After a long few weeks of speculating who President elect-Trump would chose for the crucial role of Secretary of State, Trump announced his choice to be Exxon Mobil chief executive and long-time Russian ally, Rex Tillerson. (That is why this blog post is called “The R is for Russia).
Robert Reich outlined some helpful points about Tillerson which I have summarized below. These points can be found on his Facebook post from December 13th.:
- Tillerson has had a 41-year career with the worlds 8th largest corporation, Exxon Mobil. The company, by its very being stands against pushing for “clean energy”, but has bee scrutinized for its slow response to cleanup efforts in the world’s worst oil spill in 1989 in Alaska. In addition, Exxon mobil has been targeted with accusations of improperly dealing with Human Rights issues and improperly influencing American foreign policy – now it seems it will have the front seat to our foreign affairs.
- In 2-13, Rex Tillerson ws awarded the Order of Friendship by President Putin, which is considered the highest honor Russia gives to foreign citizen. These close Russia ties date back to Tillerson’s connection and management of Exxon’s Russia account.
- Tillerson advocates against sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the EU against Russia in their annexation of Crimea and their attempted military actions against Ukraine. This may be due to the fact that when the sanctions were imposed, Exxon was hit with $1 billion in losses due to the collapse of Russia-Exxon arctic drilling deal. Follow the money, people.
- With the state department leading the charge against human rights abuses, it is ironic that Tillerson himself led Exxon mobil to countries in the Middle East, Euatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan, where there are multiple accusations of human rights abuses.
- He opposes anthropogenic climate change and has defended Exxon Mobil in investigations into wether they hid information with research proving climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels.
On all measures, Tillerson is a horrible choice.But is he the right choice for Trump? Of course. Trump believes the the root of making “America Great” is oil and gas, and having close relations with strong countries. Close relations with Russia is good for business, for Trump and Tillerson that is. As Americans we should be weary about these close relations, and personal relationships these “politicians” have with nations such as Russia.
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