Tillerson Adrift

Robert Bland - "Drifting From Town To Town" Modern 868 (1952)

Amusing that the son of a tillerman can't get his ship of state heading anywhere.

WASHINGTON — On his first day as Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson vowed to try to get to know everyone at the State Department. But senior diplomats say they never saw him again.

As President Donald Trump faces a collection of world leaders at his first United Nations General Assembly this week, U.S. officials are working behind the scenes to allay fears among foreign delegations that America's foreign policy decisions have become too dominated by the West Wing, and that the U.S. State Department, where many crucial positions remain unfilled, is adrift.

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But the U.S. and foreign diplomats who spoke to NBC News describe broken channels of communication between Washington and many foreign capitals, saying that long-established relationships with the State Department have been undermined as a result of the overhaul.

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Senior U.S. officials stationed abroad say they constantly wait for guidance from Washington which, in many cases, never comes. Two State Department officials said that they are frequently forced to turn to the Department of Defense for readouts on Cabinet-level meetings because the State Department has stopped informing diplomats about those discussions.

"Lissen up, an' lissen good; you don' need to know nuthin' but what we tells ya, even if it is nuthin', O.K.?" Is that really how Exxon-Mobil got to the top of the heap?

BOBBY BLAND - "DRIFTIN' BLUES" (DUKE 432)