Rex Tillerson

Rex Tillerson Got Burned In Venezuela. Then He Got Revenge

... and precipitate “a high-intensity conflict.”. The Stabroek block where Exxon Mobil and its partners struck oil is off the coast of a patch of wild South American jungle known as the Essequibo territory. Venezuela and Guyana have haggled over it with oscillating levels of vehemence for more than 100 years. Amounting to two-thirds of Guyana’s surface area, it is, by any practical measure, a part of Guyana and populated by Guyanese people, albeit sparsely. But Venezuelan claims on the land have long kept foreign investors out. In 2013, a research vessel exploring the area for U. S.-based Anadarko was intercepted by a Venezuelan warship, which temporarily detained the 36-member crew. It was a warning to other companies thinking of partnering with Guyana. Tillerson's Exxon Mobil went ahead anyway. As soon as the company announced its big find in 2015, Venezuela loudly reasserted its claim on the Essequibo. Faced with mounting economic problems ...

Ed Markey Says He Will Vote No On Rex Tillerson’s Nomination. Here’s His Statement Why

... hearing January 11. Markey said Monday that Tillerson’s career at Exxon Mobil has caused “a complete lack of understanding of oil’s role in geopolitics.”. “Oil and other energy sources are at the heart of major conflicts around the world, but Mr. Tillerson refused to support American energy independence or even to recognize the strategic vulnerability that comes with importing oil from overseas,” said the junior senator. Tillerson appears on track to be confirmed by the Senate, after previously skeptical Republicans, including Sens. Marco Rubio and John Mc Cain, recently announced they would support his nomination. Rubio’s announcement Monday afternoon paved the way for Tillerson’s approval in a vote just hours later in the Foreign Relations Committee. He is expected to face a full Senate vote soon thereafter. Read Markey’s full statement below. “I thank Mr. Tillerson for his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for meeting personally with me to discuss his nomination, and for his willingness to enter public service. After careful review of Mr. Tillerson’s record and ...

Rex Tillerson Is Just The Latest Example Of Oil Industry’s Grasp On U.s

... security. Tillerson’s appointment, along with other cabinet appointees , suggests a major reversal on the nation’s serious treatment of the issue of climate change. While Obama worked with over 100 nations to craft the 2015 Paris climate accord, Exxon Mobil under Tillerson faced criticism and lawsuits accusing it of concealing the science that substantiated climate change. Tillerson and the company, which traces its origins back to John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and has operated in about 200 countries and territories , is of course no stranger to foreign affairs and politics. Coll quotes Lee Raymond, Tillerson’s predecessor at the energy giant, as saying: “Presidents come and go; Exxon doesn’t come and go.”. As the 20 th century closed, Coll described Exxon’s approach to policy in this fashion. “The corporation’s lobbyists bent and shaped American foreign policy, as well as economic, climate, chemical and environmental regulation. Exxon maintained all-weather alliances with sympathetic American politicians while calling as little attention to its influence as possible.”. With Tillerson as the country’s top diplomat, the opportunity to redefine ...

Rex Tillerson Set To Reverse Obama's Decrees On Cuba

... he will work with the Treasury Department to ensure that no revenue from U. S. firms goes directly toward supporting the Cuban government, and will use trade to pressure Cuba to have Black Panther activist Joanne Chesimard, or Assata Shakur , extradited to the United States. Shakur was accused of killing a U. S. police officer during a shootout in New Jersey in 1977. Rex Tillerson Already Talking Regime Change in Venezuela. He added he will keep actively support Cuba's opposition to the government, including the funding of Miami-based, counter-revolutionary, programs like Radio and TV Marti. U. S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio reluctantly backed President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state and over the weekend, fellow Republican senators John Mc Cain and Lindsey Graham said they would back Tillerson despite their concerns over his relationship with Putin as CEO of one of the world's largest corporations. Republican Senator Rob Portman also voiced his support and said he was reassured by Tillerson's commitment at ...

Rex Tillerson Is Approved By Senate Panel For Secretary Of State

... complained that Tillerson seemed reluctant to criticize countries whose governments are widely documented to be abusers of human rights, such as the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. But Rubio said Monday that despite "troubling" answers from Tillerson, he decided to allow "significant deference" to Trump in naming his national security team. On Sunday, Republican Sens. John Mc Cain and Lindsey Graham , who initially resisted the Tillerson selection, threw their support behind Tillerson, a career Exxon executive. Although they are not members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, they are influential within the party and can help steer the vote on the Senate floor. Among the opponents to Tillerson was Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking Democrat on the committee. Cardin said Monday he could not vote for Tillerson because he seemed to prioritize "narrow business interests" over broader U. S. goals and values. Tillerson was unwilling to characterize atrocities as war crimes and was soft on sanctions, ...

As A Diplomat, Rex Tillerson Would Face Off With Beijing Over Gas Projects He Steered As A Big Oil Ceo

... deepwater rig nearby, sparking deadly riots in Vietnam and creating the potential for military conflict, with dozens of ships from both nations gathering near the rig. Enter the US state department. With tensions mounting, secretary of state John Kerry stepped in to soothe both sides. He also called China’s foreign minister to complain that the rig move was “provocative” and “aggressive.” Beijing fired back that Kerry should “speak and act cautiously” and be objective when talking about China. Such tensions could soon rise again—possibly involving Block 118 itself, or other nearby blocks (paywall) that Exxon Mobil also has exploration rights to. (This month the company signed long-expected agreements with Vietnam officially initiating the Blue Whale project.) If so, the US would be likely to again send its secretary of state to calm the situation and sternly warn China about its aggressive moves. But ...

Rex Tillerson Says Plan Colombia Was Better For Us Interests

... a foreign policy success for both the United States and for Colombia.". "Colombia is, I believe, one of our closest allies in the hemisphere, and an important trading partner. If confirmed, I would make every effort to continue our close cooperation with the Colombian government, holding them to their commitments to rein in drug production and trafficking," he said. Plan Colombia was a counterinsurgency military aid package launched by U. S. President Bill Clinton in 1999. Cloaked as a counternarcotics operation, its legacy has been massacres, mass graves and death squads. The United States' contribution of military personnel and billions of dollars to fight Colombia's drug trade and contribute to security to counter the internal conflict with rebel guerrillas has coincided with an increase in violence and an unfettered militarization — conspicuous as some three-quarters of Plan Colombia’s aid money went toward funding the military and local ...

Is The Fate Of Rex Tillerson In Doubt

... so. He could have said that at Exxon Mobil he’d lobbied on behalf of his stockholders but now the American people would be his stockholders and their national security interests would be his sole interest. But he didn’t. The exchange raised questions as to whether the senators could trust him. Often, after a hearing, senators submit questions for a witness to answer in writing. I’m told that, since Tillerson’s hearing, the senators on the Foreign Relations Committee have sent him nearly 1,000 questions—many times more than the usual amount—that he must answer before a vote is taken on his nomination. The committee’s membership is almost evenly divided along party lines—11 Republicans and 10 Democrats. If every Democrat were to vote against Tillerson, it would take just one Republican to block the nomination. Three of the panel’s Democrats have publicly said they will vote no; staffers tell me that one more is on the verge of ...