SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D-WI): First, let me thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this hearing today. And I also want to note the trips that you took and Senators Corker and Isakson have recently taken to the region. It's been very helpful to the overall effort of keeping this critical country on the agenda.

And I've thought for a long time and been saying for a long time, as you know, sir, that we need a coordinated approach toward all of Sudan and shoring up the CPA must be a central component of our policy. I'm very pleased that the administration has made this a priority.

At the same time, Special Envoy Gration, as you know from our meeting and my letter, I do have some concerns and questions about the administration's strategy.

Thus far, in your public statements, you've pushed a relatively new approach toward the government of Sudan emphasizing engagement and incentives. I'd like to know if this approach is linked to a more detailed strategy that's been agreed to by the interagency. And has this approach been selected because Khartoum has demonstrated actual willingness to cooperate and live up to its commitments? Or is it more because there just aren't alternative options?

MR. GRATION: We have been in a process to come up with a comprehensive and an integrated strategy. The National Security Council is leading that process. Of course, we've had input as have other agencies in the department.

We anticipate that, within the next few weeks, that we'll be able to have a roll-out of this strategy. And I think you'll see from this strategy that it is very comprehensive, and it's based on what we're trying to achieve, which is a better life for the people there. We're trying to achieve a peace and a security and a stability and economic viability and the things you talked about, the CPA, peace in Darfur, making sure that the whole region is secure.

And the strategy includes both incentives and pressures. And it includes ways to judge if we're making the progress that we all want to make. This isn't about just my judgment. This is about coming together and making sure that the United States' object active are being met and that we're doing it in a way that makes sense for our country.

And we'll continue to coordinate with the command process, the interagency process to make sure that we stay on track, and we'll certainly consult with Congress to ensure that your views and inputs are incorporated.

SEN. FEINGOLD: Well, I'm pleased that an attempt to being made to create a real interagency strategy, but it does appear to me that the constructive engagement approach was engaged in prior to this process being over or being done and ready to go. So I have some concerns about sort of leading with that before the interagency process is complete.

So I'd like to know specifically what tangible evidence have you seen that Khartoum is actually acting in good faith?

MR. GRATION: Let me just step back and explain what happened and why we started this process. When I became the special envoy, the NGOs had just been kicked out. My mandate was to get those 13 NGOs back in. It was very clear that we weren't going to be able to do that, but the president also gave me the mandate to save lives.

And in an effort to save lives, we worked to get new NGOs in, to restore the capability, but not only to restore but to create an environment that would actually be significantly better than it was on the fourth of March. But this meant two things.

If we were going to get this, we needed to have a relationship so we could discuss with Khartoum. Also, as I went to Juba, I realized if we were going to solve the CPA issues, we had to have a relationship with both Juba -- which we had -- and Khartoum. We had to have a foot in both camps.

If we were going to solve the problems also the border with Chad, we had to have a foot in Khartoum and a foot in Jimina (ph). So I think it became very clear that, at some point, we had to have a relationship so that we could discuss options. And that's what we did early, but that doesn't preclude or negate anything that the strategy is trying to do.

And the fact is it gives a foundation for the strategy, and the strategy builds on having relationships not only within Sudan but with its neighbors and the international community.

SEN. FEINGOLD: I understand that rationale but, of course, the concern is that the message is possibly given to Khartoum that they don't have to do much at all in order to have that kind of constructive engagement. So I'd like you to say more -- you've alluded to this -- about the stick side of this, not just the carrot side.

I realize you might not be able to go into specifics in an unclassified setting, but can you assure this committee that the administration is actively assessing the viability of meaningful punitive actions and preparing them in the event that the government of Sudan continues its historic foot-dragging and, of course, that has been the hallmark of their record?

MR. GRATION: There's no question. I'd be happy to come up and brief you in a more secure environment on what those are. But I believe we have a very balanced approach that includes both incentives and includes pressures. And in many ways, the lack of incentives is turning out to be, also, a pressure. We will continue to use all methods, all incentives and pressures in a balanced way.

But one thing I would like to say as a caveat to this is that what we're finding out is that, as you already know, that this is a very complex issue, and there's a lot of multiple things happening at the same time. And so we're having to take a look at this not in terms of specific actions and sticks and carrots and things like that associated with specific actions, but them in concert with everything else that's going on in the country.

So we're looking at an integrated approach that looks at what is the actions that are being done on the CPA. What are the actions that are being done on the humanitarian front? What are the actions that are being done to put together a political process so people can have their will known and carried out? And what is being done to increase security for the whole region?

And that's what we're judging this on, not specifics but more of a general way.

SEN. FEINGOLD: And I agree that that should, ideally, be the approach. But will you commit to briefing us on the sort of punitive or stick side of this in the appropriate setting?

MR. GRATION: I would be happy to.

SEN. FEINGOLD: Well, I think it's very important. We're on a tight time a line, as you said with Southern Sudan's scheduled vote on secession just 18 months away. And we have to make sure that those mechanisms are as much or more in place as the other things you've mentioned or I'm quite sure Khartoum will follow their historical pattern.

MR. GRATION: I totally agree. I'd be happy to come and brief you on these.

SEN. FEINGOLD: Thank you, General.

Thank you.

REP. KERRY: Thank you, Senator Feingold.