Gerry Connolly

I do agree, of course, that the administration regime of Bashar Assad must go, but we are going have to work very carefully to make sure that that which replaces it is a government that respects the rights of minorities, including…

Well, I was in Egypt before the revolution and after the revolution, and many of the same arguments could have been used about Egypt during the revolution.

I like the title of this hearing, Mr. Chairman, because I think it actually accurately captures the ambiguity, the mixed feelings one might have if one were a member of a religious minority in terms of the current situation in Syria.

This country is sick of war and does not want to be sucked into another one.

We are working very hard to figure out the best way to provide the kind of vetting and end-use monitoring that would ensure that the assistance we provide goes to the people who are working toward a free, stable, and democratic and…

But let me ask you two questions. One is in making that recommendation to the United States Government...

It seems to me that the United States must speak out about that to--and without doing something ham-handed, try to offer its protection to those minority communities.

Well, you know, they say sunshine is the best disinfectant, and I think I concur with the chairman's.

I mean, it is very clear that the United States' prestige and engagement around the world were badly damaged by 8 years of the previous administration.

I remember when you testified, Ambassador Yamamoto, in 2006, you talked about being at a crossroads and the hopes for change.

I think the frustration being expressed here is that it has now been 12 years since the tragedy of 9/11 and we seem not to have resolved this problem.

We don't want you to die, Mr. Chairman, but we certainly want to take over, and I do make that pledge.

Given his pedigree, he's been referred to as a moderate, but he certainly has impeccable credentials from the revolutionary point of view.

It is implicitly an acknowledgement that we are not doing it and can't do it.

This statement by a court that convicted 43 people, including Americans, says we were actively conspiring against their revolution, that we were using these spigots, aid spigots, to do just that and that we were foiled. And, therefore, one…

I am not going to put myself in your position, but there is no basis for this conviction. And we must not concede that.

It is hard to read that statement and to conclude, nonetheless, we are allied powers, that we are partners in the peace process in the Middle East, that we share common values or some basis for common values about democracy and civil…

I think you are going to find it difficult to recruit folks in Egypt or from outside of Egypt to want to put themselves at that kind of risk, especially so long as this is unresolved.

The tolerance for this here in the United States Congress on a bipartisan basis is next to nil

The issue of the NGOs is not only a test for Egypt. It is actually a test for the United States.

And we must insist that the Muslim Brotherhood-led government implement real democratic reforms or risk losing U.S. assistance. The choice is clear.

The U.S. law does circumscribe the $1.3 billion of military aid to Egypt.

These verdicts are a huge impediment in our relationship, in our ability to partner with the Egyptian Government.

I have long believed that the U.S.-Egyptian relationship... is a critical one in the Middle East.

They must know from the halls of Congress to the Executive Branch that they are not being abandoned.