Russ Feingold

Thank you again, Senator Coburn, for your cooperation.

I have no objection either to the people serving as advisers to the president, or to the policy issues they are addressing.

It is far from clear to me that the predominantly military approach that we're currently pursuing in Afghanistan is likely to achieve its stated aims.

I'm deeply concerned that our massive open-ended military presence might be contributing to the growing militancy in the region, including in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

I am pleased that Chairman Kerry and Ranking Member Lugar are holding today's hearing to look at how the United States can do more to stop violence against women and girls around the world.

I think the United States can do the same.

Land tenure and security is vitally important, and that ties, of course, to the GPA, the Global Political Agreement.

What about holding out a more, sort of, public carrot approach?

Zimbabwe was recently called one of the worst investment locations in the world, on a par with Afghanistan.

Until we see this kind of progress, the United States cannot give validity to this illegitimate government.

the United States could mobilize significant resources to contribute toward Zimbabwe's recovery and reconstruction--and at the same time support the political process of restoring Zimbabwe to the community of democracies.

The real collapse, in their economic standing, has nothing to do with the sanctions.

the best way to sideline Mugabe is to reinforce this government.

We also call on the nations of Africa, in particular the members of the Southern African Development Community, to ensure that Mugabe and his cohorts fully implement the GPA and work toward democratic reform.

However, it is improbable that this can be achieved through negotiations with the junta--a dictatorship will not act in good faith and broker a deal that will lead to its own demise.

even a modest token amount... would help to allow us to have say at the table.

Do you see any hope for any of the regional players to play a more constructive role?

Direct support to the MDC, if that's what you're suggesting, would be a mistake.

this is a very important part of our signaling, through this committee and otherwise, a serious American engagement in the issues of Zimbabwe

This was a deliberate campaign to hold on to power and subvert the will of the people that was expressed in the March 29 elections.

I strongly urge that the United States begin shifting assistance policies toward recovery and reconstruction to a broader and more focused engagement.

if we start to see a major security crackdown, then I think that the United States will have to take a much more forceful stance with regard to the region.

I don't see what the pressure has gotten us.

Put simply: We believe that if you want to sideline Mugabe and his hard-liners, you should support the people of Zimbabwe by embracing the unity government now.

We should continue to press the government on performance benchmarks, but not let those shortcomings preclude all efforts to support recovery.