Should Rex Tillerson really leave?
December 16, 2017 by admin
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Rumors originating in the White House that Secretary of State Rex TillersonRex Wayne TillersonOvernight Defense: Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital | Mattis, Tillerson reportedly opposed move | Pentagon admits 2,000 US troops are in Syria | Trump calls on Saudis to ‘immediately’ lift Yemen blockade Trump has yet to name ambassadors to key nations in Mideast Mattis, Tillerson warned Trump of security concerns in Israel embassy move MORE has lost the confidence of President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE and will soon be replaced have been complemented by several former senior State Department officials including Democrats, Republicans and (theoretically) career nonpartisans including a former secretary of State, that, in effect, Tillerson “must go.”
Among his critics outside the White House, the reasons for discontent are several and varied but center around two themes: First, that he is willing to be a mere figurehead in an administration in which an impulsive, vindictive president will make his own foreign policy decisions while deriding and diminishing his secretary of State, and second, that Tillerson has created his own mess by failing to manage the department, fill critical vacancies, push back against funding decreases, and that he capitulates on policy issues, even if he has done all of it at the direction of the White House. Any stronger, self-respecting senior cabinet official, let alone the secretary of State, would call the bluff or resign, they argue.
But is that really the course which those calling for his resignation should be pursuing, given their own policy preferences and recommendations? Even taking their criticisms as gospel, would Tillerson’s resignation be better or worse than his remaining, especially when his apparent successor would seem to be Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoTillerson: State Dept. ‘not missing a beat’ despite vacancies Trump considering spy network to combat ‘deep state’ enemies: Intercept Five things senators should ask Tom Cotton if he’s nominated to lead the CIA MORE, director of the Central Intelligence Agency?
A potential Tillerson resignation should be considered against his record and against the alternatives to his continued tenure. No one is suggesting that Tillerson is a runner-up against George Marshall, James Baker or Henry Kissinger, but that is not the realistic standard, especially given the president he serves. Together with Secretary of Defense James MattisJames Norman MattisOvernight Defense: Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital | Mattis, Tillerson reportedly opposed move | Pentagon admits 2,000 US troops are in Syria | Trump calls on Saudis to ‘immediately’ lift Yemen blockade Trump has yet to name ambassadors to key nations in Mideast Mattis, Tillerson warned Trump of security concerns in Israel embassy move MORE and, for the most part, White House chief of staff John KellyJohn Francis KellyMORE, Tillerson has tempered Trump’s most impetuous instincts and comments on North Korea, NATO guarantees, the split among the Gulf states, the Saudi-led coalition‘s actions in Yemen, Pakistan, China and, until recently, Jerusalem.
To take only the most precarious potentials, notwithstanding Trump’s pointed and demeaning criticism that Tillerson is wasting his time talking with North Korea’s “Little Rocket Man” over the testing and potentially arming of missiles that can deliver nuclear strikes against our close allies and now even against U.S. territory, Tillerson has stayed the diplomatic course and arguably helped inhibit a preemptive first strike by the United States. He has sought to allay alarm in Europe about the U.S. commitments to NATO, especially Article 5, and the core of the alliance. He has walked back Trump’s urge to support the Saudi’s over the Qataris, encouraged discussion between them, helped avoid a complete rupture, and kept intact U.S. equities among them.
Pompeo, however, would almost certainly side with Trump on most such issues. He is more likely to commend, even celebrate, than temper Trump’s personal proclivities because he shares them. Had he been in Tillerson’s place, would there be any attempt to talk with North Korea? Or to work with Japan and South Korea on a common approach? Or to keep the Gulf allies from fratricide? Or to reverse Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation and keep Lebanon from imploding? Or to avoid an even greater decline in personnel and budget at the State Department?
The option on offer in a Trump administration is not John Jay, George Schultz or Colin Powell. It is not the policies most of Trump’s critics support. Pompeo might well be more effective at staffing senior positions at the State Department, but consider who the incumbents would be and what policies would they would advance? Whatever Tillerson’s policy and managerial deficiencies, his critics should consider his likely replacement and, in that context and from their own perspectives, urge him to stay, hope that he does, and lend him appropriate support.
Gerald F. Hyman is a nonresident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He served with the U.S. Agency for International Development for 17 years and was director of its Office of Democracy and Governance from 2002 to 2007.
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The Thomas fire is now the fourth largest in California wildfire history
December 15, 2017 by admin
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The monstrous Thomas fire burned itself into the California history books again Thursday as fire officials confirmed it now ranks as the fourth-largest on record.
Despite a couple days of reduced winds and feverish efforts by firefighters to establish new containment lines, the 242,500-acre blaze has surpassed the size of the Zaca fire, which scorched Santa Barbara County in 2007, according to Dave Zaniboni, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Ironically, firefighters hope the 240,207-acre Zaca fire burn scar, as well as the younger vegetation it contains, will help them fight the Thomas fire’s growth along its western edge.
Firefighters have taken advantage of a two-day lull in winds to increase fire containment to 30%. Those efforts could be tested soon, however, as forecasters predict a new blast of Santa Ana winds Thursday, and sundowner winds over Santa Barbara County on Friday.
At a morning briefing Thursday, fire commanders said another day of extremely low humidity and moderate winds would greet firefighters as they continued to build containment lines above Carpinteria, Montecito and Santa Barbara.
The mountains north of the coast produce notoriously unpredictable and dangerous conditions for firefighters, said fire behavior analyst Tim Chavez. In the Matilija wilderness, which straddles the border between the two counties, observers saw 50-foot flames backing down a hillside overnight, he said. It’s unusual to see flames that tall working their way down a mountain, officials said.
“This thing is 60 miles long and 40 miles wide,” Chavez said of the blaze. “There’s a lot of fire out there.”
Gusty Santa Ana winds are expected for Los Angeles and Ventura counties Thursday, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service. In the mountains, gusts of 55 mph are possible.
In the valleys, 15 to 25 mph gusts are predicted, with some gusts of up to 40 mph, Seto said. Over the past few days, a break in the weather has allowed firefighters to increase containment.
“That’s the thing, it’s just going to do the opposite now. The humidities are still down in the single digits,” Seto said. “These winds, especially in the mountain areas, are really going to start blowing the fire around again. What it does is carry the embers further down and can create more fires.”
Winds will be north to northeast, and usually the Ventura side is more affected than the Santa Barbara side, Seto said.
“But it’s still going to have an effect up in the mountain areas of Santa Barbara,” he added. Winds up there will be up to 25 mph and a little gusty, “so there’s still going to be a big concern up in that area,” he said.
Throughout mountain areas on Thursday there’s a greater risk for large fire plumes, which can cause erratic fire behavior.
“It carries the heat up, and it looks like a thunderstorm cloud,” Seto said. “From there, the fire could spread out. Sometimes they collapse, and it’s a strong down-rush of winds and it spreads the fire.”
Sundowner winds are expected Friday into Saturday in the Santa Barbara area. On Sunday, winds are expected to return to offshore conditions, Seto said.
brittny.mejia@latimes.com
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