Slamming 64-year-old Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in his first week on the job, the mainstream press criticized the former Exxon-Mobil CEO for showing prodigious listening skills. Meeting European and Asian foreign ministers in Bonn, Germany at the G20 summit, Tillerson listened without hazarding U.S. positions on controversial topics like Syria. Criticized in the press for not taking decisive positions, Tillerson smartly listened to his counterparts, knowing there are key difference between the evolving Trump White House and former President Barack Obama. Instead of praising his ability to listen, digest and consider various opinions from world leaders, the press insulted Tillerson as indecisive. “He’ll be primarily in the listening mode,” said a senior State Department official. “He wants to use this initial engagement to get a sense of where the parties stand.”
With new talks in Astana, Kazakhstan on the Syria crisis next week, foreign ministers want to know where the U.S. stands. Unlike President Obama, President Donald Trump has shown zero interest in backing a six-year-old Saudi proxy war that’s caused over 300,000 deaths, 12 million displaced Syrians to neighboring countries and Europe, causing the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII. Trump’s not ready to cede U.S. foreign policy to Saudi Arabia, openly seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Saying the G20 was a chance for Tillerson to “show off his vaunted management skills and global experience,” ABC News revealed its extreme prejudice against the Trump White House. Tillerson showed exactly kind of deliberation, restraint and professionalism sought in a Secretary of State. White House foreign policy on Syria or Israeli-Palestinian issue continues to evolve.
When foreign ministers meet in again for Syrian peace talks, the battle lines have already been drawn between Syria, Russia and Iran and all other opposition forces, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Trump watched Obama’s Syrian policy go up in smoke when Syrian forces with Russian air support evicted Saudi, U.S. and Turkey-backed opposition groups from Aleppo Dec. 23, 2016. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said yesterday that he won’t stop his campaign in Syria until he’s recaptured every inch of sovereign territory. Tillerson’s European Union counterparts haven’t caught up to a new U.S. foreign policy, no longer backing the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Tillerson’s positions “confused and worrying” on Syria, Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran nuclear deal.
Showing how things get lost in translation, Ayrault said Tillerson wanted to start “from scratch” when it came to the Iran nuke deal. “I didn’t leave any such impression,” said Tillerson, finding out how easy things go kaflooey, especially when dealing with the European Union. After backing the Brexit vote June 23, Trump’s not trusted by the EU, showing unprecedented cracks in the once monolihic 28-member block founded in Mastricht, Netherlands Nov. 1, 1993. What’s damaged the EU more than anything else has been the EU-backed Syrian War. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande wholeheartedly back the Syrian proxy war to topple al-Assad. Six years of war in Syria has caused the worst refugee crisis in Europe since WWII, eventually driving the U.K. out of the EU June 23, 2016. EU officials haven’t come to grips with Trump’s policy.
Getting criticism from the EU should come as no surprise to Tillerson, whose dealings with Exxon-Mobil make him familiar with the competing interests on the European continent, Great Britain and Eastern Europe. Frustrated with Tillerson’s lack of briefings on his first European trip, the press complained about the poor communication. Tillerson took photo-ops with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson but quickly ushered the press pool out of the conference room. “They never give up,” quipped Rex, referring to the press trying unsuccessfully to ask more questions. “Will consider working with Russia when we can find areas of practical cooperation,” said Tillerson, reassuring allies that he hasn’t forgotten about Ukraine. Scrutinizing Tillerson’s every word about Russia, the press is ready to pounce on signs of collusion with Moscow.
When you consider anti-Russian hysteria sweeping Capitol Hill, it’s no wonder National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was canned Feb. 14, despite Trump saying he did nothing wrong. Trump told a contentious press conference Feb. 16 that Flynn lost his job for failing to inform Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian U.S. Amb. Sergey Vislyak Dec. 28, 2016, the day Obama evicted 35 diplomats, slapping Russia with new sanctions. Tillerson can’t say anything nice about Russia without the press reading it as evidence of collusion in the 2016 election. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blamed her loss to Trump Nov. 8 on Russian meddling. She also blamed FBI Director James Comey for why she lost. “Met a lot of people, made a lot of new friends. Full schedule,” Tillerson said, reluctant to say anything positive about his meeting with Lavrov.
