Tillerson: US won't insist that other nations adopt American values like human rights

[applegrove]

Josh Lederman, Matthew Lee, Associated Press, Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/rex-tillerson-america-first-2017-5

SNIP..............

The former Exxon Mobil CEO distinguished between US "values" and "policies" that he said would drive his strategy. Policies can and must change, he said, while the challenge for diplomats is identifying how to best represent US values. For America's national security, he added, policies won't necessarily be contingent on values.

Rights groups and lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about the Trump administration deemphasizing human rights, pointing to Trump's warm interactions with leaders of nations like the Philippines and Egypt, which have experience democratic backsliding in recent years. Tillerson's remarks reinforced the notion that under Trump, the US is willing to cut deals and cooperate closely with governments failing to improve their rights records.

"In some circumstances, if you condition our national security efforts on someone adopting our values, we probably can't achieve our national security goals," Tillerson said. "It really does create obstacles."

Still, he insisted the US would not "leave those values on the sidelines."


..............SNIP

[applegrove]

1. So no push to end graft that stops billions from entering markets as small businesspeople -

is that what he is saying

[octoberlib]

2. We are a third world banana republic headed by a despot.