Obama's choice as Iraq ambassador advances

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday approved Chris Hill as the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq, but his confirmation by the full Senate could still be stalled by Republican Sen. Sam Brownback and others.

The committee approved Hill by a voice vote, and also approved another key nomination by President Barack Obama - Gen. Karl Eikenberry to be ambassador to Afghanistan.

Both Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and the ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, spoke in favor of Hill at his confirmation hearing last week and urged quick action. "Of course, senators have every right to vote against Ambassador Hill," Kerry said. "But I believe that using Senate procedures to delay his arrival to Baghdad at a critical time in this war would do a serious disservice to our efforts there."

But Brownback delivered a fiery speech on the Senate floor last week denouncing Hill as unqualified for the Baghdad post. And he criticized Hill for failing to include human rights issues in nuclear negotiations with North Korea.

Hill was the U.S. point-man in talks with North Korea and said he would have included human rights in later talks, but that North Korea had never fulfilled the earlier agreements on revealing details of its nuclear weapons program.

Brownback had promised to "object" to Hill's nomination as it moved toward a Senate vote but it was unclear how far he would go to delay or block it by placing a "hold" on the nomination, which would require a vote of 60 Senators or more to unlock.

Several senators have said Hill is the wrong man for the job because despite a much-praised diplomatic career, including three ambassadorships, he has never served in the Middle East and does not speak Arabic.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona was among the Hill critics. McCain had asked Hill to answer additional questions in writing after the two men had met but McCain was not won over.

"At this point, Senator McCain is going to vote against Ambassador Hill and speak against him on the floor of the Senate but he not going to place a hold on Ambassador Hill's nomination," a McCain aide, Brooke Buchanan, told CNN Tuesday.

A spokesman for Brownback said he had no comment on the senator's plans.

Hill's supporters were hoping the Senate could vote in the next couple of days but the vote has not been scheduled.

Earlier, Kerry said the Senate should vote on the Hill nomination before adjourning for the two-week Easter recess, which begins at the end of this week. Hill told the committee he would leave for Baghdad the day after Senate confirmation.