Chicago Tribune- ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson has emerged as the top candidate for secretary of state, according to two people familiar with the deliberations.
Tillerson and former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney were two of the finalists, along with former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Giuliani withdrew his name from contention Friday.
Tillerson ... has extensive business dealings and ties to Russia, which could pose a potential problem for his nomination. Top Republicans in the Senate and President Barack Obama are pushing for increased scrutiny of Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
As CEO of the world's largest publicly traded company, Tillerson has brokered deals with Russia for drilling rights, which had been imperiled by U.S. sanctions against Moscow after Russia's invasion of Crimea and its actions in Ukraine.
1 comment:
I think that this is a very smart move. Obama and Clinton's demonization of Putin drove resource rich Russia into the hands of resource-needy China. That created a Eurasian giant whose resource and manufacturing capabilities dwarfed that of the United States. That was a strategic foreign policy blunder of epic proportions. Perhaps the greatest foreign policy blunder in American history. America should be separating Russia from China - not driving them into each other's arms.
Secondly, Russia will never, ever give up Crimea. Crimea is 1) traditionally a Russian province 2) is 85% ethnic Russian (only 3.5% Ukrainian), and, 3) is Russia's only warm water port in the east. The American line that "Russia must cede Crimea to a virulently "anti-Russia" Ukraine" is downright psychotic.
This is a welcome change from the Bush/Obama/Neocon that we "rule the world" and don't need to negotiate since we can just give orders. It is a breath of sanity.
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