TEHRAN, March 14 - The recently-ousted US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, sounding exhausted after just returning from a five-country tour of Africa, mentioned the “honesty” of Americans and “respect” of government colleagues in an emotional speech but did not mention President Donald Trump at all.
TEHRAN,Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The former Exxon executive said earlier that he had spoken with the President hours after the firing, but numerous reports suggested he found out initially about losing his job via Trump’s morning tweet.
Tillerson is being replaced with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who will need to go through the Senate confirmation process.
Trump told reporters in the wake of the announcement that he and Pompeo shared similar thinking, while he had "disagreed with Tillerson. He added that the former oil and gas CEO would be “much happier” out of office.
The outgoing Cabinet member will hand over his duties effective immediately to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and will officially step down at midnight on 31 March.
In the meantime, he will meet with State Department career and diplomatic staff to "ensure a smooth, orderly transition" for incoming nominee Pompeo.
Tillerson addressed all his staff and that of Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in saying they "all took the same oath of office" to "support and defend the Constitution" and "bear true faith and allegiance to the same".
"We are bound together by that oath, here in Washington and at posts across the world," he said.
Tillerson was effusive in his praise of career and diplomatic staff stationed around the globe, but particularly those in dangerous places; "the world needs selfless leaders like these," he said.
He noted that these "extraordinarily dedicated" people learned their skills in the field, "on the front lines," not in academia or a think tank. He also said he appreciated their hard work to maintain "accountability" and showing "respect for one another" at all times.
The "rewarding part of leadership" during Tillerson's 14 months as the top US diplomat was "getting a few things done". He touted accomplishments in Afghanistan, America's longest war now in its 17th year and counting.
He said it was the first time the Defense Department and US military were able to work hand-in-hand with a cohesive diplomatic strategy instead of "16 one-year strategies" to pressure talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
He also said he was proud that the US "exceeded expectations of everyone" on the campaign to pressure North Korea to denuclearize despite years of continued development in the face of United Nations and US sanctions.
Source: Independent
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