Unrest bubbles among Trump's key foreign policy aides - sources

[webfact]

Unrest bubbles among Trump's key foreign policy aides - sources

By John Walcott

 

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attends a joint news conference with Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Doha, Qatar, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Frustration is mounting among leading foreign policy officials in President Donald Trump's administration as they chafe at some policy and bureaucratic defeats and complain they lack independence to do their jobs, officials say.

 

The clash between internationalists urging the traditional U.S. leadership role in the world and advocates of an "America First" approach has worn down foreign policy and intelligence professionals inside the government, according to the officials.

 

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told friends he will be lucky to last a year in his job, according to a friend, while two officials said national security adviser H.R. McMaster was frustrated by what he sees as disorganization and indiscipline on key policy issues inside the White House.

 

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that Tillerson was "very upset at not having autonomy, independence and control over his own department and the ability to do the job the way the job ... is traditionally done."

 

The source said he had heard nothing about any possible departure, but added: "The situation doesn't seem to be getting any better, and in some respects appears to be getting worse."

 

R.C. Hammond, Tillerson's spokesman, denied Tillerson was considering leaving or that his frustrations were boiling over, saying he had "plenty of reasons to stay on the job, and all of them are important to America."

 

"There's a desperate need for American leadership in the world and that's where the secretary's focussing his attention," he said.

 

Tillerson scored a policy win last week when the administration certified, albeit reluctantly, that Iran was complying with the 2015 nuclear deal under which Tehran agreed to restrain its atomic programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

 

He was upset, however, by fierce internal criticism from Trump, as well as his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and White House aide Sebastian Gorka, over the decision, said another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

"The secretary does not feel that White House staff members should be in a position to conduct hostile cross-(examinations) of Cabinet officials," the official said.

 

Hammond disputed the account of harsh discord between Trump and Tillerson regarding recertifying the Iran nuclear deal, saying: "I don't buy this whole thing that there are tensions. Developing public policy is about vetting out ideas," he said.

 

Following last month's move by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to boycott Qatar, which they accuse of financing extremist groups and supporting terrorism, Tillerson publicly asked the nations to ease their blockade, and put the onus on both sides to end the crisis.

 

Less than 90 minutes later, Trump accused Qatar of being a "high level" sponsor of terrorism and suggested he had helped plan the Qatar action with Arab leaders.

 

"As a government we offered some confusing signals, but we’ve since been able to clear up and clarify that," Hammond said.

Politico reported last month that Tillerson was furious with Johnny DeStefano, the head of the presidential personnel office, for torpedoing proposed nominees to key State Department posts.

 

'DISRUPTIVE FIGURE'

 

Senior national security officials said McMaster was dismayed that his recommendations, backed by his senior director for Russia, Fiona Hill, about taking a tough stance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been ignored.

 

Trump has questioned the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to try to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

 

McMaster, a three-star Army general who once praised Trump as a "disruptive" figure, is also troubled by a protracted debate about sending more U.S. forces to help Afghanistan reverse gains by the Taliban, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 

Asked to respond to the characterisations of the views of McMaster and other officials, a White House official said: "Assertions not of fact but of state of mind in internal thought have no place in a story like this."

 

While circumspect, Tillerson talked about the challenges of his new job earlier this month, telling reporters that it differed from his former role as chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N>, where "I was the ultimate decision-maker. That always makes life easier."

 

"I knew what to expect and we had very long-standing disciplined processes and decision-making," he said. "Those are not the characteristics of the United States government."

 

(Additonal reporting by Steve Holland and Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-25

[Zack61]

Welcome to "Donald's World"

 

 

.....you're fired. Next please. 

[JHolmesJr]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told friends he will be lucky to last a year in his job, according to a friend,

LOL. That's two layers of "friends".

 

Gimme a break. The media needs to reinvent themselves…they are a sorry mess.

Edited July 25, 2017 by JHolmesJr

[Thaidream]

Tillerson is a real manager and while I don't like his politics- he at least speaks with decorum and insight as well as having an understanding of foreign leaders and their policies. he is working for the ultra megalomaniac in Donald Trump who must be assuaged by every decision so Trump can look like a 'winner'.

 

Trump is a disaster and a loser - knows nothing about foreign policy and is surrounded by alt right minions who want to isolate America with border walls; tariffs and an ultra conservative America First policy which will eventually cost America its allies and jobs and get America into a real war with either Iran or North Korea.

[Andaman Al]

10 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

LOL. That's two layers of "friends".

 

Gimme a break. The media needs to reinvent themselves…they are a sorry mess.

 

One day Trump supporters will awaken and see the reality for what it is.

 

 

[Jingthing]

You'd have to be kind of crazy in the first place to want to work for that tin pot troll clown president that's dragging America down so quickly and dramatically. It's well documented that he has serious problems recruiting decent people. It's understood he's the worse president in American history, so working for him isn't likely to be a brilliant career move. 

[howbri]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

You'd have to be kind of crazy in the first place to want to work for that tin pot troll clown president that's dragging America down so quickly and dramatically. It's well documented that he has serious problems recruiting decent people. It's understood he's the worse president in American history, so working for him isn't likely to be a brilliant career move. 

We just had eight years of the "worst president in American history"!

[Jingthing]

We just had eight years of the "worst president in American history"!

Historians are already predicting he'll be rated highly. Certainly among the top half.

[dunroaming]

3 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

LOL. That's two layers of "friends".

 

Gimme a break. The media needs to reinvent themselves…they are a sorry mess.

Well the media report what is going on so who do you suggest we listen to?  Even Fox News these days are struggling to be positive about Trump and his circus.

 

To believe that all the media in all the world is wrong and Trump is right is a bit of a stretch isn't it?  Blind faith is one thing but please don't expect the rest of us to be so gullible.

[YetAnother]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told friends he will be lucky to last a year in his job,

ouch ouch; sec of state is a very tip top job in usa

[Morch]

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

You'd have to be kind of crazy in the first place to want to work for that tin pot troll clown president that's dragging America down so quickly and dramatically. It's well documented that he has serious problems recruiting decent people. It's understood he's the worse president in American history, so working for him isn't likely to be a brilliant career move. 

People like Tillerson or Mattis have done a thing or two in their lives, dealt with influential people, presidents and megalomaniacs. They may have thought this was more of the same. Mattis seems to handle Trump somewhat better, though. Or perhaps he's getting more respect not being a fellow businessman but a general.

 

It's not every day that someone gets such job offers, and I think even those that declined didn't do so lightheartedly. There's a great temptation in getting a chance to leave one's mark at these levels.

 

Also, while Trump's character and conduct were no secret, things went downhill on that one since his election victory. Harder to brush aside, ignore, or minimize stuff, relative to his days as a candidate or freshly inaugurated president. And it gets worse by the day. Even without referring the actual issues themselves. Point is that the situation is different compared to when Tillerson accepted the job.

[dunroaming]

Well Trump has failed on just about all of his campaign pledges but Tillerson knew what his intentions were when he accepted the job.  Trump has been a total disaster on every front but as far as his objectives go he hasn't changed his direction.  As his downfall comes closer most will try to distance themselves from him but I fear they will be tainted by their association with him.  What on earth were they thinking backing such a lunatic.

[boomerangutang]

7 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Tillerson is a real manager and while I don't like his politics- he at least speaks with decorum and insight as well as having an understanding of foreign leaders and their policies. he is working for the ultra megalomaniac in Donald Trump who must be assuaged by every decision so Trump can look like a 'winner'.

Trump is a disaster and a loser - knows nothing about foreign policy and is surrounded by alt right minions who want to isolate America with border walls; tariffs and an ultra conservative America First policy which will eventually cost America its allies and jobs and get America into a real war with either Iran or North Korea.

My vote for 'Best Post of the Day.'   When I read the title of this thread, right away I thought of Bannon.  

The Trump presidency is like a ten wheeler careening down a long steep mountain highway.  Its breaks are fried, and the steering wheel has come off its post.  Guess who is driving.

 

4 hours ago, howbri said:

We just had eight years of the "worst president in American history"!

Am sorry to hear you see it that way.  Obama is still widely liked and respected by a vast majority of Americans. Obama has many of the qualities that Trump lacks.  I could make a list, but it would be too long, and would hog too much bandwidth.

[iReason]

7 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

One day Trump supporters will awaken and see the reality for what it is.

 

 

I highly doubt it.

They are more concerned with "winning" (whatever that is supposed to mean) while the occupier of the White House is under criminal investigation for obstruction of justice, collusion, fraud, racketeering, money laundering and espionage.

 

And the occupier of the White House' son, along with a Senior White House adviser to his father and a Russian connected Trump campaign director, had a clandestine meeting with agents from a hostile foreign adversary.

Russia.

 

None of this means anything to them. Truly bizarre.

 

Hence, the above photo is very apt.

 

Not to worry, the wheels of justice are turning.  

Edited July 25, 2017 by iReason

[phantomfiddler]

If I was employing someone, and that person did not do anything positive towards my train of thought, I would fire them and replace them with someone who knew why they were  hired. To pay someone to act negatively is total madness !

[heybruce]

7 hours ago, howbri said:

We just had eight years of the "worst president in American history"!

And yet the country was in much better shape at the end of his term than when he took office.  Funny how that worked out, isn't it?

[joecoolfrog]

12 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

LOL. That's two layers of "friends".

 

Gimme a break. The media needs to reinvent themselves…they are a sorry mess.

Only a dullard believes that the media is the real story.

[joecoolfrog]

9 hours ago, howbri said:

We just had eight years of the "worst president in American history"!

Even if that ridiculous statement were ever true , it isn't any more !

[joecoolfrog]

9 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Historians are already predicting he'll be rated highly. Certainly among the top half.

Yes but those historians are probably not deluded , blinkered , idiots !

[Credo]

I don't think you can use the word 'policy' and 'Trump' in the same sentence.   With him, it is more like the Whim of the Day.   

[Andaman Al]

15 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

If I was employing someone, and that person did not do anything positive towards my train of thought, I would fire them and replace them with someone who knew why they were  hired. To pay someone to act negatively is total madness !

But in the case of Government you employ people to work positively for the United States and it's people, they are NOT employed to do positive things for you personally. If you want someone just to work for you then pay them yourself, you do NOT use tax payers money. That is the difference between running a business and running a Government, and Trump and clearly his followers unsurprisingly do not get that.

[Slip]

18 hours ago, dunroaming said:

Well Trump has failed on just about all of his campaign pledges but Tillerson knew what his intentions were when he accepted the job.  Trump has been a total disaster on every front but as far as his objectives go he hasn't changed his direction.  As his downfall comes closer most will try to distance themselves from him but I fear they will be tainted by their association with him.  What on earth were they thinking backing such a lunatic.

You say that Dunroaming, but he is managing to do plenty of damage all the same.

 

Quote

But as the secretary hopscotches across millions of acres of Western parks, monuments and wilderness with his Stetson-sporting swagger, a crew of political appointees in Washington has begun rolling back the conservation efforts put in effect over the eight years of the Obama administration. Many of those appointees spent the Obama years working for the oil and gas industry — and they come to the Interior Department with an insider’s knowledge of how its levers work and a wish list of policies from their former employers.

The whole article makes for a surreal read: 

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/us/politics/interior-secretary-zinke-staff-conservation-regulations.html

[Andaman Al]

13 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

Even if that ridiculous statement were ever true , it isn't any more !

It is not a ridiculous statement it is 100% true and can be checked by all Government benchmarks and if you don't trust that simple numbers and Mathematics will prove it. Trump is just transitioning out of the Obama affects on economy, the next 6 months will show what he is made of, but don't build your hopes up.  Right now the situation is NOT 'better' than when Trump took over and if Mexico play the China card which is increasingly likely with forthcoming Presidential elections down there then watch the effect on the US economy in the South. Farmers will have mountains of crops they cannot shift because Mexico will buy from Brazil and Mexico will send all it's exports to China. The writing is on the wall. And jobs are NOT going to come back to America, if Trump and his daughter won't do it, why do you think anyone else will?

Edited July 26, 2017 by Andaman Al

[Andaman Al]

7 minutes ago, Slip said:

You say that Dunroaming, but he is managing to do plenty of damage all the same.

 

The whole article makes for a surreal read: 

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/us/politics/interior-secretary-zinke-staff-conservation-regulations.html

Actually what you print from the article is correct but that is about the INTERIOR Secretary. Tillerson is Secretary of STATE. Completely different posts.

Edited July 26, 2017 by Andaman Al

[Slip]

4 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Actually what you print from the article is correct but that is about the INTERIOR Secretary. Tillerson is Secretary of STATE. Completely different posts.

Apologies- I was actually referring to Dunroaming's comments about Trump being a total disaster.

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, Andaman Al said:

It is not a ridiculous statement it is 100% true and can be checked by all Government benchmarks and if you don't trust that simple numbers and Mathematics will prove it. Trump is just transitioning out of the Obama affects on economy, the next 6 months will show what he is made of, but don't build your hopes up.  Right now the situation is NOT 'better' than when Trump took over and if Mexico play the China card which is increasingly likely with forthcoming Presidential elections down there then watch the effect on the US economy in the South. Farmers will have mountains of crops they cannot shift because Mexico will buy from Brazil and Mexico will send all it's exports to China. The writing is on the wall. And jobs are NOT going to come back to America, if Trump and his daughter won't do it, why do you think anyone else will?

You're replying to/quoting the wrong post.

[Andaman Al]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

You're replying to/quoting the wrong post.

Oops!   Yes it was meant for howbri.

Edited July 26, 2017 by Andaman Al

[joecoolfrog]

5 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

It is not a ridiculous statement it is 100% true and can be checked by all Government benchmarks and if you don't trust that simple numbers and Mathematics will prove it. Trump is just transitioning out of the Obama affects on economy, the next 6 months will show what he is made of, but don't build your hopes up.  Right now the situation is NOT 'better' than when Trump took over and if Mexico play the China card which is increasingly likely with forthcoming Presidential elections down there then watch the effect on the US economy in the South. Farmers will have mountains of crops they cannot shift because Mexico will buy from Brazil and Mexico will send all it's exports to China. The writing is on the wall. And jobs are NOT going to come back to America, if Trump and his daughter won't do it, why do you think anyone else will?

I dont know why you quoted me ;

The ' ridiculous statement ' I referred to was the one that proposed Obama as the worst president ever. I further implied that Trump has set his sights on that very title . Future US citizens will look back in horror at the idiocy of electing the ' Orange Clown '.

[Jingthing]

I dont know why you quoted me ;
The ' ridiculous statement ' I referred to was the one that proposed Obama as the worst president ever. I further implied that Trump has set his sights on that very title . Future US citizens will look back in horror at the idiocy of electing the ' Orange Clown '.

Already!

[Andaman Al]

28 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

I dont know why you quoted me ;

The ' ridiculous statement ' I referred to was the one that proposed Obama as the worst president ever. I further implied that Trump has set his sights on that very title . Future US citizens will look back in horror at the idiocy of electing the ' Orange Clown '.

Read the post above yours, it was already covered and explained.