our first witness is acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, ambassador david satterfield. ambassador satterfield is one of our most distinguished diplomats. he most recently served as director general of the multi-national force and observers in the sinai peninsula and previously served as u.s. ambassador to lebanon. thank you for being here. our second witness is robert jenkins who serves as the deputy assist administrator for humanitarian assistance. he marked 20 years at usaid and previously served as the director of office of transition initiatives. thank you for being here. our third witness is assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, robert karam. very protocol, want to make sure our civilian guys are first. priority of senate confirmation last year, mr. karam served as national security staff for vice president cheney and then as national security adviser to the house. majority leaders eric cantor and kevin mccarthy. we thank you all three for being here. if you could summarize in about five minutes, we would appreciate it. if you have any

chairman: we welcome david satterfield, acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs. -- mitchell is a sector in is assistant secretary of state for eurasian and middle eastern affairs. mr. satterfield served as u.s. ambassador to lebanon, chief of mission in cairo and deputy chief of mission and iraq. secretary mitchell, prior to his t the stateition a department, was the ceo at the center for european policy and analysis. we appreciate them being here with us today. members will have five days to submit questions or statements to you. pleasery satterfield, summarize your remarks and after five minutes we will go to mr. mistral -- go to mr. mitchell and then questions. secretary satterfield: thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. from the arab spring in 2011 to the civil wars in syria and yemen, the rise and fall of argue thene would many significant challenges the united states and our allies face in the region. however, in many places the u.s. has made positive strides. we are supporting the growth of a nascent democracy in tunisia. the region continu

david can say a word about the kurdish element. mr. satterfield: the situation in north and northeast syria has over recent weeks stabilized. we have seen no further movement of turkish forces beyond afran. our dialogue with the syrian democratic forces, the sdf, is deep, extraordinary, and at senior levels, and that dialogue is continuing at a senior level literally as we meet here today. we believe that it is possible to continue the fight against isis with the support and help of the sdf. that of course requires not just their commitment to us, but our commitment to continue to work with them. we understand that -- rep. cicilline: thank you. i want to try to get to couple more. thank you. and i look forward to the classified briefing. ambassador satterfield are you , aware of any evidence that iran has violated the terms of the jcpoa? mr. satterfield: it is the assessment of the iaea that iran remains in essential compliance with the provisions of the -- rep. cicilline: ok thank you. , you talked about the ongoing discussions with our european

mister chairman and i yelled back 's this morning we are pleased to welcome david satterfield. d west mitchell is assisting state for european and eurasian centers. the secretary satterfield served many senior positions within the department including the us ambassador to lebanon. as chief mission in cairo and the deputy chief of mission in iraq. secretary mitchell prior to his current position at the state department was the cofounder, president and ceo of the center for european policy analysis and we appreciate them being here with us today. and without objection juggling, your full prepared statements will be made part of the record and we will have calendar days to submit any statements or questions to you or any extraneous material or the record , so if you would, terry satterfield, summarize your remarks and after the five minutes we will go to mister mitchell for other questions. >> you chairman. ranking member of the committee, i appreciate the opportunity for me, my colleagues, assistant mitchell to testify. from the arab spring in 2011 to the current civil wars in syr

so this morning we're pleased to welcome david satterfield. he's acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs. and wess mitchell is assistant secretary of state for european and eurasian affairs. secretary satterfield served in many roles including as chief of mission in cairo, deputy chief of mission in iraq. secretary mitchell, prior to his current position at the state department, was the co-founder and president and ceo of the center for european policy analysis. and we appreciate them being here with us today. without objection, gentlemen, your full prepared statements will be made part of the record. members here will have five calendar days to submit any statements or questions to you or any extraneous material for the record. so if you would, secretary satterfield, please summarize your remarks and after the five minutes, we'll go to mr. mitchell and then the questions. >> thank you very much, chairman royce, ranking member engel, members of the committee. i appreciate the opportunity for me, my colleague, assistant secr

witnesses include acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs david satterfield and assistant secretary of state for european and eurasian affairs, wess mitchell.