Rex Tillerson, the nominee for secretary of State, plans to tell his confirmation hearing Wednesday that U.S. leadership has “stumbled,” and that President-elect Trump believes “it must be asserted,” especially against Islamic State, China and Russia.
“We’ve stumbled,” he will say, according to a draft of his testimony set for delivery to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday and obtained by Secrets.
After detailing trouble spots in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea and with “radical Islam,” he said, “How should America respond? My answer is simple. To achieve the stability that is foundational to peace and security in the 21st Century, American leadership must not only be renewed, it must be asserted.”
And in pushing a strong policy, he said, the U.S. must “never apologize for who we are or what we hold dear.”
Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil boss, referred to “radical Islam” seven times in his testimony, a sign that the incoming president is ready to take terrorists head on.
In fact, Tillerson said, “We need to be honest about radical Islam. It is with good reason that our fellow citizens have a growing concern about radical Islam and murderous acts committed in its name against Americans and our friends.”
He said that “eliminating ISIS” will be “our foremost priority in the Middle East,” though he pledged to support Muslims “around the world” who reject radical Islam.
Tillerson is expected to face sharp questioning from Democrats and Republicans about his relationship with Russia and President Vladimir Putin. But in his testimony, he pulled no punches when criticizing Moscow.
“Russia today poses a danger,” he said, citing its invasion Ukraine and anti-U.S. policies in Syria.
But, he said, Russia was “not unpredictable” in its moves, and he blamed the Obama administration for looking the other way.
“It was in the absence of American leadership that this door was left open and unintended signals were sent,” he said. “We sent weak or mixed signals with ‘red lines’ that turned into green lights.”
And he said the U.S. has to bring pressure on China with realistic policy. “China has proven a willingness to act with abandon in pursuit of its own goals, which at times has put it in conflict with America’s interest. We have to deal with what we see, not with what we hope,” he said.
What’s more, he said that the U.S. must be strong on pursuing human rights, but added that human rights can’t be a stand-alone policy, “especially when the security of the American people is at stake.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
