United States: What does State Department’s change mean?
The decision would aim to build a new team to lead the talks with North Korea
Leer en español: Estados Unidos: ¿Qué significa el cambio en el Departamento de Estado?
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Tuesday, March 13, the dismissal of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Although the announcement is presented in a surprising way, it is still expected. Since 2017, rumors of disagreements between the president and Tillerson were known on issues such as the composition of the president's team and now the recent possibility of dialogue with Kim Jong-un.
"Mike Pompeo, director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State, he will do a fantastic job! Thank you Rex Tillerson for his service!", Said the president, who added that "Gina Haspel will become the new director of the CIA, and the first woman chosen, congratulations to all! " This was announced by Trump through his official Twitter account.
Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. I will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman is chosen. Congratulations to all!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018
According to reports in The New York Times, the decision would have been taken by the president in order to build a new team to lead the talks with North Korea. The president feels strengthened and vindicated after having sustained for several months a violent and dangerous rhetoric with Kim Jong-un.
This change of management in the State Department represents a strategic move in the midst of a key moment between the United States and the international community. This strategy takes place under the frame of the negotiations that are being carried out with North Korea for the possible denuclearization of the Kim Jong-Un's regime and the scandal for possible Russian interference in the last presidential elections.
Tillerson sought through dialogue a way to soften the president's aggressive and incendiary tone. Tillerson's work guidelines leaned towards diplomacy to achieve results, an aspect in which he disagreed with Donald Trump. The president has shown not to fear changes in his cabinet or recruit people who go against his actions and think.
Who is the new Secretary of State?
Along with the announcement of the dismissal of Tillerson, Trump appointed Mike Pompeo as the new secretary of state. Pompeo is the current director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a recognized critic of foreign policy promoted by former President Barack Obama, which he described after the nuclear treaty signed with Iran, as a "State promoting terrorism "
During the US election campaign in 2016, Pompeo played an important role against Hillary ClIGNORE INTOn by dismissing her work in the State Department and positioning her as a candidate that voters should not trust.
The new Secretary of State is also a close connoisseur of the situation in Venezuela. For this reason, several journalists and political analysts agree that a change in the course of diplomatic relations between the US and the Latin American territory can be assured, in particular about the conflict in Venezuela. This nation could suffer more radical measures regarding the regime imposed by Nicolás Maduro.
Pompeo also knows first hand the details that frame the scandal of possible Russian interference during the US elections, whose sole objective would have been to benefit the Donald Trump campaign. Now, at the head of the State Department, the tone of the unprecedented denunciation could take a new path.
A woman in charge of the CIA
The departure of Pompeo as director of the CIA puts Gina Haspel in charge, a woman with more than 30 years of experience in the intelligence agency and who worked since early February as deputy director of the CIA. Haspel thus becomes the first woman to obtain the position, after having led positions of high responsibility as assistant director of the National Clandestine Service and the National Clandestine Service for Foreign Intelligence and Covert Action, as well as chief of staff at the Counterterrorism Center and in the National Clandestine Service.
The new change made in the Donald Trump cabinet comes at a time of deep crisis in the State Department. This has members who were trained to bet on diplomacy and consensus, over the arbitrary and incendiary rhetorical agreements such as those applied in the last 14 months by the US president.
Latin American Post | Krishna Jaramillo
Translated from “Estados Unidos: ¿Qué significa el cambio en el Departamento de Estado?”
