Here's a letter I sent today to the (one hopes) Honorable Marco Rubio:
December 15, 2016
Dear Senator Rubio:
I am concerned about President-Elect Trump’s
apparent intentions in the area of international relations, and I am
particularly concerned about his choice of Rex Tillerson to be secretary of
state.
Mr. Tillerson’s friendly ties to Vladimir Putin
and the benefit his company, Exxon, would receive in opportunities to profit
from oil extraction in Russia should our sanctions against that country be
lifted, are of real concern. Such a relationship between official and
commercial interests is exactly the kind of corruption that undermines American
democracy. It will certainly distort Mr. Tillerson’s judgement in reference to
policies toward Russia.
Beyond the selection of secretary of state, Mr.
Trump has made statements and phone calls that signal new directions in
American diplomacy, directions that I consider troubling.
His phone conversation with President Tsai Ing-wen
of Taiwan has raised concerns that he may want to end the agreement we
established with the People’s Republic of China in 1972, commonly referred to
as the One-China policy.
I am an admirer of the democracy that the people
of Taiwan have developed for themselves and, in fact, I would like to see it
held up as a model for China generally. However, I believe it is reckless to
undermine the basis of the agreement that our nation has with China - yet that
is what President-Elect Trump is signaling he might do. Of course, given his
free-wheeling style, this may well be no more than a feint designed to gain
leverage against Beijing. If so, it is a poorly thought out one.
Beijing will not respond to our moving away from
our One-China policy with offers of compromise. A threat on our part to make
such a move will undermine the cooperative elements in our relationship,
including those pertaining to North Korea, and it will gain nothing for us from
China. I say this as an academic who has lived for over two years in China and
who has been studying China for 47 years.
Frankly, I don’t understand why Mr. Trump thinks
that Russia, which has invaded Crimea and Ukraine and provided crucial
assistance to Bashar al-Assad in his slaughter of Syrians in Aleppo, makes a promising
partner. Furthermore, as patriotic Americans, shouldn’t we be shocked and
enraged at Putin for interfering in our election to serve his own ends? Why
isn’t Mr. Trump shocked and enraged about this?
In conclusion, I encourage you to oppose with all
your resources the confirmation of Mr. Putin’s associate, Rex Tillerson, for
secretary of state. Furthermore, I encourage you to resist any efforts our
future president may make in the way of undermining U.S. - China cooperation
and replacing it with oil-industry-friendly ties to Putin’s Russia.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Moore
Robert L. Moore, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Rollins
College
