WASHINGTON, United States – Toughness with Russia and China, support of the Iran nuclear deal, the quest for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Donald Trump’s diplomacy and military picks have outlined the incoming administration’s foreign policy in Senate confirmation hearings this week.
And on many strategic issues, in particular the President-elect’s desire for improved ties with Russia, Rex Tillerson, the former head of ExxonMobil chosen for secretary of state, and James Mattis, the retired Marine Corps general picked for defense secretary, have contradicted Trump in the hearings Wednesday and Thursday.
Putin, a ‘danger’ trying to ‘break’ NATO
Taking a stance resolutely at odds with Trump, Tillerson and Mattis lobbed criticisms at Russian President Vladimir Putin. The retired US general was particularly harsh, in an effort perhaps to reassure Republican senators who are uneasy about the next occupier of the White House’s conciliatory attitude toward the Kremlin chief.
He accused the Russian president of “trying to break the North Atlantic alliance.” And Tillerson, the secretary of state nominee, said: “Our NATO allies are right to be alarmed at resurgent Russia.”
Tillerson even noted that Russia “poses a danger” to US and European interests. In the eyes of the Pentagon nominee Mattis, Russia “has chosen to be a strategic competitor.”
Their bellicose statements have clashed with those of the next US president, who takes office on January 20.
Trump has repeatedly praised the intelligence of Putin, and said Wednesday that if the Russian leader “likes” him it would be an “asset” to help repair the strained US-Russian relationship.
Former Cold War foes, the United States and Russia have had turbulent ties since 2012, notably because of the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Beijing warning on South China Sea
Both nominees also took a stern line with China, the US rival in the Asia-Pacific, a region made a diplomatic and economic priority by the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.
The United States will send “a clear signal” to China that it must stop building islands in the South China Sea and Washington will block its access to those islands, Tillerson said.
The island-building , which the Obama administration has long criticized, is illegal and “akin to Russia’s taking of Crimea,” said the nominated top diplomat.
Mattis was even fiercer. “China is shredding trust” with its Asian neighbors, he said, warning that China could “act contrary to our interests.”
US ‘word’ on Iran nuclear deal
The international agreement reached in July 2015 to control Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions is viewed as a major diplomatic success for Obama. His successor Trump has promised to “dismantle” the “disastrous” accord.
General Mattis, who is known for his deep hostility toward Iran and called the agreement “imperfect,” nevertheless said: “But when America gives her word, we have to live up to it and work with our allies.”
He however will ask Congress to monitor any breach of it by Tehran.
‘Tel-Aviv, capital of Israel’
Mattis also seemed to put space between himself and Trump, who has vowed to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and considers the disputed Holy City the capital.
“What’s the capital of Israel?” asked a senator in the confirmation hearing.
“The capital of Israel I go to, sir, is Tel Aviv,” Mattis responded.
He also voiced support for a two-state solution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Tillerson criticized the UN Security Council resolution on December 23 that condemned Israeli settlement building in the Palestinian territories and demanded it stop. The measure was approved unanimously thanks to the abstention of the United States.
Nuclear nonproliferation, climate change
Tillerson voiced other differences with his would-be boss Trump, saying he would ensure the United States continue to pursue nuclear nonproliferation — “one of the vital roles” of the country — and work to reduce the number of nuclear weapons on the planet.
As for climate change, which Trump has suggested was a hoax, Tillerson told senators “the risk of climate change does exist, and the consequences could be serious enough that action should be taken.”
“I think it’s important that the United States maintain its seat at the table on the conversations around how to address threats of climate change, which do require a global response,” he said./rga