How Tom Cotton Will Undermine U.S. Foreign Policy

It is no secret that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Trump haven ’t beengetting along. According to theNew York Times, the administration has developed a plan toreplace Tillerson with current CIA director Mike Pompeo. If ousted, Tillerson would have one of theshortest stints as secretary of state in U.S. history —not the worst consequence of that position, though an embarrassing one for Tillerson, and perhaps the administration. But the most troubling consequence of Tillerson’s departure would be to replace Pompeo withSenator Tom Cotton as CIA director.To begin with, it ’s difficult to believe Cotton is being considered for the position because of his qualifications. Cotton is a freshman senator with no experience in intelligence. Instead, it seems he is being considered for the prestigious role as director because of his“easy” relationship with President Trump. Hissupport for Trump has indeed been unfaltering: he consistently endorses the president ’sincoherent foreign policy, and exhibits what seems like blind loyalty rather than objective analysis. For example, on October 9, onThe Global Politico podcast, when speaking about Iran, Cotton seemed to indicate that Tillerson and Defense Secretary Mattis shouldresign if they are unwilling to execute the president ’s policies. Trump’s promotion of Cotton also highlights the president’s own desire tosurround himself with yes-men who will tell him what he wants to hear.Second, he supports torture...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs