Trump’s choices for his circle of sinners is not only surprising, but disturbing. He has filled his advisory board with billionaires, white supremacists, homophobes, Islamophobes, and corrupt businessmen. Not a single man or woman has any experience for their positions. Only one man is more unqualified for his upcoming job that this circle of sinners, and that is Donald Trump himself.
If one nomination stands above the others, it is Trump’s selection of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. Tillerson has worked for one company his entire life, and today he is the CEO of that company; Exxon Mobil. He has never served in government in any capacity.
Under his leadership, Exxon has frequently conducted business in a manner which was directly opposed to American interests. The most egregious concerns the African nation of Chad.
Geographically, Chad sits in the middle of Africa. When oil was discovered in one of the poorest nations in the world, they had a serious problem; they had no outlet to the ocean which would allow them to ship the crude. Idriss Deby is the nation’s current dictator. He has used the nation’s funds to build a large army to protect his power. He was eager to receive the millions of dollars in profit from oil production.
Deby agreed to allow the construction of a pipeline to deliver the crude to a port in western Africa. Chevron, the United States, and the World Bank formed an agreement with Deby. All of this would be accomplished with the stipulation that the millions of dollars in profits from oil production would be used for the people of his nation, and not to increase the size of his army. Deby decided to renege on the agreement, and ordered Chevron out of his country.
Rex Tillerson and Exxon had been negotiating with Deby behind the back of, and against the interests of, the United States. Exxon would not force Deby to use the profits from production in any manner; the choice would be his, and his alone. Deby greatly increased the size of his army, and the quality of life for the people of Chad is ranked fourth from the bottom in the entire world.
Tillerson would be the face of our nation around the world. He would be representing the interests of Exxon; not of the United States.
The media claims that Tillerson will have a difficult time during confirmation hearings. He is a close associate of Vladimir Putin; presenting a serious conflict of interests. I do not agree. I believe that the hypocrites in the Republican Party will bow to Trump’s wishes, and ignore the future of our nation and our people.
Sadly, our democracy never received a proper burial.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Follow me on twitter; @jamesturnagenov
The Truth With No Restrictions 