March 31, 2017
For Tillerson, Showing Up at NATO Isn’t Enough
Bowing to outside pressure, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to attend his first meeting with NATO’s foreign ministers on Friday. But that was not his initial plan. Scheduling problems originally gave the secretary of state two bad options: go to NATO and miss Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States (not good, given criticism that he is already turning into a no-show secretary) or stay home and send acting Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Shannon (sending the signal, “I see enough of you guys and NATO is a second tier priority”).
These scheduling conflicts happen all the time and usually get worked out. But here’s the kicker — NATO offered new dates and the State Department initially said no thanks. That message from Tillerson — essentially, “I’ll see you after my trip to Moscow” — got everyone riled up. The Swamp rose up as one in protest and sent Tillerson a strong counter message: You don’t see allies only after you’ve seen the Russians!
A few hours later State backed down. And so Tillerson will be in Brussels this Friday, no doubt miffed and with hat in hand. The lesson here is that leadership means showing up. While other ministers can opt out, that is not an option for the United States.
Read the full article at Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
Podcast
Transatlantic Security / Middle East Security
The Russia-Iran Partnership: A Geopolitical Balancing ActIt has been almost a year since Russia and Iran signed their comprehensive strategic partnership. That deal established a 20-year partnership between the two countries coverin...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Commentary
Transatlantic Security / Technology & National Security
Look Before We Leap on Artificial IntelligenceThis article was originally published on The Dispatch. A debate about the role that artificial intelligence should and will play in society, and how it will affect humanity fo...
By Jon B. Wolfsthal
-
NATO Foreign Ministers to Meet in Brussels Without the U.S. In Attendance
Podcast
NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels Wednesday, and the ongoing negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will be top of mind. But there will be a notable absence: The U....
By Jim Townsend
-
CNAS Insights | Ten Days That Shook the War
Commentary
A bad peace is worse than no peace. ...
By Richard Fontaine
