During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in July, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) asked President Trump's nominee to be Ambassador to Poland Thomas Rose about staffing cuts at the State Department.
00:00Time, Mr. Chairman. So I respect the chairman. He's tougher than I am, so Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
00:08Thank you, Chairman Risch. I appreciate you holding the hearing. I want to thank all of our witnesses for being here, testifying today.
00:16I want to go right into the EMEA bombings, because Congress has long supported Argentina's efforts to investigate and hold accountable
00:24those responsible for the 1994 bombings of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires.
00:31It killed 85 people. Just last week, Senator Curtis and I introduced a resolution in embrace of this,
00:38excuse me, not embrace, in remembrance, excuse me, in remembrance of this horrific attack.
00:44Argentina has linked both Iran and Hezbollah to the attack, as well as the bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires,
00:50which killed 29 people. So, Dr. Lomelos, how would you assess the status of Argentina's efforts to hold accountable
00:58the perpetrators of these violent acts? And if confirmed, how would you advise the United States help Argentina in their efforts?
01:10Senator, what occurred in Argentina,
01:14actually, it was the anniversary, just recently, the 31st anniversary of the EMEA bombings, which killed 85 people.
01:23Before October 7th,
01:25it was the largest single event
01:27where Jews were killed
01:30besides the Holocaust.
01:32It is a shame.
01:34It's a,
01:35it's incredible that they have not, that the people involved have not been prosecuted.
01:41The prosecutor was, died under suspicious circumstances, uh, obviously, and I support any efforts that the art, that Malay has to get to the bottom of who did this.
01:53I think there has even been an arrest warrant issued against one of the alleged perpetrators of this.
01:59So I will do anything and everything possible to speak against this.
02:02I live in South Florida, and there's an extensive Jewish community, and I am, and there is a portion of my family that, that has Jewish roots.
02:11So I feel very strongly about this.
02:14Uh, so does, uh, President Malay.
02:16So I will do everything possible to support who, uh, getting to the bottom of who did this and prosecuting them.
02:24I'd like to, uh, move on to, uh, Mr. Rose, please.
02:28I want to talk a little bit about Poland's cyber security.
02:31Russia is currently engaged in an aggressive shadow war against our allies in Europe.
02:36In Poland, Russia employs cyber attacks and information warfare to shape the information space.
02:42We all know this.
02:43It weakens public trust.
02:44It undermines political cohesion.
02:46Yet, at the State Department, individuals with highly specialized cyber expertise were just rift.
02:53For everybody else listening, that means they were, well, I'll say let go.
02:58Fired.
03:00These cuts to our cyber workforce, they make no sense to me in light of what's going on.
03:05They undermine our own security and that of our partners and allies.
03:09So Mr. Rose, given the threat Russia poses to Poland in the cyber domain, what signal do you
03:15think riffing personnel who have expertise to improve Poland's cyber security, what message
03:20does it send to Russia or to others?
03:23And so if you were Russia, would you feel emboldened by this?
03:26I certainly, thank you very much for the question, Senator.
03:29Nice to see you.
03:30I believe that there isn't a country in Europe that takes cyber security, the asymmetric threats,
03:41are constantly unleashed upon Poland and other European, East European countries, Central European countries more seriously than Poland.
03:49The asymmetric, nefarious activities of Russia have actually dramatically increased in the past few weeks.
03:58What do we do to get these folks back to help Poland be sure that we combat, we're battling on this important front?
04:05Poland is quite capable.
04:07They've got the most sophisticated anti-cyber capabilities of any country in Europe.
04:11They take this matter extremely seriously.
04:13They're forthright, forward-looking, and they now actually have to deal with an increased Russian threat.
04:20Russian drones are now specifically targeting Polish businesses, private businesses in Ukraine.
04:26In Ukraine, there was a flooring manufacturing company in western Ukraine that was hit from three separate directions by Russian drones last week.
04:36Russia is doing everything within its power to test the resolve of the West, the Poles, and our other allies in Europe.
04:43Do we have a role to play here in helping be sure that we create a stable, hunt-forward environment, responsive offense and defense environment in cyber security?
04:53This can be a lethal weapon of attack in Poland, and how can the U.S. help here?
04:58Well, I think the U.S. is doing a great deal, a tremendous deal.
05:02The president has shown extraordinary patience, which apparently is now running out vis-Ã -vis Vladimir Putin's...
05:09You don't think we need the employees that were let go?
05:11I have no doubt that Secretary Rubio and his staff made effective, very detailed assessments of how to make the State Department more efficient and more effective.
05:24I've got complete confidence in the secretary and the president.
05:29I'd be interested in you coming back to the committee and talking with us maybe in a secure location about some of the cyber efforts going on and what we can do.
