March 13, 2018
The Clock Is Already Ticking on Mike Pompeo
The new secretary of state corrects for his predecessor's weaknesses.
Rex Tillerson’s humiliating end is hardly surprising. He’s been on life support for months: last summer, Washington buzzed with rumors of “Rexit,” and last November the White House leaked the very plan it executed today. With his departure, Tillerson shatters John Sherman‘s long-standing record for being forced out so soon. Few in the State Department are sad to see him go; he never seemed to like the job, and despite his good intentions, future secretaries of state will study his short tenure for lessons in what not to do.
Tillerson is an honorable and decent person, but one strains to think of anything he got right, minus perhaps his final statement, on Monday, condemning Russia for the nerve agent attack in the United Kingdom. History will not be kind to him. His efforts to reform the State Department weakened its diplomatic corps and diminished America’s diplomatic heft. It is hard to think of any policy area where he had a noticeable or lasting positive impact.
He allegedly projected a moderating influence on Trump, but it’s not clear that anyone, especially the president, really listened to him. He supported strengthening the Iran nuclear deal and remaining in the Paris climate accords but never got Trump to agree. His lack of clout was well understood around the world, which explains the chilly reception he often received by some of our closest allies. In fact, up to now, it seemed his most notable accomplishment was not being fired.
Read the full op-ed on Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
Vladimir Milov on Russian Politics
Podcast
Vladimir Milov, Russian politician and former Visiting Scholar with the Carnegie Endowment, joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss Russian opposition politics...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Vladimir Milov
-
How will Iran respond to US killing of Qassem Soleimani?
Video
Rachel Rizzo appears on Deutsche Welle to discuss the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Watch t...
By Rachel Rizzo
-
Kathleen McInnis Discusses "The Heart of War"
Podcast
Kathleen McInnis, International Security Analyst for the Congressional Research Service, joins Carisa Nietsche and Jim Townsend to discuss her book, “The Heart of War: Misadve...
By Carisa Nietsche, Jim Townsend & Kathleen McInnis
-
CNAS: Bold Ideas for National Security
Video
This year, CNAS experts brought bold ideas and bipartisan cooperation to the national security conversation. In 2020, the CNAS team will continue tackling the biggest security...
By Susanna V. Blume, Kara Frederick, Kayla M. Williams, Loren DeJonge Schulman, Richard Fontaine, Kristine Lee, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Ely Ratner, Paul Scharre, Elizabeth Rosenberg & Carrie Cordero
