US President Donald Trump has sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, replacing him with the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo.
Thanking Mr Tillerson for his service on Twitter, Mr Trump said the new state secretary would do “a fantastic job”.
Mr Tillerson, a former chief executive of ExxonMobil, was only appointed to the job just over a year ago.
The president also nominated Gina Haspel to become the first woman director of the CIA.
In general, this is a positive move. Tillerson was ineffective as SOS. But it isn’t too much to ask that the President pick up the phone and do it in person.
Washington (CNN)Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US is ready to talk with North Korea without preconditions.
“We’ve said from the diplomatic side, we’re ready to talk anytime North Korea would like to talk,” Tillerson said at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday, in what amounted to a direct public invitation for North Korea to put aside an escalating cycle of tests and taunts and engage in diplomacy.
“We are ready to have the first meeting without precondition,” Tillerson said. “Let’s just meet, and we can talk about the weather if you want. Talk about whether it’s going to be a square table or a round table, if that’s what you are excited about. But can we at least sit down and see each other face to face, and then we can begin to lay out a map, a road map of what we might be willing to work towards.”
Unlike Obama, one gets the sense that the Trump Administration will back up a “red line.” The real question is, should we?
Seoul (CNN) The US would consider military action against North Korea if it was provoked, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday.
Speaking in Seoul at a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Tillerson said Washington’s policy of “strategic patience” had ended.
“Certainly, we do not want things to get to a military conflict… but obviously if North Korea takes actions that threatens the South Korean forces or our own forces, then that would be met with an appropriate response,” he said, in response to a question from CNN.
“If they elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe that requires action, that option is on the table,” Tillerson added.
This is one of the first cabinet picks that I think could be a poor one.
President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, Rex Tillerson, as his choice for US secretary of state.
In a statement, Mr Trump praised Mr Tillerson, 64, as among the “most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers” in the world.
Mr Tillerson is said to have a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, alarming both Democrats and some Republicans.
I don’t have a problem with Tillerson’s background. Running a massive global operation like Exxon is pretty good experience for being Secretary of State. He has experience working with many foreign nations on real projects and knows how they operate. What I question is Tillerson’s ideology. Although there isn’t a lot of evidence, he appears to be ideologically left of many of the other cabinet picks.
Time will tell. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
