"Mr. Pompeo lacks foreign policy experience, and Mr. Cotton has no deep ties to the intelligence community. But both are perceived as being close to Mr. Trump.." Well, then, both are qualified, right? This is the most chaotic, incompetent administration led by a lunatic. Will American survive Trump?????
3
Another depressing reality to the other incredible depressing realities of this administration. After the tax bill passes, I am not sure how to get the country back. The republican propaganda machine works so well on the uneducated and racist/fear mongers that I doubt that the republicans and their cult followers will ever wise up and the downward spiral will speed up. I want out.
3
Once again the Republicans are proving beyond any doubt that they are utterly incompetent at governing. They really do not have a clue, and their utter disdain for anything beyond military "solutions" guarantees they will never succeed at foreign affairs.
But, Dubya proved that long ago, ad everyone knows he and his administrations was one of the worst ever. Yet we seeing even worse incompetence now. Why do repubs get worse in every administration they install? And this may not be as bad as it gets!
2
Bad as Secretary Tillerson's tenure has been for the State Department and the Foreign Service, wait till the new Secretary, CIA Director Pompeo, arrives--When every US embassy and Consulate then becomes, in the eyes of the citizens of the host countries, the CIA fort/redoubt...like having a monitoring, sinister US garrison in the center of every city--even if it isn't, it will be viewed and treated that way--so long Foreign Service diplomats and diplomacy, US leadership in peaceful democratic institutions...
5
Makes you think running ExxonMobil may not really be all that hard.
2
The State has kept a team of experts on every country on earth. When there's a crisis in the Sahel, or strife in Papua New Guinea, there's a team who knows the country. Gut this and we'll be left with people who need to ask "What's Aleppo?" before deciding how to deal with Syria.
How do you think that will work out?
6
So much damage? Damage? The incompetent Trump dictatorship does not need a federal government-whatever he wants today is the "law" of the land. Tillerson is only doing what every Trump appointee is doing, destroying the country, both the federal government and the federal lands. Those voting for this destruction should be prosecuted for being the traitors that they are.
1
Trump is a selfish bully down to every cell in his body. He is unable to take an advise or an opinion -however factual -that goes against his instincts. 10 month short history shows no individual has been able to sustain Trump's good graces for long. Pompeo and Cotton too shall meet the same fate in matter of months.
1
Tillerson took a great State Department that played offense and turned it into an underfunded Department that plays defense. To win diplomatically, we need State to play both offense and defense.
With the seemingly endless growth of global threats. we need an energized, fully staffed State Department capable of maintaining and developing friendships now more than ever. Tillerson proposed and then approved a budget cut of over 30%. He deserves little sympathy from those who think he's getting a raw deal from the President as he's being walked to the exit doors.
1
If there is any equal to Tillerson's gutting the State Department, it is Pruitt, gutting, and basically eliminating, the Environmental Protection Agency. The very positions these "men" were stationed to uphold, they deliberately ruined.
Now, there's our tax dollars at work!! The word from the corner Office is; let's make the World safe for Big Oil, Fracking in our National Parks, and obscene profit for Defense Contractors.
May this ugly snowball of liars continue to roll downhill, gaining speed, until the entire lot of these creeps is buried in an avalanche of their own making.
1
The question before us is does America have the will to recover from the worst American presidency in history?
3
PUT A BULL IN A CHINA SHOP And watch the whole place get wrecked in seconds. Tillerson came in with a completely unrelated idea of cutting taxpayer expenses by reducing the size of the State Department, without any recognition of the fact that the department is essential to national defense. In that sense, the State Department is the non-militarized division of the armed services. But such distinctions and structures are of little or no interest to people whose power and ignorance are so extremely dangerous, as is the case with Tillerson and Trump. US citizens may not like it, but in the area of foreign policy, we're flying blind now. So many senior experts in international relations resigned in protest or retired that the department is probably a shadow of its former self. Developing relationships around the world and venues of communication is difficult, long-term work that, if a nation is to remain secure, must not be disrupted by changing administrations after elections. But we were afflicted with two ignoramuses. Now we're left to clean up the moldering wreck.
1
Rex is not an adman but he works for bad, mad men. Rex is no tyrannosaurus, more like a Dodo who most likely wanted to do some good. King Donald is really a jester misplaced by a fooled public and derailed electoral college.
2
Evidence is in: Trump is either a liar, or he is delusional. I vote for both. Now we can see that his team, including the GOP congress, are suffering from the same disease. Tillerson's goal and initiatives were mixed in that he was right about some things, but he began dismantling the State dept that was Trump's "I am the man" desire. He did not suck up enough to Trump to win his approval.
Trump should resign and take his 'swamp things' with him. But, that leaves us with Pence, Trump and McConnell. Our goal of Making American Sane Again, MASA, must begin with the 2017 mid terms.
Bernie, in the meantime, wants GOP Senators to stand up and "promise they will not sacrifice SS, Medicare and Medicaid to shore up the deficit". Fat chance. And, now we have Sen Collins sacrificing her saint hood to McConnell's promises not to attack these social mainstays. And, she denies that Trump is insane. Wow!
Shame that Prof Krugman's comments section was closed so quickly. He has pinned the corruption we are faced with now squarely on the GOP.
MASA!! Still can't get the look on Mrs Mnuchin's face when clutching their fresh off the press loot off my mind.
Getting rid of Tillerson is just another delaying tactic by a man (trump) who is the king of delaying tactics, avoiding blame, and destroying everything around it,which is really just another tactic in kicking the can down the road and avoiding blame. Tillerson is a meaningless sycophant,interested only in promoting oil drilling in russia, and Trump 'getting rid' of him has no policy meaning, just policy avoidance. The ultimate meaninglessness of all of Trumps actions have everything to do with covering over a criminal trail of money laundering and hiding truly evil people behind the smokescreen. There is n nothing in Tillerson that offends or delights Trump. Getting 'rid' of him is just a typical Trump tactic. Can't you see?
An Obama lackey, who claims he couldn't tell the political affiliation of State Dept lifers, decrying Tillerson's success at getting rid of the highly political State Department lifers? Seriously? That's the one accomplishment that Tillerson can point to. Guess no one will be sad to see Tillerson go.
2
So will Tillerson go back to his former job at Exxon, drilling for oil that the world is already awash in and buddying up to Putin?
2
The republican could always be defined domestically as someone who felt instinctively that somewhere someone else was trying to be happy, and being determined to put a stop to it. It now seems that internationally the same could be said. In the least, they now appear to be consistently abysmal at both facets of governing the nation, or perhaps they always were, and it is just that now they are unapologetic and painfully ineloquent about it.
1
A Democrat could thus be defined as someone who suspected that somewhere a person took money that she or he made and enjoyed themselves with it, or did things for their family. Collectivism demands that this money should have been handed to Democrats who would then buy votes with it.
Once the socialist-roader decides that his thievery is always in the public interest, EVENTUALLY nothing up to and including killing that person who made the money will seem to be going to far.
Progressivism ends with a Hitler, Stalin, or Mao calling ALL the sots.
Republicans want all the choices available to tyrants - freedom of thought, speech, a capitalist system for THEIR needs, peaceful assembly, you name it - be made available to every one of us.
If keeping Tillerson would prevent Tom Cotton, I say KEEP Tillerson. What a total mess. And such an irony. Yes, if only this depletion were to be a strategy for the Defense Department, reducing it by 30% in a modernization approach that would see the folly of new Carries and F35's, now outdated by the demands of modern warfare - which others are learning faster than we are - providing a treasure trove of savings that could be used to BOLSTER diplomacy abroad in the hotspots that clearly have no feasible "warfare" solution. No. Such irony. We choose the opposite. A travesty of leadership, much worse than any of the past 10 administrations. How is it that we, as a country, seem to have such a hard time doing "the possible" and spend so much time on trying to do the improbable or impossible? Irony indeed.
1
And who will acknowledge, document and enable a much needed dialogue by and between US, about the range of damages which each of US, have enabled? Contributed to? And continue to do so. Daily.As our writers "blame," the selected visible policy makers-elected as well as chosen people- for whom "personal responsibility" is little more than a string of letters or mantraed words.Alive, potent and well, in a daily, toxic WE-THEY culture which fosters the freedom, in our democracy, to select and construct the targeted THEM. Discriminating. Marginalizing. Excluding.Dehumanizing. Daily; documented or not!We have the privilige of reading this article. Considering its implications, meanings and consequences- or not. And then go on to the next article. Or not.What does, can, "damage control" mean when we enjoy the freedom of being complacent? Becoming coopted? Not seeing? Hearing? Feeling?Knowing? Understanding? Caring? Doing? Undoing?..."Did So Much Damage in...?"
If a state department official can be bought out for $25000, I have to question their ability to resist bribes from foreign countries. Does loyalty have such a bargain basement price??
1
America was always great. Trump puts himself first with his clueless kids because he can only trust family, although the only term of endearment ever heard is about Ivanka, The rest of us are to remain in steerage with the gates to a decent life locked. He is the Titanic of presidents with Congress busy fiddling on the deck, each secretly knowing where a lifeboat is stashed. So they hope.
All of his flunkies are just dragging us down There are no happy surprises here. Happy Holidays.
1
Good riddance!
2
Tillerson decimating deep-stafe State Department on Bannon, Trump, Putin orders.
1
Tillerson is just one of MANY disasters. He may be able to run a blood-thirsty oil company, but he really SUCKS at government. BUT... like I said, he is one bad pixel among many in this administration. I say it is time to return this FAILED merch.
One of many frustrating impacts of the Trump Administration has been the sad gutting of our State Dept. and how it impacts relationships around the world. I am sure there are some changes like with many administrations that would make sense. But as James Mattox (no dove) said... "if the state dept. funding gets cut I need more guns".
From Iran to China, other countries are working to fill the void left by the U.S. turning our backs and withdrawing aid, education, and support.
2
As bad as Tillerson might have been, I would still much rather have him than Pompeo.
At least Tillerson seems to be reasonable regarding Iran and North Korea.
I wonder whether Trump broke another record by now for turnovers in his administration...
4
I just want to remind the folks that if you are travelling in a foreign country and get your passport stolen or have other trouble your one hope is an American Embassy with a diplomat and staff in it. It's scary for business people and tourists abroad to realize that representative of your country may not be there.
6
Just how much should we be willing to spend to support that bureaucracy around the world?
2
Mr Tillerson favored diplomacy with North Korea- I suspect that is why he will be fired. Trump MUST BE STOPPED FROM STRIKING NORTH KOREA WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS. The results will be catastrophic- for the world. Pompeo will support the attack. It is the most serious moment the world has faced since the Cold War. Two madmen with nuclear arms are aching to assert their power. It is going to happen, UNLESS the Generals stop it. Pray they do.
4
Of course the world organizes itself. What an arrogant and patriarchal view: that the world is a helpless, chaotic mess without the US.
But why does Trump want to cut 30% from State? Where did he get that number? If he wants to accomplish anything abroad, how will this help? How will it help Americans abroad and expatriates in trouble? Certain diplomatic tasks simply need to be done--how will they get done? Is this just about money? If so, the current tax proposal will increase the deficit so much it'll negate any savings from cutting the state department.
Let's face it. He called the President an idiot and it got out...Not that he is wrong but he crossed the line and the country does not come first for the POTUS...only he does.
15
Tillerson was hand picked by Trump because of Tillersons connection with Putin and the oil industry. I’m no fan of Tillerson but to operate in that mad house after coming from Exxon must have been like a polar bear in the Congo.
AND you’ve gotta give it to Tillerson credit for nailing the nail in the head when he correctly described Trump as a moron.
14
Thanks in part to Exxon, Tillerson's former employer, and the industry's enablers in Congress, the polar bear's home may actually come to resemble the Congo in years to come.
1
An incompetent Sec of State in an incompetent administration. Trump likely chose him for his ties to Russia and Putin.
What might his farewell cake say? "Who's the moron now??"
11
Tillerson’s time reminds me of the Stalinist purges of the 1930’s, though the scope is vastly different. Stalin killed between 600,000 and 1.2 million people. But both men decapitated key institutions. When Hitler cam along as a threat, Stalin had no real leadership in the Army beyond apparatchiks and propagandists. Khrushchev got his start as a political officer in a unit on the front. The damage from right thinking and inexperienced replacements can last for generations and change the course of history. That’s why impeachment is an important option.
10
You are correct... Mr. Tillerson has done, hopefully, irreparable harm to a destructive, faceless, passive and bloated department wallowing in self service directed by Obama policies that endangers our safety and security.
Mr. Tillerson can leave and be proud, with the sure knowledge that he served the US and his commander and chief and more importantly his country
2
Putin puppet.
1
What a laugh..
1
Mis-served and done extensive damage, you mean.
We often hear Dems proudly say Trump has passed no legislation. Ah, but stories like this show Trump's power lies on the dark side. His racist agenda has been focused to undo all Obama ever done. Trump is a real estate man and understands demolition better than construction. Tillerson, what the heck were you even thinking taking this position? CEO is Exxon and you were treated like a wannbe, like Trump our wannbe president who will never rise to anything more than an anarchist.
6
NYT and some ultrasmart columnists have come to the point that they will criticize even God himself.
Rex Tillerson is the best man this cabinet has. Despite vehement pressure from Trump, he tried to implement the best decisions. Budget cuts were emphasized from White House and as a neophyte Rex had no way to defer.
So Rex Tillerson get 3 pages of criticism and one paragraph of praise.
Disgraceful judgement, dear columnist
3
Thanks for your input....not. tillerson is a buffoon.
CIA slime has long wanted to ooze into upper State Department positions -- even to postings as ambassador or DCM. I certainly hope Pompeo does not permit it, but I fear he will.
4
Tell me the author doesn't sound jilted. FYI it the voters or lack thereof that are allowing leadership to turn this into a third world nation. We are rapidly becoming a laughing stock. Hold your nose this just starts stinking more.
3
Tillerson did as directed by Trump - almost - now he’s out. This is what happens when you sell your soul to the devil. No sympathy from me!!
7
The person in the White House is doing the most damage by just being there. Because is is mentally unbalanced he cannot possibly understand how to be a President. He appoints equally incompetent people for jobs they aren't suited for. We are lacking ambassadors all over the world and those countries don't know who to call when and if needed. In just less then a year we have lost respect all over the world......what a mess that person has created. And, now WWIII on the horizon thanks to that maniac.
11
Tillerson is inexperienced and incompetent as Secretary of State, unable to counter Trump's stupidity in gutting the diplomatic corp to a skeletal remnant, ineffective and inefficient to modulate peace in the world, especially when our "ugly American" in chief keeps undermining Tillerson's efforts.
7
I'm having a flashback to Cotton writing that middle school level letter to the Ayotollah. Aside from just stupid, it was not very well written. So Harvard or not I would not say he is whip smart. Crafty, maybe. You would think that after a big time CEO career, Tillerson would have been smart enough not to get involved with this crowd. Apparently not.
12
Great.
Absent reason or diplomacy, I'm looking forward to WW III, whether in the form of nuke-stuff on the Korean peninsula or an Iran/Shiite/Saudi/Sunni conflagration in the Mid-east or eastern Europe devolving into tribe v. tribe or the Chinese flexing their muscles in SE Asia or Israel, emboldened by the Donald's love of "strength", figuring its own "strength" needs to be asserted or ....
Yep, beat 'em up, as whomever those "'ems" are, they certainly ain't us and the best way for us to "win" is to beat 'em up.
2
He gutted the state department because he owes Putin
5
Whoever accepted a job under trump don’t deserve my sympathy if they are crashed and burnt by trump. Tillerson called him a moron and had chance to resign but he did not.
Same with Kelly, a four star general losing respect from most by becoming trumps mouthpiece by lying and insulting war widows.
8
It is hard for us peons to really know what constitutes and effective dept of state. But it was sad to see a highly qualified man take the abuse he got from our pea-brained president. Oh well, he asked for it and should have realized it would be a no-win job. No doubt this is probably the first time in his entire career that he has been fired and that must be very tough for him. No doubt the pinch hitter will be a Trumpian who will follow his orders to a T. God help us.
3
Now now, NYT writers. We keep saying "it cannot get worse than this." Heck, I said it for 8 years during W's Presidency.
Guess what? It did get worse, much worse, in 2017 than anything W and the war-criminal Dick Cheney did. I almost wish they were back, since amoral adults are preferable to evil infants.
In short: it will get worse until a collapse. Wait for it.
4
That both Cotton and Pompeo are "close to Trump" says more than I need to know about them. How could anyone with a shred of integrity or sense be "close to Trump"? He is a walking dumpster fire and their careers and reputations will go up in smoke like everyone else associated with this sociopath.
5
Tillerson a great manager at Exxon?
https://www.google.com.co/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-africa-42168902
https://www.google.com.co/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN14A1RC
1
Remember, we may take all of this very seriously, but Trump is a 7th grade mean girl. He likes Pompeo and Cotton because they are pathological Hillary haters, and because Cotton penned that treasonous letter trying to up mess up Obama on the Iran deal. The enemies of his enemies are his friends. Until they aren't.
6
I have not thought of that description before "7th grade mean girl" but it fits him perfectly. Thanks for saying it!
The Trump wrecking ball must be stopped.
4
Blinken describes Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton as "whip smart." Really? Being rabid right-wing politicians,as both these men are, is incompatible with any sense of superior mental acuity.
6
Elections mean things.
Just as the most Left-leaning liberals were scalded by the Joe McCarthy era and the HUAC hearings/soap opera of the fifties, the progressive zealots are scalded today by:
the collapse of any hope for Trump to be somehow linked to an Enemy Other;
the collapse of progressivism's first line of advocates in the news media; the beginnings of trouble for the strongest donors for the Left in Hollywood;
and now, the disassembling of the secret Obama-Hillary brigades in the deep state, where the people's business comes last as protected bureaucrats play progressive politics, with Disease Site #1 being the State Dept.
The State Dept. was swollen with little fiefdoms filled with political advocates. The only thing worse is the little pocket of organized crimes called the CFPB, where the people's money is given away to people NEVER approved for federal monies.
Both of these last cancers are now being exposed, praise the Lord of Hosts. No wonder the group containing the Anti-Americans all weep tonight.
2
"Deeply partisan" as you call Pompeo and Cotton, is the opposite of "whip smart". "Deeply partisan" people may be clever but they are also dumber than tree stumps. Pulling Cotton out of the senate will work about as well as pulling Sessions out of the senate. He committed treason last year with his letter to the Ayatollah urging the leaders of Iran to sabotage the policy of our own government. What could possibly go wrong for our country as Pompeo and Cotton, who could pass for a very unfunny version of Laurel and Hardy, come to power?
5
Amen--deeply partisan is the opposite of whipsmart for anyone!!
Tillerson’s damage is nothing compared to what is to come from the next Secretary.
3
Who knew that making Jed Clampett the Head of the State Department was not going to work out so well?
1
Nonsense.
Rex Tillerson is not the duly elected United States Article II one and only President of the United States that we currently have. And Vladimir Putin is smirking and smiling with satisfaction at the damage done to America.
2
When the primary concern in dealing with other countries is, "hey, ya'll got any ahl", there could be a problem.
Anyone else heard the rumor that Tillerson and Mattis made a “suicide pact” so if one left (got fired) the other would leave too (resign in protest)? We need both the DoD and DoS to be strong and independent (of Trump’s impulses and know-nothing worldview) So what happens if they aren’t?
2
I have come to believe after seeing the last 10 months of the Trump presidency, that Trump and his cohorts in crime are all anarchists. Steve Bannon has had his way. Then you factor in the extremists running the GOP and it is a very sad state of affairs for the American people.
3
Another decision made that is solely loyal to his nibs. I guess they both answered the loyalty question in the affirmative, no knowledge of the department to which they are appointed. All anyone wants to do in DC is push this tax bill that is nothing but a personal vandetta against
Obama. There is barely a breath of statesmanship in the entire administration....just promises that they will be loyal to a deeply damaged person who holds the highest office in the Whitehouse. Every decision that of any consequence has been made by people who serve their own personal needs. What kind of democracy is this! It will take years if not decades to right this ship. Calling your state's representatives is a waste of time.
3
The author & I may have to argue the, "Whip smart" bit...but, I certainly DO agree that they are both* most DEFINITELY "Highly partisan ideologues"...and the "ideas" they are "logue-ing" are as old, tired & worn out, as the Drumpf himself. These two clowns are the absolute last type of person(s) we need within 100 yards of this roaring Trumpster fire.
* Pompeo & most especially, Cotton
4
Are the Trumpists worrying about impeachment over the New Year? Tillerson, Mnuchin, Mattis and Kelly (as DHS Sec) were the guys who were going to stay quiet and exercise the 25th Amendment if needed according to various news stories. Now as Chief of Staff, Kelly is partly out of the voting bloc, pushing Tillerson out will strengthen the Trumpists. Remember, conspiracies are all too real, just because some nuts come up with conspiracy theories does not mean conspiracies themselves do not exist.
Trump does seem to be more unhinged recently than in the past. If we were not freaking out over everything, such as Pocahontas references, we would notice he is facing a serious ICBM threat from North Korea and is responding instead by posting some fascist propaganda and quarreling with the PM of the UK. That is pretty nuts. Plus Mike Flynn is on the roaster now and who knows what he is saying to the Special Counsel. It makes sense that the inner circle will try to eliminate any threats to their power, at least until they devise and exit strategy.
If you look at it objectively, the last 10 months, the US government has been running like a corporation preparing itself for bankruptcy. Low-level executives who are hatchet men are being put in charge of agencies and departments, even the courts, and we are passing a tax plan that ultimately is going to bankrupt our government (as rates rise) and Stinky Zinke is putting up parts of our national heritage for sale. Something is up.
4
And to think we came soooo close to electing someone to the presidency that used a private email sever.
Phew!
5
Let me remind the Editorial Board and Mr Blinken that the Obama State Department was a disaster.They gave us ISIS ,millions of refugees from the Middle East destabilizing Europe,the Iran accord .Letting Hillary use private email etc.Way too many people working at State doing a lousy job,full of democratic operatives.
2
You think the phony war in Iraq had anything to do with that?
2
Ex here ,, and the UN .... trust me .... they don't need all the people. It's a bloated mess.
1
In Mr. Blinken's opinion Mr. Tillerson's greatest fault was following the WH request to cut his department by 30%.
Why is it wrong to accuse the Federal Government of being bloated? Why is it right for the Federal Government to increase the national debt to fund this bloatedness?
2
It is good and healthy to jettison the fat. But culling the State Department is like scooping out a big chunk of your brain. Where should I apply the scoop? And can you now wield your over-muscled body in defense appropriately or avoid an unnecessary conflict altogether?
What does this mess say about the vetting process that supposedly took place before all of these stooges were put in their cabinet positions?? Tillerson is just one of many that have come and will eventually go. The Senate, if it wanted to know, could have found out what his management style was like long before the man was confirmed. Trump didn't win a mandate...he barely slid in!! If he gets fired this will just increase how much of a joke the process will appear to be. And President Trump...well he has not a clue!!
1
Pompeo sat in on national security meetings with Flynn, knowing he may have been compromised and said nothing. His loyalties lie, not with the country but instead, with Trump! This could get ugly.
2
There once was a diplomatic chief
Whose tenure will certainly be brief
But who did hurt our cause
With his public faux pas
His leaving will bring welcome relief
1
Where did Mr. Blinken get the idea that Sen. Cotton is whip smart?
A former military officer with two degrees from Harvard, one in with a Constitutional Law specialty, Cotton was schooled by an Iranian diplomat on the U.S. Constitution.
Because a macho simpleton has been to the best schools, does not mean that his utterances are wise.
2
Another decision made that is solely loyal to his nibs. I guess they both answered the loyalty question in the affirmative, no knowledge of the department to which they are appointed. All anyone wants to do in DC is push this tax bill that is nothing but a personal vandetta against
Obama. There is barely a breath of statesmanship in the entire administration....just promises that they will be loyal to a deeply damaged person who holds the highest office in the country. Every decision that of any consequence has been made by people who serve their own personal needs. What kind of democracy is this! It will take years if not decades to right this ship. Calling your state's representatives is a waste of time.
1
Foggy Bottom has always had a reputation as being a bloated bureaucracy - both democrats and republicans have paid lip service to reigning it in but no one ever did. Tillerson's legacy may well be as the man who cleared out State's dead weight and forced it to come into the future.
2
Whatever money Tillerson saved at state by firing everyone was lost to the treasury when he sold his Exxon stock and didn’t have to pay any gains..ten fold
4
You have to give it to Trump, he even managed to alienate
Australia
The UK
Canada
1
"The people have had enough of experts," so said Brexit-proponent and British MP Michael Gove. Or, in the words of Issac Asimov, "the false notion that democracy means my ignorance is as good as your knowledge."
That spirit is really alive in the Trump Presidency. It is amateur hour, every hour. Why bother listening to the professionals who spent years serving Republican and Democratic presidents alike when you are bigly smart like Trump and Friends?
1
Just a reminder of how Trump started his foreign service...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-fires-us-a...
This is the foreign service that Tillerson had to start with.
Tillerson isn't POTUS. He takes orders from same. The (predictable) results can hardly be left on his shoulders.
“The world does not organize itself. In the absence of an engaged, diplomatically energized America, others will set the agenda, shape the rules and dominate international institutions — and probably not in ways that advance our interests or values. America’s ability to mobilize others in the pursuit of common objectives will atrophy. And a whole host of challenges that require coordinated, collective responses — epidemics that defy frontiers, hackers who breach firewalls, terrorists who form global networks, aggressors who ignore borders, rogue actors who amass intercontinental arsenals, and an ocean that rises and a planet that warms — will go unmet.”
This is the crux of it, with so many changes from DJT White House, programs (Medicare, Medicaid, SS, consumer and human protection agencies) were enlisted in response to various exploitative situations that FDR had experienced and were well documented (like in ‘the Jungle’).
Some of those institutions no doubt have become bureaucratic enough they are nearly hamstrung, certainly cost a lot of debt, but wiping out all government (save defense and federal prisons) will be telling.
I’m predicting truly third world conditions will be the result, especially for anyone not perceived as Aryan, but maybe I’m too pessimistic. And yet by many metrics we are already at or near the bottom of industrialized countries. We should prepare ourselves for living in dystopia.
I pray for the children that inherit this world.
1
His replacement will undoubtedly be worse. But Tillerson's qualification was to get rid of the sanctions on Paris as a quid pro quo for Donnie, and he couldn't do it. Not his fault, but Donnie doesn't care. They'll let Jared handle it now.
1
I'm sure the fact that both men are former Army Officers didn't hurt in the choosing process. Now our own Homer Simpson can continue to play with his own Army men and dream of being in a war he loves and get a free Purple Heart. How bananas in a banana republic? Generals and family soon we will be the Phillipines.
Who needs diplomacy when a few bombs and a military machine will take care of whatever it is? I believe that's it, in a nutshell. When you fancy yourself to be king of the world, who cares what other people think as long as they can be bullied?
How in god's name did we get ourselves into this nightmare? And when will we stop dithering about and remove this fake president?
1
A healthy system of government, gathers information, validates the the information and discusses the pro's and con's. The decisions that come out of a healthy government are compromises.
When your surround yourself with sycophants, there are no compromises.
the worst of all possible worlds.....gotta give it to trump. he has a lot of class; unfortunately, it's third class.
1
President Trump said he knew all the best people and yet his administration is constantly rearranging staff like deck chairs on the Titanic.
If Trump is the smartest of all, and his IQ is the highest in the whole government, and he knows how to handle the likes of Iran and N. Korea because he has dealt with really tough issues as real estate magnate and wrote a book about the Art of the Deal, and he is an amazing success, etc. etc. then what does he need the supposed expertise of the State Department for? and if Tillerson makes some recommendation that Trump knows better about, then what does he need the State Department for? They are just a bunch of freeloaders wasting the taxpayer's money. Hey! give that money to the rich as a tax breaks, oops, I meant to say a middle class-make America great tax overhaul.
Gutting government is all that this administration continues to do, they are devoid of ideas, they don't work for the people of America, and they have built up nothing.
Yes men. That's what Trump is looking for. No more, no less. And let's face it. Sooner or later one of our foreign embassies will face a terror threat or, perhaps violent protest from a Trump tweet. And the people in the embassy will call Washington for help and get "The office is currently closed. But if you leave a nessage, we will get back to you as soon as we can." People then get killed and Republicans will blame Hillary and demand an investigation and Trump will yell "Lick her up!" And the base will go wild. What's a few lives lost on the road to autocracy?
Our state department is larger than that of nearly all of our competitors, combined!!! What did this buy us. Nothing good. Our state departments meddles in elections worldwide - and we have the audacity of complaining about being paid in kind. Our state department starts fights throughout the world, that kills the children of the poor - because children of state department employees rarely join the military.
A 30% cut is in order. A 50% cut would be better. Use the money to provide better education in America.
3
Ironic Trump wants to save so much by downsizing and then have the American people spend the treasury on him: $1B for inheritance taxes and all the monies for his protection at his own golf properties. We aren't saving money with this Administration, just transferring money to Trump and his family.
My diagnosis is that Mr. Trump is a business/merchantilist first and a patriot/statesman second (or 7th). His base is totally fooled. The State Dept. budget is a wart on the Defense budget but has pound for pound more brain power than Harvard Princeton and Yale combined. He probably seems to want to change the direction of the ship of state to one direction, profits for his ilk. He has a huge ego and amazing hubris. Destroying the State Department has been part of the plan because the brains there are bigger than his, an intolerable situation. Bannon has articulated a disdain for the deep state and would like to dismantle and ?redesign the government. What Hubris! 55% of the people know this and 5% of Republicans in congress seem to know it. What do we do as citizens if we watch a Hubristic, egomaniac destroy the soul of our nation and denigrate expertise and intelligence? Seriously, what?
There are many ways in which Rex Tillerson is/was unsuited to head the State Department, but at least he seems to have tried to subscribe to the Churchillian idea that- “To jaw-jaw is better than to war-war.” Mike Pompeo on the other hand would seem ideologically ready to aid Trump in “unleashing the dogs of war” at the first occasion.
What I find surprising is that Tillerson seems upset that White House is not giving him the respect and defference usually afforded a SOS. Tillerson was given the directive to oversee the diminishment of the State Department which aligns with the current administrations opinion of it's importance. Why would Tillerson think that the head of department not deemed important by the White House would be treated any differently?
And one has to wonder, why would Pompeo think he would be treated any differently?
Rex Tillerson comes from a corporate world culture where profits are often raised by downsizing the labor force. He has applied his experience as CEO to the State Department to reduce expenses. Given his profound ignorance of how diplomacy works he is unable to tell who is and who is not essential. It goes to show that being CEO of a corporation does not prepare you to be an effective public servant, particularly in a field far removed from your experience.
This piece explains the how, not the why. Tillerson's decimation of State is likely revenge taken from having been rebuffed - when he was Exxon CEO - by State after attempts to get State to play the role of lackey to Exxon. His successor at State - whoever - will be more of the human garbage that Trump collects (in his political life, his business life, and his personal life).
1
Beware the naysayers as there’s opportunity in chaos. Take the exam and take your chances if selected. You may gain valuable experience and be advanced while others are whining. This is an awesome opportunity to get a job that years ago would have taken more seniority to reach.
1
No matter how much damage I think Trump and his associates have done, the damage is so much greater. We are on the edge of a precipice.
1
After attempting to destroy the environment at Exxon, tillerson destroyed the diplomacy Corp of the US. What will be his next job and what will he be destroying?
1
I fear that Mr. Blinken might be right. As atrocious as Rex Tillerson was as a leader and a manager, he acted as a check on the President's belligerent instincts and bizarre behavior toward the rest of the world. That check is on the way out the door and the replacement promises no improvement in leadership and management.
In a sense the entire matter became moot when we, in our infinite electoral wisdom, elected a mentally unstable mountebank as the President of the United States.
2
I spoke Spanish today for the first time in a long time. It was my major in college. People say having a second language is like having a second personality and I haven't embodied that personality since before Trump became president and I became engaged in politics. Now I can retreat to a side of me without outrage, a side that is still traveling in Spain, a side that is still impressed with countryside approaching and vanishing. Before I went to Spain, I only knew about people in books. They're were no soldiers in my Spain, no shopkeepers, no women who worked in delicatessens, no chefs, no priests besides San Manuel Bueno, a saintly athiest. My Spain did not have breezes, no hiking trails, only one lake, and one small town. When I traveled to Spain for a semester abroad, my Spain expanded. I fought my way into traffic to get to class. I met droves of drunk, aggressive young Spanish men. I met people from all over the world. I discovered that Spain had bedrooms, and showers. Still I never met any American presidents in the cathedrals or in the coffee shops and no one I talked to ever mentioned Donald Trump.
I've worked in accounting and other banal jobs since college. Nothing I want to do forever. But with the revival of my Spanish side and the pain of Donald Trump, I may go back and escape in Spanish novels.
1
So much for the value of putting businesspeople in charge of the government and running it like a business. It was always a terrible idea and in less than a year, its folly has been demonstrated over and over again, with the subtlety of a North Korean missile launch.
Tillerson goes; Pompeo may be worse.
Whether either is whip smart is unlikely and irrelevant.
Neither has the courage or wisdom to teach their President to over-ride his two-year-old ego. Neither has the experience to know what damage they're doing. Nor do they care.
All any of them knows is good sound bites, what feeds their insanely ideological view of the world, what reinforces their conviction that they alone know how to run things.
While Foggy Bottom burned, Trump was not only alienating every important trade and defense partner we have, but openly humiliating them. Lying to them, then lying again on Twitter, then defaming their people and their history.
Already allies have announced their intention to look elsewhere for security and trade. Already steadfast enemies have had repeated opportunities to take our spheres of influence and make them their own.
This debacle will take decades to undo. This debacle will cost us billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
This debacle has made us less safe in the world, and will make us less safe still.
One fine year we'll stumble onto a wise and well mannered President; he or she will not be able to fix this. We've shown clearly how far and how fast we run from our commitments, how evanescent are all our deepest promises, how worthless the word of an American can be. Who would trust us?
Trump ruined us for maybe a quarter of a century no matter what we do. And we've shown no sign that we plan to do anything.
1
When will the congress take action and remove the obviously incompetent and imbalanced President? Why won't they act? What horrible high crime and misdemeanor are they waiting for and what is the human price tag for it going to be?
2
Big bad Trump is going to bring decisiveness to diplomacy, using his wonderful brain, he will be consistently out witted by everybody because everybody but him has plenty of loyal and erudite people maintaining and building on intelligence about the real world. He's like the tough guy who walks into every punch is taken in by every distraction and ends every match bragging how he won despite having been beaten bloody.
1
Tillerson is a good man who made some rookie management errors while on a steep learning curve. His greatest difficulty was being cursed with the erratic and unserious person to whom he reported.
1
A corporate CEO does not become a Department Secretary of any worth without a great deal of forbearance. A department has many foci and many independent bosses. A congressman from the Midwest may out-rank a Secretary in this or that matter. The Secretary has a broad mission, across areas where he/she may have zero knowledge. The CEO of Exxon has a deep mission: oil and gas period. Tillerson took on the problems of the world and tried to stuff them into a singular bag, failed, and then fired all the snakes he could not corral. Now he is getting bagged. Inevitable.
Let the word go out, especially to the MBA crowd, that the specialist will fail in a generalist position and vice versa. An oilman cannot oversee a mass of sometimes conflicting diplomatic efforts. In a similar vein, a low-life real estate manager has no hope of managing the many requirements of a nation of diverse peoples. Two of a kind.
3
Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton are hard-right ideologues. Rex Tillerson was also, but to a point. But who is responsible for a "president" who eschews the advice of his Secretary of State?
Donald Trump probably hasn't the sense to understand that he has undercut not only his foreign policy initiative(s) but he has savaged painfully built-up, for the past sixty years, American credibility for the foreseeable future. Mr. Tillerson's destruction of the State Department was very much like a general sending an army to war without the resources to fight it.
Much can be said--or little, depending upon one's point of view--about the ignorance of the 45th "president," but this is much is clear: the 62-millions of Americans who voted him into the Oval Office saw only one side of the fetid coin: the white nationalist side, with the razor edge of white supremacy. They lacked the sophistication to imagine how a Trump administration would play in the larger world.
This devastating deconstruction of the Department of State has nothing to do with Russia; it has everything to do with the stinking floodwaters of gleeful incoherence that informs this administration. Mr. Tillerson could have served his country with distinction, but like Messrs. Pompeo and Cotton are set to do, he served his "president" with clueless disconnection.
Mr. Pompeo, a Tea Partier to his fingertips, and Senator Cotton, are both ill-equipped to take on the duties now about to be handed to them by a stupid, stupid man.
Blinken stopped thinken' it seems--must be the D.C. water. The only person wreaking havoc and damage is that plump lump known as Trump. I'd rather have Rex T. over T-Rex (Trump Rex.) At least one has hands that can reach into his pockets. T-Rex's have such small hands too--both dinosaurs as well.
You can't lead diplomacy like a professional business. That's the simple explanation of Tillerson's failure in his current post.
But the worse part in this question is the fact that Trump apparently needs adulators, people who adore him and are permanently clapping hands to make him feeling happy, or should I better say GREAT.
How does the travesty that is the Trump administration continue to function at all? And why don't more ethical legislators and voters take a stand and initiate concrete actions to right this ship of fools?
Trump wants a shooting war and really doesn't care whether it is with North Korea or with Iran. The compelling reason for the intentional infliction of such horror by this mentally-disturbed maniac is that it will presumably distract Americans from the accelerating Russian investigation. It appears that the hawkish Pompeo and Cotton might very well be ready to assist him in his twisted objective. Will Trump's in-house Generals fall into place with such a ghastly vision also?
This gentleman has the closest personal relationship of any US citizen to Putin. He was chosen out of nowhere, completely unqualified, to lead State. He proceeds to systematically destroy the US capacity to conduct and formulate foreign policy. As questions emerge, Trump considers removing him in an attempt to insulate himself from "collusion." Lots of unanswered questions. I hope Mueller is on the scent.
This is going on at many of our institutions. Trump is putting people in charge that either don’t know what they are doing and or don’t believe in the department they are running. The damage being inflicted by this president is going to be difficult to overcome.
Being "whip smart" is often linked to bad decision-making in Washington. And with President Trump taking pride in his ignorance, being smart can be seen as a threat.
But smartness doesn't matter for a more important reason -- the GOP agenda is to destroy the government's ability to conduct oversight, regulate, and enforce laws they don't like. Why? So their rich and powerful "friends" (paymasters) can run wild looting the country and abusing its citizens. The GOP has basically given up on the country as the Constitutional democracy we have known.
We, the American public, are only beginning to realize, yet in a very small way, the utter destruction of our diplomatic corps and the foreign service -- the institutions which guide the American ship of state through the rest of the world - which, by the way, mostly has no interest in American interests. The damage has been done, and we will founder for many years, if not decades, after this batch of renegades has left the field of government. This, more than any of the other destructive actions of the Trump regime, will be our legacy to endure for generations to come. Pitiful!
We live in nightmarish times: the State Department is being emptied of competent personnel while the Judiciary is being filled with incompetent ideologues, the wealthy are being showered with tax cuts while the working poor will lose their health insurance. It will take many years to undo the damage that Republicans have already done to America. It may be impossible to undo the damage they still have planned for us. You can rest assured that Medicare and Social Security are next on the chopping block.
Tillerson is a businessman and has acted like one--a turnaround guy. He has been the Chainsaw Al Dunlop of diplomacy.
He fired a bunch of people without really knowing what they did, but declared, without any basis, that service would be better and more efficient. This demoralized the rest of the team, many of whom simply chose to retire, thus depleting even more talent. He withdrew authority from people to make decisions, which slowed down all decision-making and paralyzed the agency. And he has no coherent strategy or direction, other than massively cutting cost.
If his goal was simply to cut cost, he achieved it. If the goal was to maintain or create a better performing State Department with a great reputation around the world, Rex Tillerson was a humongous, miserable failure.
1
I don't know where we begin as a country when this is all over.
Let's set aside, for this discussion, all the red lines that Congress has allowed to be crossed by our President. Where are the checks and balances for cabinet members...one would think the President. But as we all know, he doesn't know what he doesn't know.
What he thinks he knows is that Tillerson hasn't been loyal, but what is more damaging is that Tillerson hasn't been a competent administrator or strategist or any of the things that would qualify him as a mediocre Secretary of State. He's running the State Department like a private equity firm, slashing expenses, headcount, morale, institutional knowledge.
Prior Congresses have had a failure of imagination...they could never have imagined that this would come to pass and therefore, have not written into our Constitution a way to show a destructive cabinet member the door without the involvement of the President.
God help us.
14
This is a critical time for the world with Nth Korea at the forefront of US problems.
The US administration cannot afford to be depleted or be seen to be dis-coordinated as it has been from the start.
Sure, Trump was not a born politician but he needs a tight crew of thinkers who are on the same page at the moment and firing so many of the staff by Tillerson meant a great loss of political operation and knowledge.
Rex should go back to oil as it is a completely different world to the White House if his skills are not appreciated there. The decision is up to Trump to get things right and co-ordinated now before Nth Korea develop a warhead that can hit anywhere in the world.
Only one country united with others can stop this apart from China and that is the USA. No matter what we think of Trump he needs all the help he can get.
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand
1 December, 2017.
2
"The exodus of senior and rising Foreign Service officers will debilitate American diplomacy for a generation."
What a bold assertion. Name me three examples where a reduced State Department force has negatively affected anything consequential. Name me a single example.
Silence.
It sure has saved us tens of millions in bloated government salaries though.
3
This post underlines why we anti-Trump voters fail so often in restraining ourselves from questioning the ignorance and folly of Trump voters.
It is counterproductive, divisive and unsympathetic to do so, but the fact is, the ignorance of Mr. Trump and so many of his supporters about government and the value of much of what it does is mindboggling.
Not to mention this nonsense about "bloated" government salaries.
1
You'll never know the successes of the State Department, because it usually means a crisis was averted, and therefore never made the news. What a reduced diplomatic capacity leaves us with is a less effective soft-power arsenal with which to avoid conflict. State's successes are rarely noted, because they result in events that *don't* happen.
2
I cannot name one example. Therefore, obviously, we should shut down the whole department. Close every embassy. Let the TSA issue passports. The fact that you and I both can't see any actual evidence of any actuator kid proof positive those lazy bureaucrats are useless.
Or, maybe, people closer to the State Department are in a better position to know how many people and what kinds of expertise are needed. Conventionally, if a department is out of whack, congress holds hearings to get expert advice. Without informed opinion, how can anyone look at a budget and say, gee, that's 30% too much?
By weakening American diplomacy, Trump strengthens his Russian handlers. As the rule of law is undermined around the world, there is more opportunity for moneyed mischief. Money laundering, corrupt inside deals. Also wars, because war is always profitable if you're not in it. Wars are, like, a huge insatiable market.
Your tens of millions in diplomatic salaries is an exaggeration. But it's pennies next to what's really going on. We may never know the breadth and depth of the corruption.
1
Rex Tillerson was the beating heart of the Oil Industry and thereby a poor choice as S.O.S. unless as in such Administrations as the two Bush’s their major interest paralleled the POTUS’s. But such is the way staffs are chosen inside the Beltway. Who was Hillary Clinton beholding to, many options open but all the inner circle of the Washington power brokers, the most frightening perhaps those who earned her the title of Hawk. Pompeo comes next -- the Security Apparatus --Military -- but they too have been around for a while. Trump, unlike Kennedy, will not turn to the Universities.
(? Can one mention Clinton and be published?)
In actual foreign policy position Sec'y Tillerson hasn't been that far removed from a reasonable approach. I believe absolutely on a personal level he has always been the wrong man for the job. May (or may not as history will prove) have been a good corporate leader, but clearly has not even the most basic conception of the importance of the agency to which he was named head.
1
Rex Tillerson doesn't have the administrative and institutional longevity to have the backing to stand his ground. Trump bulldozes all of Tillerson's "moderating" influence, just as he has with the previous "moderating influences." That's what happens when you give an ungovernable narcissist the power of Big Man government.
Everybody with the institutional knowledge to work around the failure to transition has either been driven out, or is trying to stay as sub rosa as possible just in case they are needed in even worse scenarios. Not-governing and consolidating wealth is an interesting republican donor-class strategy, seems very "Mask of the Red Death" to me.
I think Tillerson continues to be deeply underrated. We are used to Secretaries of State who use the post for self-aggrandizement, whether to further an ultimate ambition (Hillary) or to preen after a long career (Kerry). Tillerson truly doesn't care what the media thinks - he views his job as quiet diplomacy in the classic sense, brokering conversations and smoothing the rougher edges of the administration. Maybe his relationship with the president has deteriorated to the point that he can no longer serve. If so, that's all of our loss, and another managerial blunder on the administration's part.
And another thing - when someone like Tillerson, who successfully led arguably the world's most successful corporation, comes away saying that the State Department is bloated and dysfunctionally bureaucratic, lets not be so quick to dismiss him because we don't like his boss's political leanings. I know dozens of foreign service officers myself - unlike Mr Blinken, I can tell you where each of them falls on the political spectrum. The department attracts people with, on the whole, a deep aversion to America first policies. Who else would sign up for a lifetime of living in the furthest reaches of the world for civil servant pay? That's fine, but when an executive agency can't or won't support the policymaker, the best option might very well be to cull and reorganize.
1
Corporate organizing and institutional organizing (especially in public service) are wildly different strategically, tactically, and in inception. Extolling the virtue of money as the ultimate scorecard for all ability in a "pro-life, Christian values" political sect is garbled both logically and ideologically. It's not credible.
The ineffectiveness of Tillerson's good ideas (there are some, probably) may stem from the guy's utter inexperience in public service.
He's an outsider in a for-profit world, catapulted to the head of a service-based organization, trying to stay alive in the face of persecution by a crooked powerful guy...and he doesn't understand the people he's trying to get to help him.
That's the plot of "Sister Act," not an effective model for leadership. One thing you can say about Tillerson, Whoopi Goldberg he ain't.
I think Secretary Tillerson was implementing the President's policy for the State Department and is the sacrificial lamb. I am sure he will be glad to go. He should have quit months ago after being undermined continuously by his boss.
Many CEOs run their businesses as dictatorships and cannot fathom how to work in a democratic-type government.
3
The bar has gotten so low that it has become possible to actually complement Tillerson for tying to rein in 46.
If that’s his high point I fear for the world with the new incoming head of the state Department..
3
Tillerson has been a mixed bag. He lacked foreign policy experience and was in office to carry out Trump's gutting of the State Department. Yet he was in denial about his role, and compared to Trump (admittedly a low bar) Tillerson has had better understanding of several international issues.
Now he will be replaced by Pompeo, one of the tea partiers who were the brains between the Kansas political-economic miracle.I reviewed Pompeo on wikipedia. On several matters relevant to his job he can be compared to Trump.
1
The irony. Rex is getting fired for the good stuff he's done, such as balanced and mature approaches to foreign regimes, rather than the systamatic destruction of talent at the State Department which will last decades.
I have read the columns and opinions that claim reducing the cadre of senior state department officers.
But I have failed to find anything that these "leaders" actually do.
Can anyone state with specificity what they actually do?
1
Blinken describes a great country unilaterally discarding its principal source of expertise in world affairs. It sounds like a Stalinist purge, but of course wrapped in the more soothing language of efficiencies and re-organization.
On the other hand, US foreign policy has not always been benign or enlightened. US policy toward Latin America and much of the global south was often imperious, misguided, interventionist and prone to coddle dictators. I remember the US Ambassador to the UN under Reagan, Dr. Jeanne Kirkpatrick, who wrote an article "Dictatorships and Double Standards" justifying US support for authoritarian regimes. She argued that this was the best way to promote democracy.
There were a few notable feints toward change under Obama. The overdue opening to Cuba was one of them as was the Iran deal. The insistence on nuclear non-proliferation was another.
As the US abandons its global leadership role under the bellicose and rudderless foreign policy of Trump, the world will move on. In the long run, a new generation will emerge from the nation's universities, thinktanks, NGOs and congressional staffs. The world will become more multipolar, and the post-World War II architecture, dominated by the US, will be a historical relic.
Hopefully a new US president and a reinvigorated State Department could finally steer the US towards a less imperial foreign policy. If that were to happen -and we somehow survive the reckless Trump years-- we will all be better off.
3
Remember it was very clear that this group wanted to shrink government. They want less and less government and therefore more control by a very few. Firing, not hiring, cutting budgets is the classic way to shrink any organization.
Next , transfer money from one undeserving group (takers) to another deserving groups (makers). Payroll taxes paid 10% of federal revenue 1980 ,now pays 35%. Corps paid 35% now pay 10%.
Let the dogs out-stop regulations.
This was the plan and we were all warned.
1
Anyone in the energy business in Texas is not suprised by the way Rex ran the State Department. Under Tillerson, Exxon Mobil has cultivated an extreme amount of secrecy, along with an attitude that Exxon knows best. While other oil majors occasionally cooperate, Exxon never does. And Tillerson spent years and years in the company's Irving HQ ( with a staff of less than 200) while the vast majority of his employees lived and worked in Houston, and rarely interacted with them.
1
Thank you Antony for sharing your views (you've come a long way since we played tennis on the courts of Vincennes). Nothing I have observed in Rex's tenure as Secretary of State suggests that he ever had any interest in foreign policy. While he was certainly a calming force and a welcome foil to our mentally ill president, his first 100 days suggested that he totally misunderstood the job he was engaged to perform. Conducting himself through the lens of corporate re-engineering and cost restructuring, he appeared unable to focus on the strategic international issues that impact this country, namely North Korea, the Middle East, Russia, global warming, global terrorism and global trade. Given his career, I would never have expected him to so misdiagnose a situation and only focus on the areas he felt comfortable with. Indeed, he should never have accepted the position. My only hope is that Rex will redeem himself by informing the country of the truth about his boss and his boss's administration. Please come forward and tell all as fast as possible. It is your responsibility to do so.
4
I don't think Trump gets that the State Department and its mission is different from the Department of Defense. We need both of these institutions and personnel.
In his letter to Trump as the outgoing president, Obama wrote to protect "those democratic institutions and traditions – like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties – that our forebears fought and bled for”.
It's like Trump has used this advice as a reverse to-do list.
State Dept.? Check.
1
Diplomacy is always undervalued because diplomatic solutions take time and we're not a patient people. Military engagement is viewed as a much more satisfactory solution because military action is immediate and obvious. But we always forget that our diplomats build bridges that tend to be more lasting then useless wars and they save lives.
Tillerson is a businessman and like all businessmen he is focused on efficiency. I may not like the cuts he's making but I understand the mindset. Government isn't about the bottom line, it's about the interests of the country and career diplomats are the foot soldiers who negotiate on our behalf. Tillerson doesn't understand or value this reality.
But I worry about what's going to happen when a career hawk who supports waterboarding is in charge of our state department. I expect we'll see even more talent leave the state department when they find themselves reporting to someone with that mindset.
Since 9/11 we have become focused on viewing the world as a threat. In the meantime China has been on a literal building spree. Their soft power is going to make them a more reliable ally than us going forward. By the time we wake up and pay attention to the changing world we won't have any foot soldiers left to advance our interests. We're going to end up like the British empire after WWII and no one will understand why.
2
There is no doubt that Pompeo and Cotton will suffer the same fate as Tillerson. I predict their rise and fall will be faster, and more furious. Their power will infuriate him, and they will need to appear even more placid than usual.
1
Rex Tillerson was the beating heart of the Oil Industry and thereby a poor choice as S.O.S. unless as in such Administrations as the two Bush’s their major interest paralleled the POTUS’s.
But such is the way staffs are chosen inside the Beltway. Who was Hillary Clinton beholding to, many options open but all the inner circle of the Washington power brokers, the most frightening perhaps those who earned her the title of Hawk. Pompeo comes next -- the Security Apparatus -- but they too have been around for a while.
Trump, unlike Kennedy, will not turn to the Universities.
I can only hope the damage Tillerson and Trump have done to American diplomacy can be mended. Though I doubt anyone any better will replace him, I like the idea of his departure shining a light on the great harm he has done to loyal members of our foreign service.
1
Why do we even have a Sect'y of State? On any critical question of foreign affairs the President makes all the important decisions. The Sect'y of State fetches the coffee. State must be the least powerful of all cabinet positions, precisely because all modern Presidents pay State's role the most personal attention. Does any foreign government meet with the US Sect'y of State without checking in firstly with what the President has been signalling, and secondly with what Congress has been signalling? Recall that the Russian ambassador was busy courting Jeff Sessions while Sessions was still in the Senate. As John Nance Garner might have put it "The job of Secretary of State isn't worth a bucket of warm spit." Or words to that effect. The Secretary is a detail man when he's abroad and a policy salesman here at home. Make the Consular service a ministerial bureaucracy under Homeland Security and be done with it.
And all those Yale & Princeton "walruses" can go out looking for honest jobs. I hear In-and-Out Burger is hiring.
1
The sad fact is that Tillerson, who is temperamentally unsuited to the job of Secretary of State and who imposed a management philosophy that was very destructive of the institution, has mainstream and rather sensible ideas about US foreign relations and was one of the rare 'adults' that limited the damage of Trump's very bad judgment and even worse state of knowledge about the world. The people who Trump may replace him with are dangerous ideologues who will do the US irreparable harm if given the chance.
1
Karma is funny. There may be a day when Rex is traveling abroad with his $300 million payout from Exxon (by the way, let Rex leave before Jan 20, 2018 so that he can be taxed on it) and he runs into a "small" problem. You know, nothing that the local embassy consular officer can't fix, and then he will encounter a wall. Not because the local friendly faced American officer does not want to help but simply because there may be no officer in place to help him.
Of course, Rex may argue that he's rich so rules don't apply to him. Fair enough, that's what his boss has set out to do so it is a very likely scenario. But he can't guarantee the same for his kids, grand-kids, great grand kids, etc. And then he may just remember how a measly billion may have been able to change the fortunes for the average Americans who don't have $300 million to protect them.
Either way, Rex has been a disaster.
2
This appears to me to be a two-step process. Chase out as many career diplomats as possible first; then bring someone else in who will hire a bunch of Trump "visionaries" and supplicants as replacements, but still reduce the overall impact of the State Department in World Affairs. Tillerson can then be used as a scapegoat for anything "bad" that happens going forward.
After reading about Pompeo and Cotton, I can only conclude that if what we have now is the beginning of the end, once they are installed, it will be the end of the end. The last 10 months have proven that our democratic framework is insufficient to handle rank ineptitude in the upper reaches of the government. Why would we think it will work when extremism is added to the mix.
It seems that Tillerson comes from the same egotistical, "I can do everything myself" mold as Trump, with the difference that Tillerson has sufficient reasoning skills to make some worthwhile calls. Of course, with Trump having all of the ego but none of the acumen, those recommendations were doomed. In any case, nobody can run such a vast and complex organization without knowing how to make the most of a wide and deep bench. President Obama had the knack in the White House; Hillary Clinton has it too. Tillerson is smart but not a good manager. Trump... well, that's been covered already.
Given what we now know about Tillerson, I wonder if ExxonMobil basically runs itself.
Now, about that jaw-dropping 60% loss of career officers: Once the Democrats have rescued the Executive Branch, is there any way to get some of those State Department professionals to come back?
1
Mr. Tillerson was a good CEO at Exxon which allowed him to be an isolated long term planner of oil resources but unfortunately that did not translate into the people business of diplomacy. He did contribute an element of responsibility and voice of reason well documented in the article.
His moment of clarity and downfall will be remembered by all for its succinct prose.
Unfortunately The Emperor/President has no clothes and eventually the country will have to suffer thru alienation of our allies, downfall of our influence as the huge debt becomes unhinged and we isolate ourselves and allowing lesser powers fill the void. We will be replaced by countries with no rule of Law such as the Chinese, Russians and the Iranian axis of evil.
Tillerson was doomed to failure by a President unable to relinquish/delegate power due an enormous misplaced ego
. The question remains "Is the Democratic Party capable of moving to the middle, throwing off the shackles of the Clinton/Pelosi doctrine which has offended most middle of the road Americans?
1
The president has a track record of publicly embarrassing and diminishing his Cabinet members and aides and it's only a matter of time before Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton feel the lash of presidential disdain. These men may know how to flatter and encourage the president but loyal he is not. He'll stop at nothing to show Pompeo and Cotton who's boss, even it means taking them to the woodshed publicly.
Cotton should think twice about serving the president as CIA director. Jeff Sessions gave up a safe Senate seat to join the president's Cabinet, only to be subjected to presidential scorn and ridicule all summer. Ask Sessions if he's having second thoughts about being AG now. And the president's disdain for the US intelligence community is well known and that alone should give Cotton pause about serving this president.
Don't blame Tillerson. The US State Department is filled with rot.
As a foreigner, I have come to this conclusion that the US state dept is probably the weakest link of the US Government.
The state dept has an underlying faith in the power of US money and US military to resolve any problem, if all else fails. Therefore US diplomats approach any issue with overconfidence. They don't feel it important to study the history and culture of anyone beyond the pond. US diplomats are shallow.
In comparison, British and the French diplomats in particular have always banked upon their specialists, usually just one guy, who knows about the target nation more than the natives. Scholarship is the key.
2
Wow, reading such a vivid account of institutional atrophy in Washington made me want to yak. Thank you?
If is this bad at the State Department, one can only imagine life at Ben Carson's HUD, with Rick Perry at the DoE, under Betsy DeVos at the Dept. of Education. :( I've heard first-tales of despondency at the Department of the Interior--Ryan Zinke harbors such disdain for that organization's mission, I shudder to think of the long-term effects his tenure will have.
I think it would be of great service if the Times dedicated some higher-profile reporting to what's happening to more of these less-sexy but super-important federal institutions. They are what makes, or made, this country great. (Not at all an allusion to MAGA, btw.) I fear for the US Census Bureau, for example--its story needs to be told out loud, louder than the newest presidential tweet.
"...And to all, a good night".
(Be sure to enjoy it. It might be a while before we see daylight.)
1
One thing Mr. Blinken left out of his calculus of the effect of Pompeo and Cotton appointments. Both are neocon Crusaders in the worst sense of the word and blindly zealous, imbalanced and rote defenders of Fortress Likud, and will destroy whatever credibility the US has in the world - already meager - to be an honest broker internationally. They will be the resurrection of the disastrous neocon control of US foreign policy we experienced in the early 2000's, just as we've seen the disastrous resurrection of the Reagan Restoration on the domestic front.
Prepare for more inequality, unrest and poverty at home, more terrorism in the world and likely here, and possibly a nuclear exchange with Kim. All due to blind Exceptional American hubris, irrational fear, and greed. Above all, fear and greed.
Mr. Franklin, I'm afraid we were unable to keep our representative republic going. Better luck next time.
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The cyclone of chaos that is this administration continues unabated, without any checks and balances from the senate and house, (which consist of a sufficiently high proportion of sycophants, and opportunists to guarantee lack of any imposition of constraint).
Like climate change, we have already zoomed past the point of irreversible damage to our global reputation, and will be left in the dust by those who will take advantage of our weakened moral, technical, and strategic leadership.
I don't know which direction the arrow will trend in Tillerson's exit (forced or otherwise), but considering who's skippering this scow, it won't be in the correct direction.
Both Cotton and Pompeo voted "no" on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, and, of course, both have voting records demonstrating their hatred of gays, but love of guns. So their 'values' are more in step with Trump.
The main problem with Tillerson is that he did not want to rush headlong into a war with North Korea. Trump was livid. Pompeo will not be so timid about the nuclear option.
Trump and Pompeo are the right combo to motivate Americans to get out their shovels and dig their basements a few feet deeper. You can time the missile launches almost to the hour, based upon when word gets out the Mueller is about to directly indict Trump for treason.
And don't forget to stock up on bottled water and canned food to help get through the nuclear winter. And remember to take some old-fashioned board games down as a diversion for the kids. Also flashlights.
1
Well said Jonathan!!
Unfortunately, the damage Tillerson has done to our nation is only an appetizer in the feast of incompetence being served to America right now by the businessmen who now run our country.
The current president is, of course, not a very good one, but even the likes of very competent businessmen, such as the Koch brothers and other right-wing donors, who are running the Republican halls of congress, are not capable of successfully managing so complex an organization as the U.S. government.
Even the brilliant Michael Bloomberg had difficulty with the transition to politics- trying to manage NYC like a CEO and being frustrated by the complicated and messy structure of democracy.
Successful businessmen that enter politics tend to want to be kings and treat the electorate like a nuisance interfering with their grand visions. What is especially scary is that, in the case of the Republican donor base, this vision is an unworkable fantasy of a capitalistic aristocracy that would ultimately destroy our country.
In the end all that matters is that, “...Both are...ideological — and deeply partisan. Both encourage, and flatter, Mr. Trump’s instincts”. This is the new path to success for those seeking power and the likely path to destruction for what many of us believed was less tha perfect but functioning government
.
The voices counseling caution and warning against a repeat of the neocons disastrous hawkishness of the early 2000s will all be gone or ignored. A repeat, perhaps on an even grander scale, of our military misadventures now seem more likely. Historical Perspective is in disfavor. In foreign policy history is the only solid foundation for future actions. It is hard to imagine pining for the good old days pre “Rexit” but it appears that soon we will. The real question that remains is how great a price in blood, treasure and national reputation this will cost us.
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Secretary Tillerson was and is the right choice to try to make the Department of State more efficient, effective and operate within a reasonable budget. The State Department needs to be more accountable and it is WAY to big. There is no evidence that more civil service workers or political appointees make for better policy or execution of policy. The nation would be better served if Mr. Tillerson would make the additional personal sacrifice and continue his efforts for at least another year!
3
Did you read the same article I just did? Tillerson, like Trump, had no experience in Government. Neither man understood our Constitution going in to the job. Probably never even read it. The results are in and they are catastrophic for our Democracy. Next time, can we all vote for candidates who have experience in governing rather than simply running a business?
If it's way too big, what would be the right size? Actually, how big is it?
You don't know, do you? You certainly do show any evidence of knowing. You're just cocksure it's way too big because, well, all bureaucracies are, right?
Diplomacy avoids war. It's way cheaper than war. For evidence, since you say there is none, see Iraq. Also, see Iran. The Iran deal took diplomacy, and it's way cheaper than an invasion.
The problem for the American public is that because diplomacy is done quietly, we don't see it. We don't know how much is done in our interest, where, by whom, as the State Department does its job.
This for sure: we're much better off with too many diplomats than too many soldiers.
But wasn't his job to destroy the State Department?
3
It's no surprise. Trump told Rex to "do what you do best" and so he did. Cut costs and boost profits. But there are no profits to be earned by this wholesale depletion of invaluable talent. I think we've seen enough to know that Business School is no place to search for leadership in national, international affairs.
13
The problem that Tillerson had is that he is another CEO type that thought he could institute a change management program. If you look at how he shaped Exxon, he did an excellent job. The problem with the State Department is that its mission can't be measured in dollars and cents. Metrics are not always clear.
Also, as CEO of Exxon, which is notoriously averse to publicity, he got to steer the ship, while trusting people he had worked with for 30 years to do the day-to-day management of the business units. As SoS he had to do a lot of highly-public work himself (e.g., North Korea), while surrounded by people he didn't know.
We will never know if his strategy would make for a better diplomatic corps, because with a 10 month time line, any leader will tell you that meaningful change is impossible.
9
No mention here of the Russian influence. I can't help suspecting that Tillerson, as Putin-friendly as Trump, is part of the Russian effort to cause confusion and chaos in our country, weakening American influence and aiming cyber arrows at our government. It's a bitter irony that the Republicans, so noisy about their patriotism and religion, prefer to ignore the Russian shadow because, so far, they're benefiting from it.
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Great point
You mean, Republicans THINK they are benefiting. Watch, and wait! Flynn has been flipped, and Tillerson, publicly humiliated, has little reason to remain "loyal". I wouldn't bet on Sessions, either--bet he would like his safe Senate seat back.
"Both are whip smart, ideological — and deeply partisan. Both encourage, and flatter, Mr. Trump’s instincts. Mr. Pompeo lacks foreign policy experience, and Mr. Cotton has no deep ties to the intelligence community. But both are perceived as being close to Mr. Trump, so they will at least be taken seriously by their bureaucracies and their foreign counterparts."
Just what we need: first the diplomatic corps is decimated, then two ideologues and political junkies join the nation's worst president ever to continue turning the world upside down, starting wars, and making sure the US recedes on the world stage.
First Tillerson, then Pompeo/Cotton: the incredibly shrinking foreign policy gurus, where patrimony is depleted faster than Trump can shout MAGA.
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Mr. Tillerson is yet another reminder that you can be succesful in business, but that does not always translate to other areas, like the ability to govern and/or compromise . He is much like his boss in that regard.
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Tillerson also utterly failed to translate his business experience into useful management at the State Dept. As a CEO, you need a vision statement that your people can buy into. You may need to make sweeping changes to a company when you take over, but you generally listen to the people who are there and don't wholesale destroy the entire leadership structure. If you do, you have a transition leadership team ready to go and in place almost immediately.
Tillerson did none of this. How did he get successful in business without knowing the basics of large organization leadership?
1
>>He is much like his boss in that regard.
But not so stupid. Or crazy. Or . . .
I see neither Tillerson nor Trump as 'successful in business' . They are both scheming lying manipulators in a cash cow inheritance - Exxon has been making money destroying the environment and denying climate change for forty years. Is that successful or criminal? It is their criminality that does not translate to State, not success in anything!.
I actually thought Rex was great on Father Knows Best. That was him, wasn't it?
31
There is another side to this story. Many of us that have lived abroad for many years in various countries, have had to deal with local consular and/or embassy staff for purposes of everything to notarization of documents to renewing a passport among other things. We've also typically known many embassy or consular staffers. We can tell you that there's a HUGE amount of fat in the State Department and Mr. Tillerson was absolutely right to take a look at the unfortunate bloat in so many parts of organization and seek to put it more aright and rational. I have known many staffers in my more than thirty years living abroad as an expatriate American, and although I shall always be grateful for the strength that the State Depart represented to those of us living outside the country, that is not to say that there was no inefficiency or waste. I can recall embassies having their own full-blown PX type grocery stores on site at the embassy lest staffers need items like a box of Cheerios when the local grocery store two blocks away was MORE than adequate to suit the needs of American families living abroad. Many of the staffers in the State Department would routinely tell me how bored they were in their jobs and how little they put into them -- that to me -- spoke to much of what Mr. Tillerson encountered as he took over the head job and as a corporate executive, he felt it important to trim things down. The State Department needed trimming. It was fat indeed.
24
I don't know if you've tried to book an appointment at an embassy or consulate since 9/11, or to visit, where you are routinely turned away in the absence of a scheduled appointment, but staff cuts have made it all but impossible to see an official in less than 2 months' time. There is no longer a 24 hr emergency line for tourists. The IRA offices closed 2 decades ago. Appointments now have to be scheduled between 9-11 am, necessitating an overnight trip to those of use who do not live in capital or major regional cities. And the PX? If soldiers are entitled, why not diplomatic staff, whose efforts help keep soldiers out of harm's way?
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As someone who is currently posted at a US embassy, I would like to mention that no, these PX type grocery stores on site are not funded by the State Department. They are co-ops where members have to pay annual dues, and we pay higher prices in order to have these things shipped. The store is independently run and does not receive any financial support from the embassy. However, I agree that State is in need of trimming, but it was done in the wrong way. Locking yourself into your office, not filling senior-level cabinet positions, and contributing to the undermining of democracy are NOT the right things to do.
18
I'll bet you were glad they were there when you needed them though, right? And would have complained if they weren't. The larger point of the article is that through the degradation of high-ranking officials, Russia, China, Iran, and others will set the international agenda, and they don't share our interests.
3
I’ve been coming around, ever so slowly, to a different view of Rex Tillerson as SecState. It’s been a painful process.
I initially thought Tillerson would bring next-level skills, gravitas and unique contacts to a job that sorely needed them, particularly in a cabinet that clearly lacked these assets. But for ten months he’s basically re-engineered the State Dept., a task that whether needful or not should have been delegated to a subordinate and a team of consultants while he struck out to create foreign relationships that better managed the global instabilities that appeared and intensified over the eight years preceding Trump. In particular, I’d hoped that he would provide inspired leadership in creating interdependencies with potential adversaries, notably Russia and China, that would make the actions they take to harm us too costly to them.
Instead, he’s focused on making State more “efficient”, as if it were an underperforming ExxonMobil division. I could have done what he’s done at State (although I don’t consider what he’s done to be at all a priority). But I don’t possess the contacts, the initial confidence of the president or the perch to perform in the greater capacity I hoped he’d undertake. What I thought was a next-level guy appears to have turned out to be merely a suit. Mere suits are fine and necessary in running large corporations, but we need different sorts at the apex of government, a lesson we should have learned with Robert McNamara.
My bad.
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Mr. Luettgen: We do have a different sort at the apex of government. His name is Trump. Perhaps Tillerson was spending all his time playing with the org chart because that's all Trump would allow him to do without bigfooting him in a tweet.
2
And in fact Tillerson did hire a "suit" to carry out the reorganization. She left after three months on the job. I would love to have a journalist dig into why she left.
1
Very well said.
In a business, it can be healthy to ignore customer demand if the business cannot profitably serve it. In international relations in a complex and dangerous world, such a need (analogous to a "demand") cannot be so easily dismissed.
As you advise, a higher level of thinking is required.
4
Frightening. We have an insane, unhinged president.
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Frightening. We have an insane, unhinged voting block.
1
Supported by an insane, unhinged Congress.
1
"The world does not organize itself."
"Deep State" or deep doo-doo? How short-sighted can our country be?
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tom....I assume that's rhetorical. trump's less than 11 months in. it's possible his reign of error could last another 3+ years.
Hillary Clinton hung up the phone on Benghazi over 5,000 times, so she was worse in so many ways.
11
Oh yes, please, let’s talk about Hillary!
And maybe the question of how safe are our embassies now with all the Tillerson budget cuts. Seriously, has he been fighting for the funding for security to prevent the next Benghazi? What steps has he taken that surpass what you might deem insufficient in Secretary Clinton’s actions? How is he better at this job than she?
1
Have you tried hanging up the phone over 5,000 times? How much time and effort do you think it takes? Have you thought about it? If not, here's your chance to do so.
There is zero evidence of your assertion.
1
I find the prospect of a consummate partisan politician like Tim Cotton in charge of the C.I.A. scarier than the continuation of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.
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I beg to differ. I have no love for Rexxon, but as did as little as could to implement Trumps " plans". Now, Trumps cabinet is once again playing a game of musical chairs, for idiots. Pompeo, the rumored replacement, was MY Congressperson. He is a true believer, an extreme war hawk, and unlike the rest, very smart. He will do exactly as told, offer no resistance, and salivate at the mere thought of WAR. BEWARE.
192
Agree, totally. Trump wants - craves - to be the War President. He's not necessarily kidding when he eggs North Korea on. He probably saw the movie "Dr. Strangelove" and thought it was pretty cool when Slim Pickens rode the falling bomb like a rodeo bull. He probably thought George C. Scott was pretty cool as Patton. The measure of Trump's madness is that he cannot distinguish fiction from reality, his self-serving fantasies are that strong.
Beware, indeed.
The only hope is that he can be stopped in time.
2
Well, at least we haven't started any new wars yet.
7
Yes. This. On foreign policy, Trump may not be getting much respect overseas but at least -- so far -- he hasn't started any wars.
Former President Bush started a couple that have cost us trillions of dollars, countless deaths, and perhaps as much in foolishly squandered influence.
I feel as though in the middle, President Obama held the line or perhaps even a little worse in the Middle East. But then his options in the ME were very bad, as Trump's are too.
This business in Benghazi, although terribly unfortunate, seems like small potatoes. I don't get the obsession other than they can attach it to Clinton because she was Sec. of State. Is it so very worse than the bad intel and execution that resulted in leaving that soldier behind in Niger to be tortured and returned in a closed casket? The series of events in Niger don't make the military command look smart or careful. They should try to be both.
It will happen towards the end of his third year to maximize it's effect on his popularity for his inevitable re-election. Like Aug-Sept 2019.
Wait until Mueller starts handing down indictments...
Here is the lede that is buried that goes far deeper than who is Secretary of State.
"The world does not organize itself. In the absence of an engaged, diplomatically energized America, others will set the agenda, shape the rules and dominate international institutions — and probably not in ways that advance our interests or values."
After reading tens of thousands of Times comments on foreign policy issues I cannot recall one comment that made this basic, fundamental, necessary, point.
instead there is projection of the commenters narcisstic views of Americans with foreign policy the tool. Near about one hundred percent.
This failure is of a generation, not a political party.
And yes, I know, I recognize, I acknowledge the republicans are now a fascist party with the stunningly hateful and dishonest and nasty tax bill their grotesque offspring they are so proud of, justified by, we got to do something, for those too clueless to know just who is in charge. Sold out a majority of Americans to keep power for they and their overlords.
But they wouldn't be there but their competition is so bad. American fascism needs democrats as opponents. The democrats are as useless on the point of the real,lede quoted as are the republicans. it is a fight between two narcissisms for control of the state to impose the winners narcissism.
inexcusable of a free people.
36
Our leadership are supposed to try to be the grown-ups in the room. We didn't get that from Cheney and company when they invaded Iraq. We aren't getting it now. And our situation now is incomparably worse than it was in the early 2000's. We've squandered trillions of dollars and priceless good will in the 15 years of war in the MIddle East and empowered Iran against our allies.
Dishonesty got us into Iraq. It claimed Obama wasn't a citizen. It claimed the Affordable Care Act was an assault on the American people and could easily be improved. It is claiming now to be working on a middle class tax break that won't help the President.
It seems to me that the dishonesty --driven from the right, mainly -- has metastasized. Outright lying is the worst enemy of democracy and the White House is the perp.
Narcissism? That exists, always, but it's supposed to be killed by the professionals at State Department and the long-term, cool heads on Congress' Foreign Affairs Committees. State has been neutered and by one party.
The plutocrats spend about two thirds of their political money building up Republicans, and one third undermining Democrats.
Yes, it's all very complicated, that's easy to see. So, what's the solution?
Folks, the results are in and the Confederates have finally won the Civil War.
228
Best comment!
1
I hope the Trumpettes understand what will happen when their Dear Leader causes WWIII. There won't be a lot of jobs to be had then.
109
Actually wars create jobs. Making all that war materiel creates jobs. However, it also creates debt. Ask W.
They are already flirting with increasing debt, maybe even going steady, since no one seems to know exactly what the bill is actually going to do. An ill advised war could really balloon the debt. Maybe then we would need to raise taxes, gasp.
1
Someone has to be boots on the ground. I suspect it won't be any of trumps elite supporters. It will be the poor people he is so fond of.
Sure there will. As soon as we bring back the draft.
"Aggressors that ignore borders"... hmm. I didn't expect the NYT to discuss the importance of America's border security/sovereignty.
...Just kidding!
8
And we will be at war with North Korea by this time next year. America, it has been nice knowing you.
43
If war with North Korea occurs, there will be no "this time next year".
Don't forget Iran.
Because N. Korea can easily destroy us, in your view? What would you recommend instead - appeasement? Because it has worked so well before? Head in the sand?
And the same destruction is happening in every cabinet level department of the Moscow Mule administration.
81
Mr. Putin must be rubbing his hands with glee. So too, Xi Jinping.
After reading Luke Harding's recent book, "Collusion" it all makes sense now. Trump has been cultivated by the FSB/KGB to wreck America since 1986 when he was lured over to the Soviet Union by the KGB and fawned over and flattered. Trump took the bait and has been Russia's man ever since.
Putin couldn't ask for more from Trump. He has sabotaged and crippled so with spectacular efficiency. With laser like accuracy he has managed to appoint the most inept/incompetent and dishonest Administration in the history of the United States with the sole objective of diminishing America.
America's friends and Allies morn the diminished state of a once Great United States. Alas, no more. Its a great shame.
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Recall what Hannah Arendt said about the nature of truth. It's important to remember that Putin's goal is the destruction of objectivity, of fact, of reliance on empirical evidence, and that this is why Trump was groomed and received assistance in the election from the Kremlin and thousands of Putinbots. His 1600+ documented lies since January and his utter disdain for objective reality underscore this. Other than the lifting of sanctions on his oligarch pals, Putin would like nothing better than to see the US adopt the same standards of truth as prevailed in the state-run media of the former USSR. Fox, Breitbart and Project Veritas are leading the way, and now have 40-60 million Americans in their sway.
1
An agent of the KGB? That's silly! A KGB agent would seriously damage our relationships with our strongest allies, destabilize NATO, inflame religious and racial hatreds, pull back from Asian policy initiatives, play kissy-face with militaristic dictators around the world, insult the leaders of our closest neighbors, and demoralize the vast majority of Americans.
Second thought, maybe you're on to something.
1
Careful what you wish for. Getting rid of Tillerson brings Pompeo (waterboarders are not torturers, they are patriots) and moves Tom Cotton (the only problem with Guantanamo is that there are too few empty beds) to head the CIA. Keep this in mind when working so hard to get rid of Trump (Pence: ready, willing, and able to do the Lord's work)
132
I love your points, I absolutely love them! I don’t think they are sarcastic, but true statements. Thank you!
Trump IS the Secretary of State and Jared IS his advisor so Tillerson was in a trap still his appointment.
13
Trump logic would explain that we are winning inernationally over China and Russia.
I am tired of winning. Can we stop now?
38
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?
13
I'm sort of glad Pete Seeger isn't still around to see this horror...although he wouldn't have been particularly surprised or overwhelmed.
Maybe this is our Mario Savio moment?
"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop."
- Mario Savio, 3 December 1964, University of California Berkeley
61
Just showed that quote for my class' powerpoint yesterday....
Who do we have today who even comes close to Mario Savio? Who is going to forge a serious, well-organized, principled movement? The young generation is in full retreat except for a lot of yelling. Windbag Bernie? Forget it!
when are the Republicans going to wake up and start articles of impeachment ? They will all be accountable one day for the damage they inflicted on our country by standing idle while watching a mentally unstable man destroy our lives.
84
When are Democrats going to wake up and get to the polls? Why are we depending on Republicans whom, it is clear, cannot be depended on for any responsible governing function of this country? The Republicans aren't going to "wake up" to start articles of impeachment of Trump. By cutting costs in the State (and other) departments, and by supporting the current tax bill, they make it very clear he is doing exactly what they want him to do.
1
God's little pet goldfish are long way from sane themselves.
1
What Tillerson has done to the State Department is akin to Stalin's purges of his military high command in 1937 and 1938 - and for equally questionable reasons. Stalin's decimation rendered the Soviet military virtually impotent during the initial phases of Hitler's invasion. Yes, I know that the Soviet Union eventually defeated Hitler's armies, but at somewhere between 20-25 million military and civilian deaths, the costs were staggering. Yes, I know the analogy is imperfect but the destruction of a critical institution that helps to insure America's safety in a dangerous and competitive world, is arguably treasonous. I am hopeful that future Democratic administrations will not be as timid as Obama's and convene some actual trials to hold people like Tillerson accountable.
32
But, not unlike the Nazi officers who said they were only following orders, Tillerson and his ilk would say he was only doing his job as he saw it. Nothing illegal there ... until the chickens come home to roost, and then it may be too late.
"Both are whip smart, ideological ..."
And both are a disgrace to the Republic, as has become the duopoly of our ruling parties.
74
Underscoring yet again the danger of intellect in the absence of ethics, perspective, and judgement. The stuff irreversibly bad decisions are made from.
1
Did so much damage in so little time?
How could he not?
An entitled billionaire who thinks he is better and smarter than anyone else - who looks down on almost everyone - that includes everyone in the world, who thinks he and his friends are entitled to the obscene wealth they stole from the American worker.
Who wants to make deals to despoil the Arctic, who is best friends with the despoiler and murderer, Putin?
What could go wrong?
How could any thinking person think that this appointment would go well?
Of course there's your answer - no thinking person.
120
You write with a smarmy know-it-all attitude that is founded upon your belief that your opinion is the only valid one. So sad, so prevalent these days. What good has all that "diplomacy" done for the U.S.? Sometimes different is simply different, not innately better or worse. Having lots of people on staff running around the world trying to make other diplomats happy is not necessarily beneficial. However, as you seem to at least partially realize, Tillerson was not really given a chance.
5
“Sometimes different is just different.”
Sometimes.
Not this time. This time different is worse.
I'm sorry, how is a "Bombs First" approach to international relations a better solution to diplomacy?
Can you honestly prefer "diplomacy by tweet" over experienced loyal persons stationed in high places around the world,
Is the USA were Germany was about a 100 years ago?
Germany was a great democratic nation until it wasn't.
33
Germany 1917 - about to lose WW1 to the allies.
It is hard to think of a worse fit for the internationally focused job of secretary of state than a Tea Party zealot such as Pompeo.
65
Donald Trump doesn't need a Department of State. He has a Twitter account.
39
He also has the nuclear codes and a terminal case of arrested development (say, around four years old).
My father was a career State Department employee who prided himself on his thorough, hard work. I'm glad he didn't live to see this embarrassing shill of a man destroy everything that State used to stand for.
100
If I were to go to a sniper who is very good at his job in the military and ask him to do a root canal on one of my painful teeth how do you think that would turn out. Get my point? Tillerson may be a great sniper (CEO in the private sector) but can he do a root canal (run US diplomacy?)
11
"Meanwhile, Mr. Tillerson’s sound instincts on the substance of foreign policy were routinely undermined by Mr. Trump and his incontinent Twitter feed."
Is Twitterrhea, a word?
"It is, now."-Kellyanne Conway
21
Bob Corker cited Rex Tillerson as one of the individuals keeping Trump from unleashing complete chaos. Now, the floodgates are open.
Of course Tillerson was in over his head as Secretary of State. This was not his element, and corporate management in no way translates to diplomacy. Downsizing is incompatible with the expansive requirements of foreign relations. And the aims of an oil company do not square with those of our country. Still, Tillerson did not sink to Trump's level of irresponsibility. He demonstrated a wish to deescalate tense situations and to present the US seriously.
Moreover, Trump undermined Tillerson's efforts. Trump mocked Tillerson for trying to utilize personal channels in North Korea, although the alternative is catastrophe for our country, our Asian allies, and North Korean civilians. Trump also gave Jared Kushner international roles which would be appropriate for a Secretary of State.
So Tillerson won't leave any fabulous legacy, but he will be one less person on duty at the adult day care center, to borrow from Corker.
30
It seems now we will get the worst of all possible worlds--a sorely weakened State Department and a new secretary who will encourage Trump's fact-free, irrational foreign adventures and deny the threat we face from Moscow. As bad as this year has been, next year is likely to be much worse if this administration is not brought down.
43
Despite being largely ineffectual in any positive sense, Tillerson seemed to at least have the core morality to recognize that containing potentially problematic regimes (Iran) was better than going to war with them. Neither Pompeo nor Cotton are similarly fettered. I wouldn't be surprised, given the times we're living in, if a few years hence we're spilling blood and oil in the sands of Iran and instead of hiking taxes to pay for the adventure, the president and Congress just cut entitlements and wave the flag ... a lot. Every day, the 2018 elections seem more and more like our remaining hope.
36
Tillerson gutted the State Dept. as an Institution either at the behest or request of the President. But he seemingly had no real clout with Trump. Despite all the terrible policy pronouncements of Trump my biggest concern is his instability and impulsiveness. The Generals that Trump has surrounded himself with i.e. Kelly, Mattis and McMaster may have ideologies I would disagree with but I accept that they insulate the President and the country from his erratic downside. Pompeo fits the same mold and offers the same comfort of further insulation from the whimsy of Trump. The downside of Pompeo is that he may try to fill all the new vacancies at State with conservative clones with ideological agendas. The upside of a Cotton appointment is that perhaps seat will come into play during the next election cycle.
4
In this article are seeds of a horrific reality that is hiding in plain site. While the talking head pundits on our "fake news" networks speak of the failure of the Trump administration in passing legislation, they miss the very real impact this administration is having in our institutions (State, EPA, Justice, etc) and our lives. The very notion of cutting the state department budget by 30% is a strategically badt move. If our military is a hammer, the state department is every other tool in the toolbox. Our world would be a better place if it was our military budget that was cut and our diplomatic budget increased and not decreased and its ranks decimated under Tillerson and Trump.
21
There's certainly bloat at State; every bureaucracy is bloated. Perhaps Rex has overdone things.
No one knew who Rex was before the appointment. Now we know and can't understand how he managed to run Exxon. I'm sure a lot of his Exxon colleagues are saying - "I told you so".
14
"At least Mr. Tillerson tried to check Mr. Trump’s worst excesses. Now we may seem them fully unleashed."
A failure hired/fired by a failure? Don't get ahead of your worries.
12
Mr. Trump wants to be Charlemagne the Great and leave power and wealth to his family. Mr. Tillerson may have thought Trump cared about the country and the world.
10
Except Charlemagne actually cared about his kingdom, at least as much as caring could be defined way back then.
He promoted literacy, even among the poor, for example.
"How Trump Did So Much Damage in So Little Time," would be a more "complete" headline.
Tillerson is just one manifestation of Trump. The EPA, American courts, public discourse are all crippled casualties of Trump.
Can America handle it? I don't know. But we certainly will know in the years to come. We will see what kind of country we are/have become. We will see what our national priorities are. We will see how the world looks at us. Maybe we'll just conclude, it really is the Chinese/Asian century. Right now it looks like it will be.
America first? Are you kidding me! Trump puts Russia, China, Saudi Arabia all, far ahead of America. And his "vision" of America really only is about corporations and the 1%. The rest of the country matters only in the sense that voters count. But he certainly is proving "you can fool some of the people all of the time."
359
Your conclusions reflect those of Sheldon Wolin’s take on were we are, predating The Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us/politics/sheldon-s-wolin-theorist-...
With the difference that voters no longer count.
Your conclusions reflect those of Sheldon Wolin’s take on were we are, predating The Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us/politics/sheldon-s-wolin-theorist-...
With the difference that voters no longer count.
Don't forget he also puts $$$$ ahead, and his EGO, also what he owes Putin and Russia!
I have never been more frightened for our country and the world until this administration came into power. I hold Trump supporters responsible for this debacle as well as the National Democratic National Committee. Unfortunately the rest of us have to suffer the consequences. Our nightmare since the 2016 presidential election continues.
65
(Hi, Linda, Rutland here)
Until this week I was willing to give Trump voters the benefit of the doubt. They got conned, I said. It could happen to anyone with a con artist who is skilful enough (and Trump is that). But given the crescendo of bad, worse and downright scary developments, I have to say that anyone who still supports this fake president must be terminally stupid. Sorry, guys, you no longer have any excuses.
Secretary Tillerson's immenent ouster is just one more example of the President's inability to govern. When will the Republican leadership in Congress finally declare this Administration incompetent?
22
America can't be first and ignore the rest of the world. There was a time, a century ago, when we could be self sufficient and ignore other countries. It is no longer true, regardless of what Trump supporters want to believe.
We need experienced diplomats to implement trade, and understand complex issues regarding security. Trump is destroying that.
America does massive amounts of trade, both imports AND EXPORTS, to the rest of the world. The Trump story is that we could shut down imports and just do the export part. Nope, ain't gunna work. Manufactured items wouldn't be available for at least 5 years while American industry retooled. Moreover, they would be so stupendously expensive only the 1% could afford them -- not a profitable endeavor for industry so they wouldn't build the factories anyway.
For defense, how on Earth are we supposed to implement that without understanding the dangers that face us. Whatever, defense successes may be perceived to arise from Trump's gut -- they didn't come from there. Trump is bootstrapping his foreign policy by copying those of the last 3 decades. There is new bluster, but nothing but bluster. Eliminate our expertise and the well of vast experience will run dry. The Trump/Tillerson gutting of State is rapidly drying it up. (We have Jared and Ivanka though ...)
Trump is surrounding himself with groveling yes men to make himself feel good. Neither he nor they have what it takes. A Disaster!
33
I'm 65 years old. With the exception of my first job, a minimum wage job in a pizzeria when I was 18 years old, I have never been hired for a job without being required to demonstrate that I had the skills and experience to do the job.
But this administration, from the top down, has been characterized by appointing to positions of power individuals with little or no experience for the job, and who have even declared publicly that they disagree with the mission of the department they've been chosen to run. Their sole qualifications for the post have been the fact that they are friends with the president and have a lot of money.
And through the Electoral College, the people of America elected as President a man with no experience in government, no knowledge of the Constitution, numerous failed businesses, and admitted sexual abuse offenses, among other things.
What do we expect?
169
Secretary Tillerson, speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, clarified the 60% reduction in career officers: Of 7 career officers, four left.
2
What does it matter? Whoever Trump puts in that post is bound to tarnish it and be detrimental to it. This disaster won't end until this entire administration is OUT.
32
Tillerson was just following the Boss's orders. No trump appointee is allowed to think for themselves. They know this getting in and accept it. There is ample proof of that.
10
The fate of our very existence will now lie in the hands of these two soon to be appointed sycophants and miscreants, who are underqualified, as all of trump's cabinet picks are, for their positions. Time is running out for us now. We truly may not survive this presidency, headed by an incompetent madmen and his henchmen.
40
I will lay a lot of the blame on Tillerson, but he was just adhering to the far-right doctrine of his boss and handlers that diplomacy is for cowards. He could have been a bulwark against this, acting on principle, but I don't think he ever knew what the job was about in the first place other than making sure the spice, I mean, the oil flowed.
16
I believe Mr. Tillerson intended to stay until after he was assured the tax package would go through. Now that he has his, he can go back to the private sector and clean up. The only thing he did for the country was to give Mr. Trump a title. F. M. Trump.
5
You make a valued case, detailed with specifics, that Mr. Tillerson formulates sane policy geared toward USA success.
Yet, your oft-stated case that Mr. Tillerson has gutted the State Dept of senior brain-power, lacks detailed specifics of where and how failures have resulted.
Your case could, and does, carry a taste of senior leadership complaining out loud.
Your otherwise well-stated opinion would have been much stronger if you didn't just scare us, but showed us details of what it has cost us over this year.
I, for one, would be very interested in any details you can supply us.
5
Yes, Tillerson was a terrible choice. Trump is clueless, and making terrible choices is his modus operandi. So he’ll replace Tillerson with Pompeo, and Pompeo with Cotton. Two even more terrible choices. The destructive spiral continues...
25
Tillerson, like Trump, comes from a small sliver of the world where accounting sheets and return on investments tell the tale of success.
Coin is the coin of the realm.
But life --real life--involves real people whose life and death depends on those looking out -- like those in the Foreign Service --doing all they can to avoid bloodshed.
Foggy Bottom is the Pentagon's Guardian Angel.
10
I had thought that Tillerson was in it to further his oil deal in the Arctic with Putin. Suddenly he's stuck in a job he knows nothing about. Trump and the job tarnished Tillerson's image of himself as a world class business person. He realized that Trump was a dunce early on, and didn't do anything about it. He thought there would be some kind of personal reward. He didn't realize that Trump never rewards, just takes. Now Tillerson is a joke, as are all of the people associated with Trump.
26
The oil industry has survived for years on cost ( read personnel) cutting. It’s not surprising that Tillerson is trying to make this his legacy. At best, his is a small ball vision. Let’s hope that he does not leave the security of out country in tatters. Get rid of him.
7
Given that Tillerson’s actions seemed to be aligned with the destruction that the pResident seems to relish, I don’t understand the firing. Maybe trump could find a general for the state post instead of just a cia guy.
1
Trump is a cascading national disaster rolling around the country and destroying everything sane and sensible in his path.
The EPA - vaporized into an agency that destroys Alaska salmon nurseries for a few buckets of gold and trashes the troposphere for profit; planet Earth be damned
The Education Dept - converted into a facilitator for charter and religious school profit mills
The State Dept - gutted, marginalized and denuded
Health and Human Services - converted to Wealth and PhRMA Services
The National Treasury - loaded into 0.1% bank accounts
Healthcare - converted to Deathcare
American pluralism - converted to white Christian crusading
Secularism - converted to theocracy
Presidential dignity - aborted
Telling the truth - aborted
Being honest - aborted
Diplomacy - aborted
Leadership - converted into cheap Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment soundbites, tweets and and theatrical threats
Public safety - abandoned with 2nd Amendment insanity
The green energy technology and jobs revolution - ridiculed, ignored and abandoned
Infrastructure - ignored and abandoned
Women's rights to control their own bodies - assaulted, attacked and forced to bear unwanted male sperm
Trump has done more to make a complete loser out of America than than ISIS, Putin and the KKK combined could ever dream of.
Trump voters wanted to destroy the system with a bad idea of a President.
Trump is rewarding them by destroying America one bad idea and one bad appointee at a time.
363
I remain unconvinced that Trump does not simply reflect the wishes and mind-sets of those who elected him and of those who are like-minded in Congress and in the majority of our state legislatures. I will believe otherwise only when, in some future election, the GOP-SLOP are voted out of office wholesale.
2
This is exactly what Trump's supporters want -- an USA much less attractive to foreign immigrants.
Hey, you voted for them (senate, congress, POTUS).
Savour the flavour.
What a joke this is. He has made improvements at a fairly slow pace for a business re-organization. He has not been effected by Tweets in my view. If he leaves or needs a replacement to reduce the state department, I have experience and would be pretty cheap as well. You don't appoint political appointments to eliminate their positions, and why do you need any such?
What "business reorganization?"
What "improvements?"
Why would you want to "reduce" the State Department?
Do you know what the State Department is for? Do you understand the important role of diplomacy?
27
What are you talking about, vulcanalex?
The State Dept. isn’t Sony or GE, and what experience could you possibly have that would be useful and effective at such a high level?
I echo AC’s incredulity: Do you even know what the State Department is?
2
AC: look closely and you can spot the giveaways of a troll/bot. I've noted their posts across several articles. Skip this one.
2
We have assumed that the Constitutional checks and balances built into our system of government were enough to keep these sorts of misadventures from happening, but perhaps they are not. When the people in the Executive branch, as well as most of Congress are malicious, craven opportunists we become their pawns. Checkmate is close at hand for us all....
151
The constitution and government assume voters are interested in them. American voters are more interested in reality TV and game shows.
1
If this turns out as bad for American Democracy as all these comments suggest, stacking the Supreme Court with right wing ideologues may turn out to be the one worst train of events that made it possible. A history of from "Common Sense" with flaws, notably slavery, to "No Sense" as we see an electorate easily fooled, and excess corporate greed replacing the common good.
2
Democracy is a complex thing. It contains the seeds of its own destruction. These seeds have been sown over time and only the most perceptive have been sounding the alarm. Trump is a locomotive running out of control, a rudderless ship. This is the devolution of democracy. But miracles can still happen...if we stop wringing our hands and ACT.
2
Tillerson may have done great damage but at least he is somewhat sane and well traveled. Having a Trumpster at the State could make you want a neocon in charge instead.
And what make you think the new guy wouldn't continue the dismantling? Remember, in a report early on, Tillerson was frustrated because the White House wouldn't let him hiring his own staff
So, the logic of this piece seems to be cheering a case of "jumping from the frying pan into the fire."
50
I don't believe the White House can prevent him from hiring his own staff, why would he need a staff, he surely has plenty of spare employees.
@vulcanalex, you could google the report. Sure, SoS can have their own aides, like Mrs. Clinton had Ms. Huma Abedin. This is basic stuff. Why are you asking, even if it is rhetorically?
8
sounds like more of a shortage, vulcan, that is, if the US wants to influence the rest of the world rather than letting China do it.
1
The State Department, with its foreign service employees, ambassadors and consular officers are the face of this country and are expected to represent this country. With the leadership (I use the term loosely) it would appear that the face of our country in foreign nations is now a shell of what it should be courtesy of our grand negotiator and his minion Tillerson.
It may take years for future administrations to navigate and repair the nightmare that Trump and his ship of fools have created.
316
The business analogy really seems to not apply here. State has a small budget compared to many of the other Federal Depts and it is of little benefit to cut it, especially when the most effective people are driven out
8
No, The State Depertment is becoming the "face of our country". That's the point of trump's appointments, to reflect his vision of a chaotic world.
9
And it's only been a year. I hope we survive until the 2018 elections.
3
But his replacement *might* be worse?
25
Or better depending on your criteria. I understand that the reductions are about 8%, that is way less than most corporate re-organizations, more like 30% minimum.
2
The devil you know rather than the devil you do not know "may" be applicable here.
Has there been any non-political assessment by a committee such as the Grace Commission to determine if we are overstaffed and require fewer State employees rather than more. I haven't read anything but numbers from professorial departments who have a vested interest in seeing these numbers kept at certain levels. Is there duplication with the CIA, NSA, military, etc.? The reporting seems a bit light for this serious issue. Please help this reader.
1
Why do you continue to talk about corporate reorgs, vulcanalex? Surely you can't think the government should be run like a business? That's just too cute, if so.
13
The disturbing part is that as bad as Mr. Tillerson may have been, he is being pushed out the door because he has been insufficiently bad.
411
Tillerson can only do what he is allowed to do. There's only so much he can (or will) hide behind a curtain and ask forgiveness for if caught.
1
More disturbing is the destruction of our government is great for Putin. Hmm.
1
Jim S.
Hear! Hear!
1