The following article by Peter Baker was posted on the New York Times website October 5, 2017:
WASHINGTON — When Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson traveled to Saudi Arabia with President Trump last spring, he impressed hosts and visitors alike by swaying along with the traditional men’s dancers swathed in white robes and brandishing swords. “Not my first sword dance,” Mr. Tillerson deadpanned afterward.
Indeed, the calculation behind Mr. Tillerson’s appointment was that he could parlay decades of experience as an oil executive brokering deals in the Middle East and elsewhere into success in the nation’s top diplomatic post. But as Mr. Tillerson has discovered, the most important target of any secretary of state’s diplomacy is the president he serves. Continue reading “For Tillerson, Diplomatic Breakthrough With Trump Proves Elusive”