Senator Chris Dodd, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs released the following statement today on his visit to Bolivia.  Earlier today, Dodd met with Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Marcelo Garcia Linera in La Paz to discuss issues of mutual interest and regional developments.  Dodd is traveling in Latin America this week to continue to lay out his vision for a strategic partnership between the United States and Latin America.

Next week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) will travel to Latin America to continue to lay out his vision for a strategic partnership between the United States and Latin America. During his trip, Dodd will deliver a keynote address to the Andean parliament to lay out a blueprint for how our two governments can work together to address issues of mutual concern: Public Security and the Rule of Law, Poverty and Inequality, and Energy Integration. He will also meet with key regional leaders to establish closer working relationships in order to advance prosperity and partnership in our hemisphere.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today made the following statement today on the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln beneath the “Mission Accomplished” banner: 

“Five years after the President infamously declared ‘Mission Accomplished,’ we have still failed to accomplish our goals of securing the peace, stifling the terrorist threat, and bringing our troops home to their families.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, today submitted the following statement at a Foreign Relations hearing to examine the continuing crisis in Darfur. The full text of his remarks as prepared for delivery is below:

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for holding this hearing today. The crisis in Darfur remains one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our time, and I believe that it is vitally important the United States remains actively engaged in bringing to an end one of the worst acts of genocide since Rwanda.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) responded to the recent announcement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates of the President's decision to nominate General Petraeus to the position of Commanding Officer, Central Command, replacing the outgoing Admiral Fallon.

"Today's nomination of General Petraeus to head Central Command demonstrates once again this administration's stubborn commitment to its failed strategies in Iraq. Even more disturbingly, I am concerned that this nomination might also signal increased saber-rattling toward Iran. That would stand in stark contrast to the more measured approach to international engagement the previous commander, Admiral Fallon, brought to the post.”

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, today chaired a hearing of the full Foreign Relations Committee to consider several nominations important to the hemisphere.

The full text of Senator Dodd’s prepared opening remarks is below:

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised today’s House approval of legislation that would expand on existing debt cancellation programs for the world’s poorest countries.  The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation Act, S. 2166, which was introduced in the Senate by Senators Dodd, Casey (D-PA) and Lugar (R-IN) last year, would expand bilateral and multilateral debt cancellation for an additional 25 nations and ensure that the benefits from debt cancellation will not be eroded.

As a young man living under apartheid in South Africa, Mr. Mabaso was imprisoned for his beliefs alongside leaders such as Patrick Chamusso and Nelson Mandela.  During his time at the infamous Robben Island Prison, Mr. Mabaso was subjected to brutal acts of torture and forced to survive in harsh conditions.  Despite these hardships, Mr. Mabaso and his fellow political prisoners refuse to give up hope or abandon their calls for racial and economic equality. 

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Chairman of its Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the United States Naval Academy’s Foreign Affairs Conference.  In his address, Dodd will lay out a blueprint charting a new course for U.S.—Latin America relations in the 21^st Century.  Senator Dodd is widely respected as one of the Senate’s foremost experts on Latin America.   

At today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) questioned Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus about what the Administration’s strategy for Iraq will be following the troop surge that began in January 2007.