Foreign Affairs

* How much longer can Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stay on board? T-Rex is a billionaire and a global player–with all of the attendant pride and ego. And there’s surely a limit on how long he can represent an administration that remains in perplexing, turbulence mode. To wit:

<He wanted the U.S. to stay in the Paris climate agreement.

<He wanted a more reasoned approach to Qatar–not a loud rebuke.

<He was reportedly incensed and embarrassed by the Oval Office quip session that resulted in the president passing along classified information to Russian envoys.

<He’s said to have received less-than-welcome, diplomatic blow-back from certain NATO allies and EU partners after unexpected, Trumpian pronouncements.

* Granted, all things Donald Trump and international terrorism tend to drain oxygen from the news cycles. But still it was surprising that more wasn’t made of South Korea–with its newly elected, willing-to-talk-to-North Korea president–deciding not to employ that new missile defense system proffered by the U.S. SK is hardly left unprotected, but not moving on the much-touted upgrade seems noteworthy–as well as a rationale for something approaching good news at the planet’s consummate flash point.

* “(Human rights is) something that’s very strong to him. It’s one of the reasons that he’s reviewing the Cuba policy.” That was what White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said this week about what motivates the president when it comes to Cuba. But as we know, human rights is no deal breaker when it comes to authoritarian, Mideast monarchies that are pragmatic allies and buy billions in military equipment from U.S. contractors.

Speaking of Cuba, this Cold War-era anomaly should be, first and foremost, about the enlightened self interest of the U.S. Our citizens’ rights, our cooperative efforts regarding the environment and drug smuggling, our economic benefits and our hemispheric relationships are foremost priorities. As opposed to the selective, personal-vendetta self-interest of the politically-aggressive exile community that still exercises inordinate influence thanks to the preening patriotism and disingenuous complicity of Marco Rubio, Mario Diaz-Balart and the usual suspects.

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