One key Trump appointment that has yet to be defined is Secretary of State.
There appears to be a tussle between campaign loyalists who want former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and establishment Republicans who are backing Mitt Romney, others are tossing out the names of Bolton and Petraus.
However, the candidate that could best fit the bill in the Trump adminstration’s foreign policy (so far as I can figure that out) is neither of these celebrity figureheads, but Rep Dana Rohrbacher (not without his own drawbacks).
Bolton is the neocon hawk of neocon hawks, a PNAC signatory and a compulsive liar. He, along with others of his think-tank ilk, lied their way into getting America to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
Giuliani is very light on foreign policy.
Romney, personal friends with Netanyahu, is a neocon corporate business man and an unapologetic globalist war hawk.
Petraeus, well once you get past all of the email/adultery scandal surrounding him, the bottom line is that he copped a misdemeanor plea for the piles of classified documents he squirreled away in his home, found hidden under attic insulation and elsewhere.
Rohrbacher was informed sometime late Friday that he is being considered for Secretary of State.
Rohrbacher might be a satisfactory pick when it comes to improved relations with Russia. As a younger man, he was anti-communist and anti-Soviet, but not particularly anti-Russian.
He’s a career politician, no corporate business ties to anyone, and I think one of the few actual statesmen left in America.
Remember how he skewered Nuland over the Ukraine fiasco?
Rohrabacher was a staunch defender of the Kremlin in Congress back in March 2014 and the Ukraine crisis, smeared and ridiculed as a ‘Putin-lover’. He defended the individual rights and self-determination of the people of Crimea in their choice to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.
However, as the New York Times wrote in barely veiled snarky tones:
The 13-term congressman has had a long, strange journey from fierce Cold Warrior to apologist for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
In 1966 when Ronald Reagan was running for governor of California, Mr. Rohrabacher camped out in the candidate’s backyard, pleading for an audience to prevent the disbanding of his Youth for Reagan group in favor of a rival’s.
By last year, Mr. Rohrabacher was accompanying the action star Steven Seagal to Russia in search of a broader Islamist plot behind the Boston Marathon bombing. The actor and the congressman had often discussed “thwarting radical Islamic terrorism,” he explained.
Then came Russia’s takeover of Crimea, and Mr. Rohrabacher had to draw the line — in favor of Mr. Putin. “There have been dramatic reforms in Russia that are not being recognized by my colleagues,” he said.
“The churches are full. There are opposition papers being distributed on every newsstand in Russia. You’ve got people demonstrating in the parks.
“You’ve got a much different Russia than it was under Communism, but you’ve got a lot of people who still can’t get over that Communism has fallen.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/us/politics/kremlin-finds-a-defender-in-congress.html
Rohrabacher is the only candidate currently in contention who may bridge the gap between the old-line Cold War neocon globalist hawkish foreign policy establishment and the more national-libertarian views of Trump, as best as I can figure them out.
He is an expert in Eastern European, Russian, and Middle East policy, a supporter of Israel :( , and a hard-core opponent of the terror movements fomenting around the world. Since the 1980s, he has promoted a free and independent Afghanistan. As such, he has been consistently critical of the way the State Department and others have conducted the war on terror. He long ago viewed his vote for the invasion of Iraq to have been a mistake
The Hill: California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said Friday he is on President-elect Donald Trump’s list of potential picks for secretary of State.
“I have been told that I am under consideration to join President Trump’s team as Secretary of State.
“While my present intention, of course, is to continue to fight for liberty and freedom as a member of the House of Representatives, as a strong supporter of President-Elect Trump’s vision for America, it would be a privilege and an honor to serve as his Secretary of State,” he said in a statement.
Rohrabacher has served in the House since 1989 and worked as an assistant press secretary and speech writer for President Ronald Reagan. He is chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee for Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Rohrabacher has made headlines for his friendly outlook on Russia, and he supported the right of Crimea to secede from the Ukraine. He also reportedly met with a Vladimir Putin confidant in Russia who had been sanctioned by the U.S.
Trump looking to Rohrabacher would be a curveball in the secretary of State talks, which are largely believed to be between 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton is also reportedly in the mix.
Rohrabacher was an early supporter of Trump.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/307540-california-rep-says-hes-under-consideration-for-secretary-of-state
There appears to be a tussle between campaign loyalists who want former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and establishment Republicans who are backing Mitt Romney, others are tossing out the names of Bolton and Petraus.
However, the candidate that could best fit the bill in the Trump adminstration’s foreign policy (so far as I can figure that out) is neither of these celebrity figureheads, but Rep Dana Rohrbacher (not without his own drawbacks).
Bolton is the neocon hawk of neocon hawks, a PNAC signatory and a compulsive liar. He, along with others of his think-tank ilk, lied their way into getting America to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
Giuliani is very light on foreign policy.
Romney, personal friends with Netanyahu, is a neocon corporate business man and an unapologetic globalist war hawk.
Petraeus, well once you get past all of the email/adultery scandal surrounding him, the bottom line is that he copped a misdemeanor plea for the piles of classified documents he squirreled away in his home, found hidden under attic insulation and elsewhere.
Rohrbacher was informed sometime late Friday that he is being considered for Secretary of State.
Rohrbacher might be a satisfactory pick when it comes to improved relations with Russia. As a younger man, he was anti-communist and anti-Soviet, but not particularly anti-Russian.
He’s a career politician, no corporate business ties to anyone, and I think one of the few actual statesmen left in America.
Remember how he skewered Nuland over the Ukraine fiasco?
Rohrabacher was a staunch defender of the Kremlin in Congress back in March 2014 and the Ukraine crisis, smeared and ridiculed as a ‘Putin-lover’. He defended the individual rights and self-determination of the people of Crimea in their choice to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.
However, as the New York Times wrote in barely veiled snarky tones:
The 13-term congressman has had a long, strange journey from fierce Cold Warrior to apologist for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
In 1966 when Ronald Reagan was running for governor of California, Mr. Rohrabacher camped out in the candidate’s backyard, pleading for an audience to prevent the disbanding of his Youth for Reagan group in favor of a rival’s.
By last year, Mr. Rohrabacher was accompanying the action star Steven Seagal to Russia in search of a broader Islamist plot behind the Boston Marathon bombing. The actor and the congressman had often discussed “thwarting radical Islamic terrorism,” he explained.
Then came Russia’s takeover of Crimea, and Mr. Rohrabacher had to draw the line — in favor of Mr. Putin. “There have been dramatic reforms in Russia that are not being recognized by my colleagues,” he said.
“The churches are full. There are opposition papers being distributed on every newsstand in Russia. You’ve got people demonstrating in the parks.
“You’ve got a much different Russia than it was under Communism, but you’ve got a lot of people who still can’t get over that Communism has fallen.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/us/politics/kremlin-finds-a-defender-in-congress.html
Rohrabacher is the only candidate currently in contention who may bridge the gap between the old-line Cold War neocon globalist hawkish foreign policy establishment and the more national-libertarian views of Trump, as best as I can figure them out.
He is an expert in Eastern European, Russian, and Middle East policy, a supporter of Israel :( , and a hard-core opponent of the terror movements fomenting around the world. Since the 1980s, he has promoted a free and independent Afghanistan. As such, he has been consistently critical of the way the State Department and others have conducted the war on terror. He long ago viewed his vote for the invasion of Iraq to have been a mistake
The Hill: California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said Friday he is on President-elect Donald Trump’s list of potential picks for secretary of State.
“I have been told that I am under consideration to join President Trump’s team as Secretary of State.
“While my present intention, of course, is to continue to fight for liberty and freedom as a member of the House of Representatives, as a strong supporter of President-Elect Trump’s vision for America, it would be a privilege and an honor to serve as his Secretary of State,” he said in a statement.
Rohrabacher has served in the House since 1989 and worked as an assistant press secretary and speech writer for President Ronald Reagan. He is chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee for Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Rohrabacher has made headlines for his friendly outlook on Russia, and he supported the right of Crimea to secede from the Ukraine. He also reportedly met with a Vladimir Putin confidant in Russia who had been sanctioned by the U.S.
Trump looking to Rohrabacher would be a curveball in the secretary of State talks, which are largely believed to be between 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton is also reportedly in the mix.
Rohrabacher was an early supporter of Trump.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/307540-california-rep-says-hes-under-consideration-for-secretary-of-state