Kaine continues to push for diplomatic training facility in Virginia
Sen. Tim Kaine's concern about about the security of U.S. embassies around the world is based on more than the much documented killing of four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya three years ago.
The Virginia senator said U.S. embassies in both Yemen and Libya have also since been evacuated because of security threats. The need for a diplomatic security training facility is urgent, and Virginia's Fort Pickett in Blackstone has been identified as the best U.S. site for such a facility by the State Department and Government Accountability Office.
As much as Kaine and other members of Virginia's congressional delegation have pushed for the construction of the facility at Fort Pickett, they have met resistance from the U.S. House and particularly House Republicans.
Kaine said "four agencies and an accountability review board'' favor Fort Pickett, which is now a Virginia Army National Guard base. Kaine said he is baffled why Congress continues to probe Benghazi, yet puts the brakes on a facility that would offer needed training.
Fort Pickett is also in close proximity to Washington. Kaine said most of the trainers are based with the State Department in Washington, and said Marines provide security at embassy posts. The Marine Corps has a large base at Quantico in Northern Virginia.
"I'm just mindful here of time passing,'' Kaine said in a press release. "It has been 5 years since the State-GAO process chose Fort Pickett as the site after a multi-year search to get to that decision." Kaine further said "there are tough times for people doing these jobs and I think we need to move with dispatch to make sure the security we provide is as strong as it can be."
In a telephone interview Thursday, Kaine also spoke of the economic benefit the diplomatic security training facility would bring to the town of Blackstone and the counties of Dinwiddie and Nottoway.
"There would be permanent staff and construction jobs,'' he said. Kaine said the facility would bring in up to 8,000 to 9,000 people a year, and would include trainers with temporary assignments.
And beyond the benefits to the Virginia economy, Kaine says a GAO study shows that Fort Pickett would save the federal government between $43 million and $121 million over 10 years as compared to an alternate Federal Law Enforcement Training Center site in Glynco, Ga.
Meanwhile, as a member of both the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, Kaine has kept a close watch on the volatile Middle East.
The senator believes any type of building of governments and nations must be done in partnership with other countries, not solely by the United States.
"We can call out illegal behavior, but it is not up to the U.S. to dictate when leaders leave,'' he said.
And while Syria continues to be trouble spot in the Middle East, Kaine points to one country in the region where U.S. efforts have led to improvements. "The life span in Afghanistan has increased from 43-44 to 60 in our time there,'' Kaine said. He also said the number of girls being educated in Afghanistan has increased from a small number prior to 9-11 to millions now.
As for the future of government in Afghanistan, Kaine said "it is up to Afghanistan, we can't do it. If they are committed, we can be a great partner."
