Just before its pre-election break, the Senate confirmed a host of Obama administration appointees, including Cameron Munter as the new U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan.
Munter heads to Islamabad during one of its most tumultuous periods in recent history. The CIA is hunting down operatives involved in a plot to attack European cities, the government is under assault from elements of the opposition, and now Pakistan has cut off NATO supply routes to Afghanistan in retaliation for the killing of three Pakistani soldiers by a NATO air strike. Oh, and the country is still reeling from devastating floods.
In his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Munter identified himself as a clear supporter of Pakistan’s civilian government led by President Asif Ali Zardari.
“Success will come in Pakistan by building confidence in, and working with, a strong civilian government,” he said. “It will be the result of patient efforts on our part to define and address areas of interest that America and Pakistan share — our counterinsurgency against violent extremists, Pakistan’s ability to achieve its full economic potential, our commitment to social development. We can only achieve this common success with a strong partner in Pakistan’s democratically elected civilian government.”
He also said that Pakistan would have to raise taxes on its own people to get out from under the flood crisis, a call that Hillary Clinton echoed Tuesday.
“Pakistan must raise its revenues internally to pay for the needs of its people,” Munter said.
Munter heads to Pakistan with his wife, Marilyn, whom he was separated from during his last posting in Baghdad.
The Senate also confirmed Donald Steinberg to be deputy administrator of USAID, Nancy Lindborg to be USAID’s assistant administrator for democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance, and Kristie Kenney to be Ambassador to Thailand.
A full list of all of Wednesday’s confirmations after the jump
Nancy Lindborg, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau
Donald Kenneth Steinberg, of California, to be Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
Cameron Munter to be Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Mark M. Boulware to be Ambassador to the Republic of Chad
Kristie Anne Kenney, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Thailand
Christopher J. McMullen to be Ambassador to the Republic of Angola
Robert P. Mikulak, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure as United States Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Wanda L. Nesbitt to be Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia
Jo Ellen Powell, of Maryland, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Karen Brevard Stewart to be Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Pamela Ann White to be Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia
Kevin Concannon to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation
Kathleen Merrigan to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation
James Miller to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation
Dallas Tonsager to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation
Joseph H. Hogsett, of Indiana, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana for the term of four years
Michael J. Moore, of Georgia, to be United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia for the term of four years
Beverly Joyce Harvard, of Georgia, to be United States Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia for the term of four years
James Edward Clark, of Kentucky, to be United States Marshal for the Western District of Kentucky for the term of four years
Kenneth James Runde, of Iowa, to be United States Marshal for the Northern District of Iowa for the term of four years
Michael Robert Bladel, of Iowa, to be United States Marshal for the Southern District of Iowa for the term of four years
Maria Elizabeth (Maribeth) Raffinan to serve as an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
David B. Buckley, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency
Michael C. Ormsby to be United States Attorney, Eastern District of Washington
Mark F. Green to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
Paul Charles Thielen to be United States Marshal for the District of South Dakota
Julie A. Reiskin, of Colorado, to be Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation for a term expiring July 13, 2010
Gloria Valencia-Weber, of New Mexico, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation for a term expiring July 13, 2011
Steve A. Linick, of Virginia, to be Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (New Position)
Anne M. Harrington, of Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration
Raul Yzaguirre, of Maryland, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Dominican Republic
Osvaldo Luis Gratacos Munet, of Puerto Rico, to be Inspector General, Export-Import Bank
Edward W. Brehm, of Minnesota, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation for a term expiring September 22, 2011
Johnnie Carson, an Assistant Secretary of State (African Affairs), to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation for a term expiring September 27, 2015
Mimi E. Alemayehou, Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation for a term expiring September 22, 2015
Duane E. Woerth, of Nebraska, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization
Alexander A. Arvizu, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Albania
Joseph A. Mussomeli, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Slovenia
William C. Killian, of Tennessee, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee for the term of four years
Robert E. O’Neill, of Florida, to be United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida for the term of four years
Albert Najera, of California, to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of California for the term of four years
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li>William Claud Sibert, of Missouri, to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Missouri for the term of four years
Myron Martin Sutton, of Indiana, to be United States Marshal for the Northern District of Indiana for the term of four years
David Mark Singer, of California, to be United States Marshal for the Central District of California for the term of four years
Jeffrey Thomas Holt, of Tennessee, to be United States Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee for the term of four years
Steven Clayton Stafford, of California, to be United States Marshal for the Southern District of California for the term of four years
Mary Minow, of California, to be a Member of the National Museum and Library Services Board for a term expiring December 6, 2014
Subra Suresh, of Massachusetts, to be Director of the National Science Foundation for a term of six years
Pamela Young-Holmes, of Wisconsin, to be a Member of the National Council on Disability for a term expiring September 17, 2013 (Reappointment)
Harry James Franklyn Korrell III, of Washington, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation for a term expiring July 13, 2011
Joseph Pius Pietrzyk, of Ohio, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation for a term expiring July 13, 2011
Julie A. Reiskin, of Colorado, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation for a term expiring July 13, 2013 (Reappointment)
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