Rex Tillerson: This was 'not my first sword dance'

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anatta

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that it wasn't his first sword dance in Saudi Arabia, but he was very out of practice.

"I hadn't been practicing, Chris, but it was not my first sword dance," Tillerson said in responding to
"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace.


I am more and more impressed with our new Sec of State. In the interview he mentioned how partnering
with SA ( and other states) is key to checking "Iranian hegemony" ( his words).

The arms deal w/SA is over a 10 year period!
Meaning that alone would keep a POTUS like Obama from drifting away fro the so called "special relationship"

Last week Tillerson made the sage point " there is no Russian reset -
there is only here and now and how do we go forward repairing that relationship."

Such clarity of thought combined with an innate understanding of realpolitik is amazing!

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rex-tillerson-this-was-not-my-first-sword-dance/article/2623739
 
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39992416



Iran's re-elected moderate President Hassan Rouhani has received a further boost after reformists won key council elections in the capital, Tehran.
The pro-Rouhani reformist group Omid (Hope) won all 21 seats, ousting their conservative rivals who had been in power for 14 years.
Mr Rouhani won Friday's presidential election in the first round.
He promised voters a moderate and outward-looking Iran and criticised the conservative-dominated judiciary.
Council elections were held alongside the presidential vote and the results were announced on Sunday.
 
Iran's re-elected moderate President Hassan Rouhani has received a further boost after reformists won key council elections in the capital, Tehran.
The pro-Rouhani reformist group Omid (Hope) won all 21 seats, ousting their conservative rivals who had been in power for 14 years.
Mr Rouhani won Friday's presidential election in the first round.
He promised voters a moderate and outward-looking Iran and criticised the conservative-dominated judiciary.
Council elections were held alongside the presidential vote and the results were announced on Sunday.



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39992416
 
here is the link to last week's Meet the Press w/Tillerson
https://www.justplainpolitics.com/showthread.php?80284-Sec-of-State-Tillerson-on-Meet-the-Press

REX TILLERSON:

Well, Chuck, the president I think has made it clear that he feels it's important that we reengage with Russia. The relationship with Russia, as he has described, and I have described as well, is I think at an all-time low point since the end of the Cold War, with a very low level of trust.

I think the world, and it's in the interest of the American people, it's in the interest of Russia, the rest of the world, that we do something to see if we cannot improve the relationship between the two greatest nuclear powers in the world. So the president, I think, is committed to at least make an effort in that regard, and he has certainly asked me to make an important effort as well.....
 
evince said:
where was bin ladin from?
Click to expand...

Saudi Arabia, originally.

Ultimately, it's just a place on the map with lots of sand with oil underneath it. The Saudi government was no friend of bin Laden, al Qaeda or ISIS. That said, they walk a tightrope of their own making since the Saudi government is sharia based: hence, SA will always be a breeding ground for the ideology of radical Islam.

As a practical matter, there's little we can do about that. We can't nuke them and turn it into a glazed parking lot. And if we walk away, it's going to leave a vacuum the Russians or someone else will happily step into.

Welcome to the world of realpolitik---a place where sheer common sense reigns.
 
evince said:
Bush couldn't get OBL


Obama got him
Click to expand...

We couldn't find Osama till Obama's ascension from junior senator to POTUS lol.

OBL was pretty slippery to be able to elude the CIA for so long. He was cleavor enough to not use the internet or smart phones---for years. His computer wasn't connected to the web, so he would type his perverse thoughts out and have them loaded to a thumb drive, which curriers would then carry to his underlings or Al Jazeera.

While Obama was in office, the CIA isolated one of Osama's curriers, they traced him to a town in Pakistan and Obama gave the order to nail Osama.

Yes, Obama gets credit for getting Osama. Not to say Bush wouldn't have---given the identical circumstances.
 
Darth Omar said:
Saudi Arabia, originally.

Ultimately, it's just a place on the map with lots of sand with oil underneath it. The Saudi government was no friend of bin Laden, al Qaeda or ISIS. That said, they walk a tightrope of their own making since the Saudi government is sharia based: hence, SA will always be a breeding ground for the ideology of radical Islam.

As a practical matter, there's little we can do about that. We can't nuke them and turn it into a glazed parking lot. And if we walk away, it's going to leave a vacuum the Russians or someone else will happily step into.

Welcome to the world of realpolitik---a place where sheer common sense reigns.
Click to expand...
yep. see my sig..
demonization of Putin ( or SA) is not a substitute for a policy
 
Darth Omar said:
We couldn't find Osama till Obama's ascension from junior senator to POTUS lol.

OBL was pretty slippery to be able to elude the CIA for so long. He was cleavor enough to not use the internet or smart phones---for years. His computer wasn't connected to the web, so he would type his perverse thoughts out and have them loaded to a thumb drive, which curriers would then carry to his underlings or Al Jazeera.

While Obama was in office, the CIA isolated one of Osama's curriers, they traced him to a town in Pakistan and Obama gave the order to nail Osama.

Yes, Obama gets credit for getting Osama. Not to say Bush wouldn't have---given the identical circumstances.
Click to expand...

Bush actually had a chance to go after Osama at 2 critical junctures but committed resources elsewhere. It was a matter of prioritization, that can be debated, but the basic fact is that his hunt for OBL was lackluster at best.
 
Thing1 said:
Bush actually had a chance to go after Osama at 2 critical junctures but committed resources elsewhere. It was a matter of prioritization, that can be debated, but the basic fact is that his hunt for OBL was lackluster at best.
Click to expand...

I agree with that. I think personally it had a lot to do with Cheney. As long as the bogeyman was out there it was carte blanche for increased spending for no bid contracts, bending government policies etc. Cheney did not want the cash cow to end.
 
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