By David G. Bolgiano & John Taylor, U.S. Naval Institute Blog: “One critic stated: “Killing our way to victory is a simplistic notion that appears to totally ignore the real-world complexities and challenges of the current war on terror.” On the contrary, U.S. military personnel have created their own complexities by trying to be diplomats instead of warriors.”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heads out on a marathon tour of a half-dozen Middle East countries next week as US foreign policy faces crises across the region. The top US diplomat’s first stop will be Sunday in Jordan, where he’ll try to salvage crumbling Israel-Palestinian peace talks with King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi(see story below). Tillerson is also expected to sign a bilateral memorandum of understanding on economic and security assistance with the cash-strapped US counterterrorism ally.
Then it’s off to Turkey, where Tillerson is expected to raise “some of the more difficult issues” with Turkish leaders, a senior State Department official said in a background call today – a possible reference to Ankara’s military incursion into northern Syria to battle US-backed Kurdish forces.
After that, Tillerson flies to Lebanon for the first visit by a US secretary of state in four years. He’s scheduled to meet with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Haririand parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri. With tensions rising between Lebanon and Israel as the Shiite militia Hezbollah stockpiles rockets, the visit aims to “underscore our commitment to Lebanese national institutions, principally the Lebanese Armed Forces and internal security forces” as a bulwark against instability and Sunni extremism, according to officials on the call.
Next, Tillerson heads to Egypt for a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Hot topics include the conflicts in Libya and Syria, terrorism, and Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, with some discussion expected on the March elections and the silencing of Sisi’s main challengers.
Finally, Tillerson wraps things up with a visit to Kuwait, which is hosting both a ministerial meeting of the anti-Islamic State coalition and a reconstruction conference to help rebuild Iraq after the terrorist group’s defeat