News that Rex Tillerson would skip an upcoming NATO foreign ministers meeting and travel instead to Moscow is the kind of news that produces a “What the f…?” reaction, almost too grotesque and unbelievable to be true.
But it is true.
To be sure, Vladimir Putin has been lying low, not engaging in any particularly egregious behavior (except in the eastern Ukraine), but apparently he and Donald Trump have concluded it is now safe to proceed with pro-Russian actions.
This is the second big pay-off to Putin since Trump became president on January 20, 2017. The first was an easing of U.S. sanctions against Russia to enable the Russian FSB (successor to the KGB) to resume collecting licensing fees for imported cell phones and other electronic equipment. Trump administration officials justified this as a mere “technical adjustment”, but in fact it was a favor to the very agency that was involved in intervention in the 2016 campaign and elections in the U.S., and also the agency alleged to have compromising information on Trump (kompromat) as alleged in the Christopher Steele “golden showers” dossier.
See “’Technical adjustment’ on Russian sanctions may involve more than meets the eye,” The Trenchant Observer, February 2, 2017.
Beyond the salacious details about Trump allegedly cavorting with Russian prostitutes (which Putin boasts are “the best in the world”), the Steele dossier alleges that Putin himself ordered the Russian intervention in the U.S. elections, and that there was active collusion and cooperation between the Trump campaign and individuals around Trump and Russian officials.
While news media have generally reported that the allegations in the Steele dossier can not be corroborated, in point of fact a number of details in the dossier–though not the details of the “golden showers” episoode–have been confirmed by intelligence officials speaking on background.
See
(1) “More on the “Golden Showers” dossier prepared by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele: Sources,” The Trenchant Observer, March 7, 2017.
(2) Andy Towle, “Rachel Maddow: Details of Trump-Russia Dossier Keep Checking Out as its Author Reemerges from Hiding,” Towleroad,
March 8, 2017 (8:15am).(3) Rachel Maddow, “More Pieces Of Donald Trump Russia Dossier, ” MSNBC, Marchy 7, 2017,, found on YouTube here.
(4) “The Trail of Death Since Election Day,” Facts Do Matter, February 24, 2017.
Reflect for a moment on the message Trump is sending to our NATO allies, Russia and other countries.
Consider also the message Trump is sending to voters in countries like France who will participate in elections such as the French presidential election, where Marine Le Pen of the far-right Front National, with Russian financial support, is running on a pro-Russian platform.
Days after meeting with Angela Merkel of Germany, now the embodiment of the liberal military and political order based on the United Nations Charter, and for many the current leader of the Free World, Trump is doubling down by snubbling NATO and giving Russia a great propaganda victory.
See
Head of the US State Department Rex Tillerson will come to Russia next month. Aaccording to some data, the visit is planned for April, 12. In Moscow he will have a meeting with head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov.
Before the trip Tillerson had decided not to visit a meeting with foreign ministers of the NATO member-states, which is to take place in Brussels on April, 5-6. Instead, he will dispatch his Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon.
–Pravda (Englis), March 21, 2017.
What Trump is doing is anathema to foreign policy experts who understand the importance of not bowing to a dictator who engineered an unprecedented attempt to throw the 2016 presidential election to Trump, and to also influence the Congressional elections, and who has invaded and currently occupies part of the Ukraine.
The greatest irony is that Trump’s actions come at the same time that the FBI director, James Comey, has confirmed in Congressional testimony that Trump and his campaign are the cuurent subjects of a counter-espionage investigation into cooperation and collusion with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign.
See
Sonam Sheth, “Top Democrat lays out mountain of evidence he says ties Trump campaign to Russia,” Business Insider, March 20, 2017 (3:01 PM).
As for Tillerson, we should recall how he strained credulity by testifying in his Senate confirmation hearings that he had not discussed Russia with Trump.
See “John Nichols, Rex Tillerson’s Jaw-Dropping Testimony Just Completely Disqualified Him,” The Nation, January 12, 2017.
Perhaps the best that can be said for him is that he is either oblivious or indifferent to the symbolism and impact of his actions toward NATO and Russia. Otherwise, he looks like a willing tool of the Trojan horse candidate who has become the pro-Russian president of the United States.
The Trenchant Observer
