. This support is from a country with a largely Muslim population that heeded Obama’s advice, even before he gave it.

Congress has continually aggravated our relationship with Azerbaijan despite White House objections. Short-sighted, biased squabbles in Congress continue to try and take us backward, while the Department of State and the Country of Azerbaijan continue to look forward to the future.

U.S. Ambassador-designate Bryza clearly has the experience and fortitude to help strengthen our relationship with Azerbaijan. I believe each member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee knows he is truly the right man for the job.

Senators should not pander to special interest groups looking backward rather than to the future. Let’s set aside our differences, look at our commonalities and step forward with strong leaders like Mr. Bryza to work toward a common good for the United States, Azerbaijan and throughout the Caspian region.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Sen-Conrad-Burns-No-more-delays-in-confirming-US-ambassador-to-Azerbaijan-101312829.html