US secretary of state candidate and his opinion about Iran

[Arminkh]

This is an interesting article about Rex Tillerson and his attitude towards Russia and Iran.

I'm really optimistic that bringing fresh business people into US politics could push for better days ahead:

Rex Tillerson, Trump's Pick For Secretary Of State, On Russia, Iran, Climate Change
December 13, 2016

• Carl Schreck

Profile: Tillerson And Russia

• nominee for secretary of state, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is sending a strong signal that he intends to seriously pursue his campaign pledge of seeking a rapprochement with Russia.
  
  As a senior oil executive who has worked on ExxonMobil deals in Russia since the 1990s, Tillerson has had a consistent record of pushing for closer ties with Russia and has felt firsthand the effects of U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea and the backing of armed separatists in Ukraine.
  
  While the 64-year-old Tillerson has no diplomatic or government experience, he has made a number of comments about Russia and its leaders and has weighed in on a number of issues he can expect to face if confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Trump's secretary of state:
  
  On Putin
  
  Tillerson has met frequently with President Vladimir Putin since the Russian leader's ascent 16 years ago, and he was one of two oil executives that Putin honored with a state "friendship" award in 2013.
  
  John Hamre, a U.S. deputy defense secretary under former President Bill Clinton, told The Wall Street Journal that Tillerson likely has had "more interactive time"with Putin than any other American except former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
  
  On Russia Sanctions
  
  Tillerson's public statements about Russia have largely been confined to business matters. But after his company's $500 billion deal to develop Arctic reserves with state-owned oil major Rosneft was derailed by U.S. sanctions in response to Moscow's 2014 seizure of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, he criticized sanctions as a geopolitical tool in general.
  
  "We don't find them to be effective unless they are very well implemented comprehensively, and that's a very hard thing to do. So we always encourage the people who are making those decisions to consider the very broad collateral damage of who are they really harming with sanctions and what are their objectives and whether sanctions are really effective or not," he told shareholders in 2014.
  
  Trump, who has voiced support for repairing ties with Moscow and boosting counterterrorism cooperation, has already said that he would examine the possibility of lifting the sanctions against Russia.
  
  Such a move, which has drawn bipartisan criticism in Congress, would likely put ExxonMobil's Arctic development plans with Rosneft back on the table, raising the prospect of a conflict of interest. The Washington Post reported in April that Tillerson had around $218 million tied up in ExxonMobil stock.
  
  
  
  
  Rosneft chief Igor Sechin (right) with Tillerson in Russia's Krasnodar region in June 2012
  
  
  
  Bonds With Rosneft
  
  Tillerson has also established a bond with Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin, Putin's powerful longtime political ally who was personally hit with U.S. and EU sanctions in response to the Ukraine conflict.
  
  Sechin told Rosnseft shareholders in 2014 that despite the sanctions, "I'd like to ride motorcycles with Tillerson on the roads of the U.S."
  
  Criticisms Of Russia
  
  While Tillerson has largely refrained from criticizing Putin and the Kremlin publicly, he did tell the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in 2008 that Russia "must improve the functioning of its judicial system, and its judiciary."
  
  "There is no respect for the rule of law in Russia today," he said at the forum.
  
  That criticism, however, was broadly in line with then-President Dmitry Medvedev's castigation of "legal nihilism" in the country and pledges to reform what he portrayed as a faulty judiciary.
  
  Despite his many interactions with Putin and top Russian officials, Tillerson has publicly expressed bafflement about the opacity of Russia's leadership.
  
  "I don't know whether anyone ever will be able to sort out entirely why the Russian government does what it does," he said in 2007.
  
  Iran
  
  During his campaign, Trump denounced a deal between Iran and major world powers aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for the lifting of some international sanctions. But he sent mixed messages about how he would handle it should he win the White House, at times pledging to scrap it altogether and at others suggesting he would renegotiate and squeeze greater concessions from Tehran.
  
  Tillerson, who led the world's largest company and negotiated with dozens of governments all over the world on ExxonMobil deals, would likely play a key role should Trump seek new terms from Tehran.
  
  Tillerson, however, appears open to the possibility of U.S. companies doing business in Iran. He said in a television interview in March that ExxonMobil would "certainly take a look" at investing there "because it's a huge resource-owning country."
  
  Climate Change
  
  During his campaign, Trump vowed to end Washington's involvement in the Paris Agreement to battle climate change, a deal that outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama sees as central to his legacy. In 2012, Trump tweeted that global warming is a "hoax" created by China to take jobs from Americans.
  
  
  
  Follow
  Donald J. Trump
  
  ✔@realDonaldTrump
  The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
  
  
  Since his election, Trump has said that he has an "open mind" about the deal, though he has already drawn fire from critics for tapping climate-change skeptics for his cabinet.
  
  Tillerson was quoted as saying in October that ExxonMobil "share the view that the risks of climate change are real and warrant serious action," and the company issued a statement in November supporting the Paris climate accord.
  
  
  
  Follow
  Simon Evans @DrSimEvans
  "We share the view that the risks of climate change are real and warrant serious action" Tillerson #OM2016
  
  
  Tillerson has also expressed optimism that the dangers of climate change are manageable thanks to human ingenuity.
  
  "As a species, that's why we're all still here: We have spent our entire existence adapting. So we will adapt to this," he told the Council of Foreign Relations in New York in 2012. "It's an engineering problem, and it has engineering solutions."
  
  After Tillerson became CEO, ExxonMobil also backed a carbon tax in 2006. Tillerson, however, has come under fire from environmental activists who say ExxonMobil had long known about that fossil fuels are contributing to climate change, and the attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts are currently investigating whether the company concealed this from investors and the public.
  
  

http://www.rferl.org/a/tillerson-russia-trump-putin-iran-climate-change-views/28173773.html

 

[AmirPatriot]

I'm really optimistic that bringing fresh business people into US politics could push for better days ahead:

So am I, but we can't forget that Trump is still Trump, he is still a Republican, he is more likely than not to be tougher on Iran than Obama. I know we can point to how he has gone back on his promises and statements but I don't think some basic realities can be changed. Besides, congress is still overwhelmingly anti-Iran.

 

[Russell]

Trump isn't the issue - He only became a Republican because it suited him. He was a democrat longer than he was a republican...not to mention, a lot of his policies don't actually jive with republican thinking.

Remember how Bush has a bunch of people around him, who decided Iraq was their pet project? Trump has a ton of people around him, who want to 'get' Iran. And with the war mongering piece of shit Netanyahu around - that's all the encouragement Trump will need.

 

[Arminkh]

So am I, but we can't forget that Trump is still Trump, he is still a Republican, he is more likely than not to be tougher on Iran than Obama. I know we can point to how he has gone back on his promises and statements but I don't think some basic realities can be changed. Besides, congress is still overwhelmingly anti-Iran.

That's true. But at the end of the day, his ultimate goal and why he got to the office is the promise for more jobs for US Citizens. Better relation with Iran, the last untapped sizable marked in the world, means more jobs for US citizens. Bad relations with Iran, means all those jobs will be lost to Russia, China and Europeans who have made it clear they are not going to put sanctions on Iran anymore.

And you also need to remember that his relation with Congress is not good at all. Just yesterday the biggest names in Republican party backed further investigation into the allegation that Russia helped Trump to win the election! Can you believe that? I think the relation between the congress and the white house will at best be rocky. And I'm sure he won't hesitate to veto their rulings if he has to.

And even better, he avoids the routine security updates that he needs to go through provided by CIA as he calls them politically motivated. I'm with him on that.

This is going to be very exciting.

Trump isn't the issue - He only became a Republican because it suited him. He was a democrat longer than he was a republican...not to mention, a lot of his policies don't actually jive with republican thinking.

Remember how Bush has a bunch of people around him, who decided Iraq was their pet project? Trump has a ton of people around him, who want to 'get' Iran. And with the war mongering piece of shit Netanyahu around - that's all the encouragement Trump will need.

Ever since WWII, US has never faced a credible army. Iran can not be compared to any of the countries that US has taken on after WWII and US generals especially his new secretary of defense, know that better than anybody else.

Trump has already pictured himself as a reckless, racist anti Muslim person. Starting a war with Iran would only reinforce that perception among rest of the world let alone the war will be a disaster. I bet he is not that stupid and even the most hawkish people around him, like his secretary of defense have already said that tearing Iran's deal is a mistake.

He is not stupid. On the contrary he is very, very smart.

 

[AmirPatriot]

his ultimate goal and why he got to the office is the promise for more jobs for US Citizens

That is true, but his supporters are those who cheer when he says he will blow Iranian boats out of the water, among other provocations, he has a certain mandate, and that is to be tougher on Iran. The question is if he will allow his business interests to distract him from his stated policies.

I've just thought, we should try and sign a huge deal with ExxonMobil and Trump's hotel development franchise

 

[somebozo]

US has not gained anything from conflict with India beside war..war...and more war..war has become addiction for certain industries which make a lot of money from arms..may be if the two tried to work together rather than trying to slit each other throat off..they could achieve something tangible..

 

[Arminkh]

That is true, but his supporters are those who cheer when he says he will blow Iranian boats out of the water, among other provocations, he has a certain mandate, and that is to be tougher on Iran. The question is if he will allow his business interests to distract him from his stated policies.

I've just thought, we should try and sign a huge deal with ExxonMobil and Trump's hotel development franchise

That's a great idea. Specially now that I've heard the waiting time for some Iranian hotels in Shiraz is around 3 months! We definitely need more hotels and Trump definitely knows how to run them.