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
-
How Nuclear War Could Start
Commentary
To understand how it could all go wrong, it is useful to look at some examples of how it almost did....
By Jon B. Wolfsthal
-
How the U.S. and Europe are Rethinking China
Podcast
China has remained a persistent—and increasingly complex—challenge. With looming discussions of tariffs and strategic decoupling from the U.S., European leaders are watching c...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Noah Barkin
-
‘Spider’s Web’ Warning: The U.S. Must Prioritize Drone Defense to Avoid Russia’s Fate
Commentary
This attack is wake-up call for US military: its counter-drone efforts are inadequate and are not keeping pace with the threat....
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Molly Campbell
-
Untangling Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb”
Podcast
In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Bendett's previous experience includes working f...
By Samuel Bendett
