Kerry officially gets Foreign Relations post

Senator John F. Kerry met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad today. (AFP/Getty Images)

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry was named chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee today, pledging to use his stewardship of the influential panel to strengthen American interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan, help end the war in Iraq, and craft solutions to the climate change crisis.

The Massachusetts Democrat is already on an extended tour of trouble spots that will likely consume the foreign policy attention of President-elect Barack Obama. Kerry met today with leaders in Pakistan and India, trying to ease tensions between the two nuclear powers over the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

He next goes to Afghanistan, where Obama wants to deploy thousands of additional troops to fight the war on terror. The first stop on Kerry's itinerary, which began over the weekend, was the Republic of Georgia, the front line in Russia's more aggressive stance against the West. Sunday, he and Obama talked about a global warming conference in Poland that Kerry attended.

"We have a big agenda ahead of us, just as our country faces big challenges across the globe," Kerry said in a statement from Islamabad.

Kerry, who has served on the committee for 24 years and first came to public notice when he testified before the panel in opposition to the Vietnam War, was elevated to the chairmanship by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid after he lost out to Hillary Clinton to be Obama's secretary of state.

Kerry is set to take over for the outgoing chairman, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, at a crucial time. Aides said the stops on his foreign trip highlight some of the core issues he will have to deal.

Over the weekend Kerry met in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi with Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili and President Mikheil Saakashvili, who are still reeling from the Russian invasion of their territory in August and are seeking membership in the NATO alliance.

Today, Kerry met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi before traveling to Islamabad to meet with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders.

Kerry had tough words for his Pakistani hosts, saying that the government must shut down terrorist training camps like those believed to be have been used by the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks last month.

"It's imperative to comply and terrorist camps should be shut down," Kerry told reporters after holding talks with the Indian external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee, according to local media reports.

Speaking of the spate of attacks that killed nearly 200 people in India's financial center, Kerry added: "We know it was all planned in Pakistan and we are very, very confident that evidence will be presented at the right time."

Tuesday, Kerry is to meet with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and visit US troops from Massachusetts who are serving there, according to his Senate office.

The Senate Foreign Relations chairmanship remains among the most prized in the Senate. It is responsible for vetting international treaties, conducting the confirmation hearings for presidential nominees for the State Department, and overseeing the State Department budget. The panel also helps set policy for foreign aid and arms control programs and authorizes military training for allied nations.

Kerry, in his statement today, cited two legendary chairman of the committee, one from each political party, in promising to seek bipartisan policies.

"Whether it was under the Republican Chairman [Arthur] Vandenberg or the great Democratic Chairman William Fulbright, this committee has always stood for the best of American foreign policy," Kerry said.

Kerry has been preparing to take leadership of the committee for several weeks. Last week, he met with Clinton to iron out any issues that might arise during her confirmation hearing. Kerry also appointed a new spokesman for the committee: Frederick L. Jones II, a former career foreign service officer and spokesman for the National Security Council under President Bush.

The Bay State's senior senator, Edward M. Kennedy, released this statement:

“John will do an excellent job as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the nation’s fortunate to have him in this high position. I know he’ll make significant contributions to our foreign policy in dealing with the many challenges we face in our relationships with other countries, and he’ll work well with President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to restore America’s respect in the world.”