Foreign Affairs

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• Afghanistan
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• Iraq & Syria
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• Israel/Palestine
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• Iran
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• Cambodia
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• Greece

 

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OVERVIEW

I grew up in a military family and lived on military bases across this country and around the world. As a result, I have lived in and visited numerous foreign nations and experienced our world’s diverse cultural, political, and economic spectrum.

Massachusetts' Third District is home to a diverse population that actively follows the affairs of foreign nations. In Lowell, for example, our Cambodian-American population—the second largest in the country—has incorporated this community’s rich tradition into the city’s heartbeat and contributes to its success. Today, nearly 50languages are spoken in one of our district’s largest high schools, Lowell High, underscoring the diversity of our district and the region.

The Third District also has a strong military tradition, and I am proud to serve as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and as the Ranking Member of the Tactical Air and Land (TAL) Forces Subcommittee overseeing a number of Army, Navy and Marine Corps programs. In this role, I have made it one of my top priorities to meet with our troops on the ground overseas, who are responsible for implementing and carrying out the President’s policies in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

I have highlighted my position on a few international areas of interest below, but if you would like to know more about my position on a particular region or situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

 

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AFGHANISTAN

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I have made six trips to Afghanistan and two to Iraq as a member of Congress. Each time I have been moved by the professionalism, dedication and skill of our armed forces. These trips have also given me a vital opportunity to interact with civilians on the ground in these conflict zones, and to better understand just what is at stake.

From 2013 to 2018, I served as co-chair of the Afghan Women’s Task Force, a bipartisan coalition of women members of Congress who are committed to protecting the progress that has been made for Afghan women. I have always believed that one of the greatest success stories of our presence in Afghanistan is the unprecedented gains that have been made by Afghan women. The country has made some recent strides in bringing women into leadership and governmental roles, but it is important that Afghanistan continues to embrace a broader, more meaningful role for women.

Ensuring that Afghan girls continue to have access to academic and economic opportunities, and more broadly, ensuring that women are able to participate in Afghan society as a whole, is not only good for the future of Afghanistan, it is good for the United States as well so that we can help ensure a more peaceful and just future there.

I also believe it is important to keep our promises to the Afghan men and women who have helped the United States and allied militaries in their role as translators and other contract workers. These brave men and women have risked their lives, and the well-being of their families, to bring security and stability to their country; as a result, they have been targeted by the Taliban and other insurgent groups for their work with the international community. Along with my colleague Seth Moulton (MA-06) and other colleagues in the House, I have worked to authorize and expand the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (Afghan SIV) Program, which grants thousands of visas to Afghans and their families who have worked with coalition forces. I have been encouraged to see the number of Afghan SIVs granted to Afghan nationals increase over the past several years in an effort to demonstrate U.S. commitment and resolve to the Afghan people and Afghanistan’s future.

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IRAQ & SYRIA

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Over the past several years, Syria has become one of the most severe human catastrophes of the past several decades, and the situation next door in Iraq remains very fragile. The United States has several thousand troops serving in Iraq and U.S. special operations forces are deployed to Syria in an effort to shore up forces battling the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

In 2014, then-President Obama outlined his plan to begin an effort to disrupt and ultimately defeat ISIL in Syria and Iraq and asked Congress to authorize the training and arming of Syrian rebels to confront ISIL. I voted against authorizing the arming and training of Syrian opposition groups because I thought it was a back door vote that had the potential to lead to an expanded and open-ended commitment spilling into future administrations. It called for us to make a near- term decision with long-term consequences, raising substantial and unpredictable risks that haven’t been fully considered.

As we consider how to address the ever-evolving threat posed by the Islamic State as a coalition of dozens of nations continues to degrade the group, both Democrats and Republicans have raised many significant questions about ongoing operations. These include the cost, the commitment of American servicemembers, the timetable, the nature of the support we have from regional partners who must take more direct responsibility, the exit strategy, and how we will define success, to name a few. The multifaceted decisions underlying this challenge require a much broader discussion and more robust debate in Congress than what it has received to date, and I support a discussion on revising both the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) that were approved in a much different security environment than we find ourselves in today.

There is no denying that ISIL is a lethal terrorist organization. It believes in brutality and intolerance, as seen in its aggressive movements to secure territory in Iraq and Syria, it has ruthlessly massacred innocent people, and it has carried out the murders of Western journalists and humanitarian aid workers, including Americans.

ISIL’s presence in Syria and Iraq has sparked a refugee crisis of epic proportions. As the humanitarian crisis has grown more acute – particularly in Europe and throughout the greater Middle East -- the number of refugees unwilling to tolerate the dangerous situation in their home country has grown rapidly. Upon making the difficult decision to flee with their families, hundreds of thousands of refugees have been willing to risk their lives because the dangers of the journey are still preferable to what they face if they stay behind.

Ultimately, a diplomatic solution is necessary to stem this tide of refugees in the region and throughout the world. I support on-going efforts to work with our international partners to find a lasting peace in Syria.

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ISRAEL & PALESTINE

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The ongoing conflict between Israel and its surrounding Arab neighbors has been a tragedy of epic proportions. Over the past several years, both sides have missed opportunities to build trust and move towards a lasting peace, and the Palestinian and Israeli people continue to suffer as a result.

Unfortunately, violence has frequently escalated on both sides over the past several decades. I have joined House-passed resolutions that condemn the attacks by Hamas against Israel and clearly state that Israel has a right to defend itself. I have also been concerned about the number of casualties, including the number of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza and the loss of Israeli soldiers and civilians when violence has broken out between Israel and various Palestinian groups.

The United States and the international community must seek to ensure compliance with the terms of an August 2014 ceasefire agreement that has ushered in a period of relative, if incomplete, stability in the region and must also ensure that Israel and all Palestinian parties take full advantage of opportunities to broker a long-lasting compromise.

The United States can and should continue to play an active and constructive role to help establish a fair and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians as quickly as possible. I continue to believe that too many lives have been lost or destroyed as a result of this ongoing conflict. I believe both sides understand that a continual state of war is unacceptable both for the parties involved and to the long-term interests of the United States.

At the same time, we should not underestimate the challenges to achieving the goal of peace in the region. Peace will never be a reality without a clear commitment to ending violence and ensuring Israel's security and the aspirations of the Palestinian people. Both sides have genuine desires which I believe - and both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have stated they agree - can only be satisfied by the realization of two states living side by side in peace and mutual respect.

No one is under any illusion that this will be an easy path, but it is a path we must walk to bring an end to this tragic conflict. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to support initiatives that will create a stable and lasting peace for both Israel and the Palestinians.

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IRAN

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The Iranian government continues to be a destabilizing force across the broader Middle East and flaunts the international community by its support for international terrorism, human rights abuses and ballistic missile development. Despite this behavior, I believe that dealing with an Iran without nuclear weapons is preferable to dealing with it after the country has fully developed nuclear capabilities. This is why I supported the Obama administration’s diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

After years of negotiation, the Obama administration and our international partners signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that went into effect in October of 2015. As recently as early 2018, well into President Trump’s first term in office, international inspectors and President Trump himself confirmed that Iran was in compliance with the terms for the agreement. Since the deal was reached, Iran removed and placed in International Atomic Energy Agency-monitored storage two-thirds of the 19,000 centrifuges it used for uranium enrichment at the facility at Natanz. It ended all uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce nuclear bomb-grade fuel, and removed all nuclear material from its once secret facility at Fordow. It also reduced its stockpile of enriched uranium and the core of a heavy-water reactor at Arak was filled with concrete.

In May 2018, President Trump formally announced that he would withdraw the United States from the JCPOA, and the United States formerly restored nuclear-based sanctions on Iran in August. I believe this action is a grave mistake that risks confrontation with Iran and U.S. diplomatic isolation. The JCPOA was not perfect, but the historic agreement, hard-won after years of intense negotiations with a hardline adversary, provided the United States and our allies with our best chance to halt Iran on its path to building a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s behavior – including continued testing of ballistic missiles, flagrant human rights abuses, and support for international terrorism - means that no nuclear agreement can or should not be built on trust, but on terms that are clearly defined, verifiable and enforceable.

This is why I believe it is important for the United States to again work with our international partners to reinstate a comprehensive verification process like the one enshrined in the JCPOA that ensures the international community has rigorous unprecedented access to Iran’s nuclear activities and infrastructure. That verification process was more comprehensive and intrusive than any inspection authority ever previously negotiated and included real teeth to enforce the agreed upon measures if Iran failed to comply. While working to reinstate the agreement, it is important that the United States and its allies take no options off the table – including a military option – in order to demonstrate our commitment to a nuclear-free Iran that is at peace with the United States and its neighbors.

 

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CAMBODIA

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I am proud to represent a district that includes the families of the nearly 20,000 Cambodians who immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, many to the city of Lowell. These Cambodian-Americans have added to the rich diversity of Massachusetts and our region. While many of our Cambodian neighbors continue to build roots in the Third District, many remain concerned by ongoing political turmoil in Cambodia.

I remain concerned by steps the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen has taken to limit the fundamental human rights of the Cambodian people. On September 3, 2017, the United States Department of State noted a number of troubling steps undertaken by the Cambodian government over the past year including the imposition of unprecedented restrictions on independent media and civil society. Since that time, international media outlets and human rights organizations have documented a concerted effort by the Cambodian government to weaken political opposition and undermine democratic institutions, human rights, and freedom of expression.

These steps have included the arrest and imprisonment of Kem Sokha, the leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP); pressure on other opposition lawmakers by Prime Minister Hun Sen to defect and join the Cambodia People's Party or face a five-year ban from politics; and the closure of international broadcasters and human rights organizations like Radio Free Asia and the National Democratic Institute, respectively.

These actions demonstrate the lengths the Cambodian government has gone to obstruct the Cambodian peoples' right to self-determination, and I support the international community's efforts to use diplomatic, humanitarian, and other means to demonstrate that these efforts are not in the interest of Cambodia. Along with other members of the House Cambodian Caucus, I have urged the State Department under President Trump as recently as June 2018 to work with allies in the region to address the Cambodian government’s attacks on minority political parties and activists.

In July 2018, Cambodia held what many rights groups and international observers deem to have been a flawed and illegitimate election that saw President Hun Sen’s political party, the Cambodian People’s Party, win all 125 seats that were contested.

These developments are severely disappointing and I believe if we are to build a lasting and productive relationship with Cambodia, we must see a meaningful shift toward universal human rights and a more transparent and accessible democratic process. President Trump has an opportunity to encourage Cambodian officials to embrace individual rights and the right of Cambodians to peaceably assemble. Such progress will enable our mutually beneficial partnership with Cambodia to flourish further.

Read my op-ed about Cambodia following my visit in February 2012

 

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GREECE

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The resilience and optimism of the Greek people is reflected in the Greek-American community that I represent here in the Third District. My husband Paul’s family emigrated from Greece to the city of Lowell when his father was three years old, and as a first generation Greek-American, Paul rose to become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States.

Since I was first elected, I have been a proud member of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, which has played a key role in bringing initiatives of significance to the Greek-American community to Congress’ attention. I meet on a regular basis with representatives from Greece and Cyprus, including the Ambassadors, along with Hellenic-American advocacy groups. More recently, I joined the Congressional Hellenic-Israel Alliance that seeks to strengthen ties between Hellenes and the Israeli people.

Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have supported a variety of initiatives in support of Greece and the Hellenic region, including cosponsoring legislation and signing letters to the President and Secretary of State encouraging U.S. leadership in the negotiation for a just solution on Cyprus.

As the United States continues to recover from the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, we are all keenly aware that there remain dangers to the continued growth of our economy. But those dangers are certainly not limited to factors internal to the United States. These threats are global in nature, and the economic strength of many of our allies, including Greece, is being seriously impacted. Greece’s economy is in a continuing state of unrest, and this has culminated in a significant amount of political unrest.

Greece is one of our country’s oldest friends and staunchest allies and the bilateral economic relationship between the EU and the United States is one of the largest and strongest in the world. I will continue to monitor this situation closely and will work to affirm our nations’ enduring relationship.

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