Foreign Relations panel proposes civilian rapid response teams

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Tuesday to create a civilian rapid response force to rush into post-war situations like Afghanistan, Bosnia or Iraq.

The committee adopted the bill (S. 2127) on a 19-0 roll call vote to establish a State Department office of international stabilization and reconstruction to plan for post-conflict situations.

A "rapid readiness corps" that would include some 250 civilians from the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development would be formed. Another 500 civilians would be recruited for a "response readiness reserve" to be summoned for post-war assistance.

The legislation, approved without any debate as part of a package with other bills, includes provisions for training of the rapid response teams.

"While recognizing the critical challenges that our military has undertaken with skill and courage, we must acknowledge that certain non-security missions would have been better served by a civilian response," Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said in a statement. "Our post-conflict efforts frequently have had a higher than necessary military profile."