At the first day of confirmation hearings for Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, Florida Senator Marco Rubio attempted to determine just how strongly Tillerson would be when it came to defending Russian President and mass murderer Vladimir Putin.
Rubio began by asking:
“Do you believe that Vladimir Putin and his cronies are responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissidents?”
Without blinking an eye, Tillerson replied:
“Well, people who speak up for freedom in regimes that are oppressive are often at threat, and these things happen to them. In terms of assigning specific responsibilities, I would have to have more information.”
Translation: If a dissident dares to speak his or her mind, they might just get killed. But that’s how it goes.
Rubio then laid out a list of atrocities committed by the Russian military in Chechnya under the leadership of Putin:
“They used Scud missiles to hit hospitals, the city’s main outdoor market packed with shoppers — 137 people died instantly. They used thermobaric and fuel-air explosive bombs — these are the bombs that ignite, and they burn the air that (is) breathed in by people who are hiding in basements. They used cluster munitions. He used battlefield weapons against civilians, and when it was all said and done, an estimated 300,000 civilians were killed, and the city was completely destroyed.”
“If you want to know the motivation, here’s what it is. Putin’s approval ratings before the attacks against the Chechens was at 31 percent. By mid-August of that year, it was at 78 percent, in just three months.”
Was Tillerson willing to call these war crimes? Once more, in his languid Texas drawl, Tillerson, as if he was reading a grocery list, replied:
“Those are very, very serious charges to make, and I would want to have much more information before reaching a conclusion. There’s a body of record in the public domain, I’m sure there’s a body of record in the classified domain, and I think in order to deal with a serious question like this, I would want to be fully informed before advising the president.”
Keep in mind that Rex Tillerson received the Russian Order of Friendship medal from Putin. That’s the highest honor a non-Russian can be given. And his company, ExxonMobil, is preparing to consummate a $1 trillion deal for drilling in Russia if and when American sanctions are lifted. As Secretary of State, Tillerson would have a major say in removing those sanctions.
Looks like Donald Trump has surrounded himself with traitors.
Here’s Rubio confronting Tillerson at the Monday’s hearings:
. @marcorubio: "Do you believe that Putin & his cronies are responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissidents?" pic.twitter.com/BzuGBnBTEV
— David Mack (@davidmackau) January 11, 2017
Featured Image Via the BBC
