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| | Fort Smith native up for U.N. post
Friday, Jun 18, 2004 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Anne Woods Patterson, a Fort Smith native who has served as ambassador to two Latin American countries in a 31-year diplomacy career, is nearing confirmation to a top-level post at the United Nations. Patterson sailed through a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday after being nominated to become deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, the second-ranking U.S. ambassador to the international body. "The most important issue we're going to address is Iraq and the presence of the U.N. in Iraq," Patterson said after the hearing that was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "My role will be to work with the other members to increase the role there." Patterson's father, John Woods, traveled from Fort Smith to attend the hearing. Her husband, David, son, Andrew, and step-daughter, Jessica, also were in the audience. Patterson was nominated by President Bush in April. She served as the U.S. ambassador to Colombia from 2000 to 2003 and ambassador to El Salvador from 1997 to 2000. Since last year, she has served as the State Department's deputy inspector general. As the deputy representative, Patterson would coordinate the work of the U.N. mission. She would oversee almost 150 U.S. employees. "This is a very different kind of job so I'm very excited about it," Patterson said. "This has a worldwide perspective and deals with issues of life and death." Among her goals, Patterson listed securing fair treatment for Israel and reducing the number of "lopsided" Middle East resolutions that discriminate against Israel. "My interests would be human rights and peacekeeping because that's what I have the most experience with," she said. If confirmed, Patterson would replace James Cunningham, who has held the post since 1999. He has been nominated to become U.S. representative to the Vienna office of the United Nations, and his nomination was reviewed Thursday along with Patterson's. The Senate committee also considered the nomination of former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., Bush's choice to become the U.N. ambassador. He would replace John Negroponte, who has been appointed U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Patterson and Danforth "as a new team are going to face very early on the consequences in U.N. terms of the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq, a number of pressing peace keeping issues in Africa and in Haiti that require urgent attention from the Security Council," Cunningham said following the hearing. During the hearing, Patterson drew support from the handful of senators in attendance. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., called Patterson and Cunningham "two of the most experienced, respected professionals in our government." Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., the panel's chairman, said: "I have no doubt that Ambassador Patterson possesses the necessary managerial skills to take on this mission." Patterson fielded several questions from Lugar, who quizzed her on training for U.N. peacekeepers and asbestos discovered at the U.N. headquarters in New York. In preparation for the hearing, Patterson this week made the rounds to the offices of the committee panel. She met with Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and the staffs of other senators. -- 30 -- |
