This morning, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet with White House nominees to three State Department positions that deal with U.S. policy on weapons of mass destruction, arms control, and nonproliferation. These nominees are: Rose Gottemoeller, as next Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; Frank A. Rose, as the next Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance; and Adam M. Scheinman, for the next President’s Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation.
Below are excerpt suggested questions from Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), by FPI’s Policy Director Robert Zarate, specifically for Ms. Gottemoeller and Mr. Rose:
- Do you believe that the U.S.-Russia framework for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons is effectively verifiable?
- What challenges to effective verification does the U.S.-Russia framework for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons face? What do you believe the United States should do to overcome these challenge?
- What lessons has the United States learned from the shortcomings of international efforts to eliminate Libyan chemical weapons?
These, and other suggested FPI questions are important to consider. The hearing this morning is for key State Department positions who will be responsible for U.S. policy, and it is important to hold an informed debate.
