US senators want rapid appointment of Iraq ambassador

As the deadline for transfer of power in Iraq nears, US senators are pushing for quick approval of Washington’s ambassador in Baghdad.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee opened hearings today on London born John Negroponte’s nomination as America’s first ambassador to post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.

President George Bush nominated Negroponte, now the US ambassador to the United Nations, just a week ago.

Though such nominations can take months to process, Senator Dick Lugar, the Republican who chairs the foreign relations panel, began pushing immediately for a hearing.

“We cannot simply turn on the lights at the Embassy on June 30 and expect everything to go well,” Lugar said in opening the hearing. “We must be rehearsing with Iraqi authorities and our coalition partners how decision-making and administrative power will be distributed and exercised.”

“It is critical, therefore, that Ambassador Negroponte and his team be put in place at the earliest possible moment,” he said.