Rex Tillerson may have helped prevent a war in the Gulf

[McRocket]

'When Rex Tillerson bid the State Department farewell after a grueling and exhausting 10 months on the job, he left in a hurry. His short tenure as Secretary of State — one of the shortest in post-World War II history — certainly felt longer than it really was. If Tillerson found any joy in or took any satisfaction from the post, he didn’t show it. And quite frankly, by the time he put in his retirement papers, many in Washington, and in the State Department itself, were happy campers.

Tillerson’s tenure was largely inconsequential. There were no big achievements, no peace agreements signed on his watch, and no major Kissinger-esque diplomatic initiatives. But if a report this week by the Intercept is accurate, Tillerson’s most significant accomplishment may have been what he prevented — a military conflict between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on one side, and Qatar on the other.

According to the Intercept, Qatari intelligence discovered plans for a joint invasion of the island by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, whose governments were putting the financial squeeze on their smaller Qatari neighbor to force a change in Doha’s regional behavior. Once Doha informed Tillerson of the plan, the secretary got on the phone and implored Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to back away from military action. Tillerson also leaned on Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to relay a similar message to his Gulf Arab colleagues.

The diplomatic intervention worked. There would be no Saudi-UAE takeover of Qatar and no internecine Gulf Arab bloodshed. But, according to the Intercept, Tillerson’s move “enraged Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and effective ruler of that country, according to the U.S. intelligence official and a source close to the Emirati royal family." It may have even contributed to Tillerson’s ouster from the Trump administration; earlier reporting from veteran national security journalist Mark Perry for the American Conservative shed light on how despised Tillerson was among the anti-Qatar monarchies in the Gulf. Indeed, when Tillerson resigned, prominent advisers to the UAE royal family openly celebrated on Twitter.'

Rex Tillerson may have helped prevent a war in the Gulf

Interesting. I was not gaga about Tillerson. But he clearly was no dummy and had common sense.

 

[McRocket]

 

[AZGAL]

He did have some happy moments as Secretary of State as I saw pictures that showed this. He did a good job.

 

[JoeB131]

Interesting. I was not gaga about Tillerson. But he clearly was no dummy and had common sense.

Maybe... but he helped enable Trump's bad behavior.

I don't give people credit for solving problems they helped cause.

 

[AZGAL]

To be an oil man Republican who defends global warming cannot be easy.

 

[BlackFlag]

'When Rex Tillerson bid the State Department farewell after a grueling and exhausting 10 months on the job, he left in a hurry. His short tenure as Secretary of State — one of the shortest in post-World War II history — certainly felt longer than it really was. If Tillerson found any joy in or took any satisfaction from the post, he didn’t show it. And quite frankly, by the time he put in his retirement papers, many in Washington, and in the State Department itself, were happy campers.

Tillerson’s tenure was largely inconsequential. There were no big achievements, no peace agreements signed on his watch, and no major Kissinger-esque diplomatic initiatives. But if a report this week by the Intercept is accurate, Tillerson’s most significant accomplishment may have been what he prevented — a military conflict between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on one side, and Qatar on the other.

According to the Intercept, Qatari intelligence discovered plans for a joint invasion of the island by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, whose governments were putting the financial squeeze on their smaller Qatari neighbor to force a change in Doha’s regional behavior. Once Doha informed Tillerson of the plan, the secretary got on the phone and implored Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to back away from military action. Tillerson also leaned on Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to relay a similar message to his Gulf Arab colleagues.

The diplomatic intervention worked. There would be no Saudi-UAE takeover of Qatar and no internecine Gulf Arab bloodshed. But, according to the Intercept, Tillerson’s move “enraged Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and effective ruler of that country, according to the U.S. intelligence official and a source close to the Emirati royal family." It may have even contributed to Tillerson’s ouster from the Trump administration; earlier reporting from veteran national security journalist Mark Perry for the American Conservative shed light on how despised Tillerson was among the anti-Qatar monarchies in the Gulf. Indeed, when Tillerson resigned, prominent advisers to the UAE royal family openly celebrated on Twitter.'

Rex Tillerson may have helped prevent a war in the Gulf

Interesting. I was not gaga about Tillerson. But he clearly was no dummy and had common sense.

Too bad Trump has everybody sign NDA’s in pursuit of being the most opaque administration in history. I bet Rexy has an interesting tale to tell. Probably one that Americans desperately need to hear.