Congressman Vic Snyder’s strong and innate desire to understand people and cultures, his personal experiences from serving in the Marines, and his work on numerous medical missions in developing nations had a profound influence on his congressional interests. During his fourteen year tenure, Snyder often delved into international issues, specifically ones that might foster strong U.S. diplomatic and cultural relationships, promote fledgling democracies, grow national economies, create social opportunities and advance social justice, and resolve intractable geopolitical disputes.
BUILDING U.S. DIPLOMATIC
Relationships
While in the House, Snyder visited several countries including Cuba, Sierra Leone, Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia to discuss national issues with their respective elected officials. Additionally, as an active member of several internationally-focused and country-specific caucuses, Snyder capitalized on opportunities to regularly meet with international organizations and foreign diplomats and dignitaries to build strong personal relationships.
Explore the Trips Abroad Map to view more photographs of Snyder's diplomatic travels to foreign countries.
These friendships brought many advantages to Arkansas, not the least of which was its inclusion in an in-state performance audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. This audit focused on the state’s role in hosting a significant Marshallese population in northwest Arkansas. As a result, Arkansas is now included when the compacts of free association are revisited. Snyder helped facilitate other state visits, especially those by foreign dignitaries. For example, then-current Georgian Ambassador Batu Kutelia visited Arkansas and participated in the Distinguished Lecture Series at the William J. Clinton School of Public Service.
ADVANCING INTERNATIONAL
Justice
Snyder made a positive and lasting imprint on the global community. In late 2005, Snyder and twelve other U.S. Representatives and Senators sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a letter urging her to persuade Liberia’s President-Elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to take President Charles Taylor, whom she was to replace, into custody for transfer to the Special Court for Sierra Leone. There, he was to be indicted for his part in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1990s. The request came months before Johnson-Sirleaf’s trip to Washington to address a Joint Session of Congress. It has been suggested this letter may have been exactly the pressure needed to influence a public shift in the Bush Administration’s policy toward Taylor. Subsequently, Taylor was apprehended and found guilty of his charges.
RESOLVING GEOPOLITICAL
Disputes
The most visible and personal impression Snyder made in Congress, however, was due to his genuine curiosity in and conciliatory approach to several little understood and often ignored international issues he dubbed the “Intractables.”
Over the years, he worked closely with Ethiopian and Eritrean ambassadors to the United States, as well as military leaders, to help ease tensions arising from the longstanding border dispute that began with the Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998-2000). Snyder extended his efforts as intermediary to Cyprus where a dispute existed between Greek Cypriots who desired unification with Greece and Turkish Cypriots who desired the right to self-determination. However, Snyder took a particular interest in the disputed territory of Western Sahara and the desire of its people to self-determination. Snyder met regularly with diplomats from Western Sahara, Algeria, and Morocco, ultimately becoming the “go-to” member of Congress for Ambassador Christopher Ross, who was then serving as the United Nation Secretary General’s Personal Envoy to Western Sahara. Snyder’s interests in these issues made him stand out among his congressional and diplomatic colleagues who, as several noted, considered Snyder an honest broker and one of a handful of experts on Western Sahara.
By promoting diplomatic relations, advancing international social justice, and acting as intermediary in geopolitical disputes, Congressman Snyder left an enduring impact on U.S. foreign affairs and in the global community.
For More Information:
Kaye Lundgren interview with Dr. Victor F. Snyder. June 3, 2022. Victor F. Snyder Congressional papers, UALR.MS.0180, UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas and Culture, Little Rock, AR.
“Royce, Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Call for former Liberian President Charles Taylor to Be Brought to Justice; Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Contacts Secretary Rice ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Liberian President-Elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.” U.S. Newswire, December 14, 2005.
U.S. Congress. House. Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services. Hearing: Provincial Reconstruction Teams—Historical and Current Perspectives on Doctrine and Strategy. 110th Cong., 1st sess., December 5, 2007.
About the Author:
Katie Hargis works for the Pulaski County Government as a Title VI/Grants Administrator. She previously served on Congressman Vic Snyder's congressional staff as Senior Legislative Assistant and travelled on numerous diplomatic trips.