Kerry Links Economics to Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON — Senator John Kerrysaid at his confirmation hearing for the post of secretary of state on Thursday that the top priority of the United States should be getting its fiscal house in order.

“Foreign policy is economic policy,” he said. “It is urgent that we show people in the rest of the world that we can get our business done in an effective and timely way.”

A day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton jousted with Republican members of the panel, Mr. Kerry received a generally friendly reception from the committee he led for the past four years.

Senator John McCain, a fellow Vietnam veteran who has been sharply critical of the Obama administration’s handling of the September attack in Benghazi and of its policy on Syria, endorsed Mr. Kerry before he began to testify.

In a nearly four-hour hearing, Mr. Kerry displayed his familiarity with a broad range of issues but presented no new ideas on how to make headway on the vexing foreign policy problems that he will inherit if he is confirmed, as expected.

On Iran, Mr. Kerry said that he was committed to seeking a diplomatic solution over Iran’s nuclear program, while alluding to the option to use military force if a negotiated solution could not be reached.

“Our policy is not containment,” he said. “It is prevention, and the clock is ticking.”

On Syria, Mr. Kerry defended his effort to engage President Bashar al-Assad of Syria during the early months of the Obama administration, asserting that Syria’s growing population gave it a reason to seek better ties with the United States.

“He wanted to try to find some way to reach out to the West and see if there was some kind of an accommodation,” Mr. Kerry said of Mr. Assad. “History caught up to us.”

Mr. Kerry said that he thought Mr. Assad would not survive as Syria’s leader much longer. “The time is ticking,” he said.

That did not satisfy Mr. McCain, who noted that the number of refugees was growing and urged that the United States provide arms to the rebels.

“We’ve had a lot of hearings; we haven’t done anything,” Mr. McCain said.

“I have complete understanding of where you are coming from on this,” Mr. Kerry responded, adding that the best outcome would “find some track that changed the equation and the calculation of Assad.”

Rattling off a long list of factors that made such an outcome difficult to achieve, he said he wanted to have a broader dialogue with the Congress on policy options. “We’re going to have to get our heads together, regardless of party,” Mr. Kerry said, “and figure out how we come up with an equation that is workable.”

On arms control, Mr. Kerry made clear that he thought the proposal to eliminate all nuclear weaponswas a “goal” that could take centuries to achieve and that the United States had no choice but to rely on nuclear deterrence in the meantime.

On Russia, Mr. Kerry acknowledged that relations had “slid backwards a little bit in the last couple of years,” but said he would try to make progress.

On Pakistan, Mr. Kerry said he had talked to Pakistani leaders about the Pakistani doctor who has been imprisoned for assisting the C.I.A.’s effort to track Osama bin Laden.

“That bothers every American,” said Mr. Kerry, who said that he was nonetheless opposed to cutting aid. “We need to build our relationship with the Pakistanis, not diminish it,” he said.

Mr. Kerry would be the first member of the committee to directly ascend to the job of secretary of state since John Sherman served beginning in 1897 under President William McKinley.

To avoid the perception of a conflict of interest, Mr. Kerry did not serve as chairman of the Wednesday hearing at which Mrs. Clinton testified on Benghazi or even attend the session. Mrs. Clinton returned to the committee today to introduce her designated successor.

“John is the right choice,” Mrs. Clinton said. “He has been a valued partner to this administration and to me personally.”

As the proceedings continued, Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is believed to be nursing presidential ambitions, argued for a strong American role in world affairs and complained that Mr. Obama’s foreign policy was unclear.

But Mr. McCain, who recalled Mr. Kerry’s role in encouraging the normalization of relations with Vietnam, warmly praised the nominee. “Senator Kerry and I spent some time, at the Navy’s behest, in a certain Southeast Asian country,” Mr. McCain noted.

The episode that appeared to most capture the mood, however, came when Senator Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who led the hearing, mistakenly referred to Mr. Kerry as “Mr. Secretary.”

At that point, Mr. Kerry jokingly rose as if he was preparing to leave. “I thought this could be quick,” he said, before sitting down to resume answering questions.

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