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How Rex Tillerson Turned The State Department Into a Ghost Ship

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How Rex Tillerson Turned The State Department Into a Ghost Ship

By Bob Dreyfuss - 5 hours ago

Rex Tillerson Turned the State Department Into a Ghost Ship - Rolling Stone


When Donald Trump tapped Rex Tillerson, then CEO of ExxonMobil, to serve as secretary of state, expectations weren't high. With zero experience in government or diplomacy, Tillerson got the job after winning the support of Steve Bannon, the iconoclastic former Breitbart News chief, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. From the start, he was widely panned for his close ties to the Russian oil industry, including one deal worth a reported $500 billion, and questions were raised about Tillerson's lack of familiarity about tensions with North Korea, the war in Afghanistan, the battle against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or the Arab-Israeli problem.

Perhaps, then, Tillerson would find smart people to help him along? Well, no. Six months after taking office, Tillerson's State Department is populated by ghosts, with office after office empty, top positions unfilled, key ambassadorships unnamed. Under Tillerson's uncertain leadership, America's diplomatic expertise – its ability to bring experience to bear on knotty international problems, its facility for reconciling warring parties and conflicts from the Middle East to Asia – has been decimated. And that has given the upper hand to the Pentagon. Whereas Trump and Tillerson have announced plans to cut the budget of the State Department by one-third, the White House is seeking a bump of $54 billion for the Department of Defense.

"The militarization of everything is kind of taking place," Max Bergmann, a former senior State Department official under President Obama, tells Rolling Stone.

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So, Trump is preparing America for ENDLESS WARS :doh

'Make America Go To War & Kill Off Our Troops Again' :eek:uch:
 
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This is almost entirely Trump's fault, as opposed to Tillerson's. Any other Secretary of State pick would be in the same boat now. Thanks to Trump going out of his way to insult every freaking demographic he can think of nobody who values their career is going anywhere near his Presidency, as I believe I've previously stated, particularly not when you can end up in Sean Spicer's position of having to defend sometimes insane actions. Tillerson himself is pretty damn competent (you don't get to be CEO of ExxonMobil otherwise).
 
How Rex Tillerson Turned The State Department Into a Ghost Ship

By Bob Dreyfuss - 5 hours ago

Rex Tillerson Turned the State Department Into a Ghost Ship - Rolling Stone


When Donald Trump tapped Rex Tillerson, then CEO of ExxonMobil, to serve as secretary of state, expectations weren't high. With zero experience in government or diplomacy, Tillerson got the job after winning the support of Steve Bannon, the iconoclastic former Breitbart News chief, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. From the start, he was widely panned for his close ties to the Russian oil industry, including one deal worth a reported $500 billion, and questions were raised about Tillerson's lack of familiarity about tensions with North Korea, the war in Afghanistan, the battle against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or the Arab-Israeli problem.

Perhaps, then, Tillerson would find smart people to help him along? Well, no. Six months after taking office, Tillerson's State Department is populated by ghosts, with office after office empty, top positions unfilled, key ambassadorships unnamed. Under Tillerson's uncertain leadership, America's diplomatic expertise – its ability to bring experience to bear on knotty international problems, its facility for reconciling warring parties and conflicts from the Middle East to Asia – has been decimated. And that has given the upper hand to the Pentagon. Whereas Trump and Tillerson have announced plans to cut the budget of the State Department by one-third, the White House is seeking a bump of $54 billion for the Department of Defense.

"The militarization of everything is kind of taking place," Max Bergmann, a former senior State Department official under President Obama, tells Rolling Stone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, Trump is preparing America for ENDLESS WARS :doh

'Make America Go To War & Kill Off Our Troops Again' :eek:uch:

Positions are unfilled because most trump appointees have not been approved by the senate
 
Positions are unfilled because most trump appointees have not been approved by the senate

Many have not been appointed. Hard to confirm what's not there......
 
Positions are unfilled because most trump appointees have not been approved by the senate

Wrong. Most positions are unfilled because there haven't been nominations. Please stop spouting off things that aren't true.
 
Positions are unfilled because most trump appointees have not been approved by the senate
It's possible that there're some facts you do not have.
[...not that anyone should ever let that keep them from forming and voicing political opinions—I know I don't let it stop me. ; )]

from the article in the OP, Trump and Tillerson haven't nominated people to go before the Senate


"According to a tracker compiled by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, Trump and Tillerson have yet to nominate candidates to fill more than 83 senior-level positions and ambassadorships, and that's only a partial count. At the level of assistant secretary – the folks who actually manage day-to-day diplomacy – out of 22 positions, only two people have been nominated, and one confirmed. Empty offices include assistant secretaries for Near Eastern affairs, South Asian affairs, European and Eurasian affairs, Western Hemisphere affairs, East Asian and Pacific affairs, African affairs, political-military affairs, arms control, population, migration and refugees, democracy, human rights, labor and many more.

...in Libya in 2012, ...Benghazi...attacked...American ambassador killed, there's no assistant secretary for diplomatic security [in Benghazi]"​

Benghazi?
That sounds vaguely familiar.
What difference does it make?
 
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Wrong. Most positions are unfilled because there haven't been nominations. Please stop spouting off things that aren't true.
Please.

If people stopped posting bull****,
If people stopped forming misshapen opinions out of talking-head poop and too little information,
This whole message board would be dead in short order.

The funniest posters are the posters who don't think that they are idiots like the rest of us.
 
Positions are unfilled because most trump appointees have not been approved by the senate


from the several articles I have read, and don't know if they are correct but if they are, the appointments for nomination have yet to be requisitioned ...........

that would seem to be a failure of the Trump administration, more than anything else

of course, Trump knows NOTHING of government operation so, this does seem plausible, even a given

just more **** sandwich Trump ................

pretty sure the old bastard just wants a big ole ass ****ing war so, he can 'Make America Great Again' :roll:
 
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from the several articles I have read, and don't know if they are correct but if they are, the appointments for nomination have yet to be requisitioned ...........

that would seem to be a failure of the Trump administration, more than anything else

of course, Trump knows NOTHING of government operation so, this does seem plausible, even a given

just more **** sandwich Trump ................

pretty sure the old bastard just wants a big ole ass ****ing war so, he can 'Make America Great Again' :roll:

Good. Government operations haven't worked so well. Cleaning house and making things more business-like can only help government.
 
It's possible that there're some facts you do not have.
[...not that anyone should ever let that keep them from forming and voicing political opinions—I know I don't let it stop me. ; )]

from the article in the OP, Trump and Tillerson haven't nominated people to go before the Senate


"According to a tracker compiled by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, Trump and Tillerson have yet to nominate candidates to fill more than 83 senior-level positions and ambassadorships, and that's only a partial count. At the level of assistant secretary – the folks who actually manage day-to-day diplomacy – out of 22 positions, only two people have been nominated, and one confirmed. Empty offices include assistant secretaries for Near Eastern affairs, South Asian affairs, European and Eurasian affairs, Western Hemisphere affairs, East Asian and Pacific affairs, African affairs, political-military affairs, arms control, population, migration and refugees, democracy, human rights, labor and many more.

...in Libya in 2012, ...Benghazi...attacked...American ambassador killed, there's no assistant secretary for diplomatic security [in Benghazi]"​

Benghazi?
That sounds vaguely familiar.
What difference does it make?

And what would be the hurry, since Senate Dems are using cloture to block nominees? Repubs shouls just go nuclear already. But then leftist loons would just complain about that. :roll:
 
Tillerson replacing Kerry is the greatest upgrade in the history of the State Dept. I'll leave it at that.
 
Wrong. Most positions are unfilled because there haven't been nominations. Please stop spouting off things that aren't true.

The people who elected Trump wanted someone to go to D.C. and blow the place up. So it's blown up now. No wonder the Russians were so happy to help.
 
Tillerson replacing Kerry is the greatest upgrade in the history of the State Dept. I'll leave it at that.

Why? What has Tillerson done?
 
How Rex Tillerson Turned The State Department Into a Ghost Ship

By Bob Dreyfuss - 5 hours ago

Rex Tillerson Turned the State Department Into a Ghost Ship - Rolling Stone


When Donald Trump tapped Rex Tillerson, then CEO of ExxonMobil, to serve as secretary of state, expectations weren't high. With zero experience in government or diplomacy, Tillerson got the job after winning the support of Steve Bannon, the iconoclastic former Breitbart News chief, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. From the start, he was widely panned for his close ties to the Russian oil industry, including one deal worth a reported $500 billion, and questions were raised about Tillerson's lack of familiarity about tensions with North Korea, the war in Afghanistan, the battle against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or the Arab-Israeli problem.

Perhaps, then, Tillerson would find smart people to help him along? Well, no. Six months after taking office, Tillerson's State Department is populated by ghosts, with office after office empty, top positions unfilled, key ambassadorships unnamed. Under Tillerson's uncertain leadership, America's diplomatic expertise – its ability to bring experience to bear on knotty international problems, its facility for reconciling warring parties and conflicts from the Middle East to Asia – has been decimated. And that has given the upper hand to the Pentagon. Whereas Trump and Tillerson have announced plans to cut the budget of the State Department by one-third, the White House is seeking a bump of $54 billion for the Department of Defense.

"The militarization of everything is kind of taking place," Max Bergmann, a former senior State Department official under President Obama, tells Rolling Stone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, Trump is preparing America for ENDLESS WARS :doh

'Make America Go To War & Kill Off Our Troops Again' :eek:uch:

This is one of the big ones on Russia's wish list.

 
Tillerson replacing Kerry is the greatest upgrade in the history of the State Dept. I'll leave it at that.

Actually, I miss the good ol' Huma and Carlos days, the blatant lies to the parents of the fallen Benghazi four days, the private server-in-the-bathroom-days, the National classified secrets days, the Cheryl Mills days, and the enormous entourage replete with "spin cycle" buttboys-to-cover-all-the-lies days.

I want Hillary back. She was a true patriot. It's just not fayerrr.
 
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This administration is in no shape to handle any possible future crisis, international or domestic. This admin can barely handle a press conference as it is. With their staffing and inexperience, they are nowhere near being capable of handling anything critical.
 
And what would be the hurry, since Senate Dems are using cloture to block nominees? Repubs shouls just go nuclear already. But then leftist loons would just complain about that. :roll:
The GOP should just give up because governing is hard?


Seriously, though, the world did not go on pause while Trump gets our **** together.

The various things we've needed the State Department to do for the past two centuries—since 1789—needed doing yesterday, need doing today, and will need doing tomorrow.

Just because you are personally unaware of what all the State Department does, that doesn't mean our Founding Fathers were idiots when they created the State Department.

Just because Trump can't get our **** together like every other PotUS before him, doesn't mean that our Founding Fathers created an unnecessary bureau to handle international relations.

So, yeah, there's a hurry.

You may not understand what it is, but the "hurry" exists.
 
The GOP should just give up because governing is hard?


Seriously, though, the world did not go on pause while Trump gets our **** together.

The various things we've needed the State Department to do for the past two centuries—since 1789—needed doing yesterday, need doing today, and will need doing tomorrow.

Just because you are personally unaware of what all the State Department does, that doesn't mean our Founding Fathers were idiots when they created the State Department.

Just because Trump can't get our **** together like every other PotUS before him, doesn't mean that our Founding Fathers created an unnecessary bureau to handle international relations.

So, yeah, there's a hurry.

You may not understand what it is, but the "hurry" exists.

I think I follow you, but please enlighten us on the many successes of the Obama state department. Please start with uranium.
 
I think I follow you, but please enlighten us on the many successes of the Obama state department. Please start with uranium.
You are eager to change the subject aintchya?

Why is that?

Does it make you uncomfortable to know that our Executive branch ain't got our **** together half a year in?

It bugs the **** outta me.

But I have reached the point where I am finally able to talk about it.

Take your time.
It's different for everybody.

You'll reach the point where you're willing to talk about the Trump failures.
Just hang in there.
You'll see.
It'll take a while, but you'll get there.

One day you'll be able to talk about Trump's failures w/o having to bring up Obummer and Killary.
 
You are eager to change the subject aintchya?

Why is that?

Does it make you uncomfortable to know that our Executive branch ain't got our **** together half a year in?

It bugs the **** outta me.

But I have reached the point where I am finally able to talk about it.

Take your time.
It's different for everybody.

You'll reach the point where you're willing to talk about the Trump failures.
Just hang in there.
You'll see.
It'll take a while, but you'll get there.

One day you'll be able to talk about Trump's failures w/o having to bring up Obummer and Killary.

So, you must be in on all the morning security briefings. Which means you have a Top Secret Clearance, which means if you tell me, you'll have to kill me.

Fact is, you don't know ****, except maybe what you hear on CNN or some other equally reliable skag sack. When you can prove that we "ain't got our **** together a half year in," let me know.
 
Good. Government operations haven't worked so well. Cleaning house and making things more business-like can only help government.


well, my idea, and others would agree, is the State Dept. is in place for one major function & that is they serve as a diplomatic effort to avoid belligerence & war

If you like belligerence & war then you may agree with gutting the Sate Dept. but then that would seem to go along with the Trump demographic ...........
 
So, you must be in on all the morning security briefings. Which means you have a Top Secret Clearance, which means if you tell me, you'll have to kill me.
Fact is, you don't know ****, except maybe what you hear on CNN or some other equally reliable skag sack. When you can prove that we "ain't got our **** together a half year in," let me know.

Well, were discussing the information contained in the article linked in the OP.
That article, as well as more than one post in this thread have mentioned the dearth of people in the State Department positions.
My comments that you are replying to reference the details which have been provided in this thread.
So the information is here in this thread if you would actually like to know.

Does that count as me letting you know?
I can link to specific posts in this thread if that will help any.
 
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