mr. schmierer, if i could ask you to talk about -- first, a point that was made about morocco that i find compelling is along with algeria, its capacity to be an example for the other nations. it is so much better to have an example that is near at home rather than point out an example far away. morocco's history of respectful religious minorities, some of the advances in opportunities for women in the commercial and civic sphere are very strong examples that i think we should be highlighting. a couple of questions. challenge hasnued been the status of the western sahara. that is a challenge that is in the u.n. province -- it is a source of tension between morocco and algeria. i am concerned about it because if borders -- one of our challenges in the region is disputed territory. it suggests to me a potential vulnerability. the western sahara situation has been in a diplomatic stasis for some time. can you talk about its current status and what u.s. policy is with respect to a resolution? >> i would be happy to. you're certainly correct to point out that this is a long- standing source of

mr. schmierer. a number of things have gone well, but the two political assassinations obviously have led to significant unrest, some of them probably productive civil unrest that see this as in the direction we want to go but if you could talk about how that factors into the ongoing dialogue. >> as you noted, tunisia is the birthplace of the arab spring and the ongoing awakening. and so, i think that everybody is looking to try to help tunisia get through what is turning out to be a difficult challenge. the political assassinations of earlier this year have led to a call for a national dialogue and a transitional government. the steps that are needed to be taken first is the parties need to select an independent figure to be the leader of the caretaker government. and right now, the parties are regrouping to try to get to that point. once that has been agreed to, then once the legislature approves that, then there will be the legislator will see the nine-member electoral monitoring board and then t

mr. schmierer, to you first. >> chairman, thank you for the invitation to be here today.t's a particular honor to appear here with my colleagues, deputy secretary for defense amanda dory and deputy assistant administrator alina romanowski with whom i enjoyed working on a regular basis. we welcome speaking to you on the issues that you've just outlined and certainly look forward to answering any questions that you and your colleagues may have. i have a full statement which i asked to be submitted for the record. >> without objection. >> and with your permission i would like to summarize my remarks. as you have just indicated, north africa thomas which is known as an arabic is a tremendous potential. it's the birthplace of the era of awakening and it is currently undergoing a difficult but critical transformation. tunisia pursues efforts to achieve democratic promise of its 2011 revolution. as libya continues to undertake its democratic transition while confronting numerous challenges on the political security and economic fronts. morocco and algeria have undertaken a more