Rex Tillerson refuses to blame Putin for murders of political opponents: ‘These things happen’ - Polidicks

[quote]Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) asked Rex Tillerson point-blank whether Vladimir Putin was a war criminal — and Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state blinked. “I would not use that term,” said Tillerson, the longtime chief executive of Exxon Mobil who was awarded the Kremlin’s Order of Friendship in 2013 . Rubio, who expressed “serious concerns” about Tillerson’s nomination last month, detailed alleged Russian war crimes in Syria and listed some of Putin’s political opponents who have been murdered. “Do you believe that Vladimir Putin and his cronies are responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissidents?” Rubio asked. Tillerson said he didn’t have enough information to make that claim, and Rubio asked if he was aware that Putin’s political opponents “wind up dead all over the world” — and he asked whether those slayings were simply coincidental. “Well, people who speak up for freedom in regimes that are oppressive are often at threat, and these things happen to them,” Tillerson said. “In terms of assigning specific responsibilities, I would have to have more information.”[/quote] [url]http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/these-things-happen-rex-tillerson-refuses-to-blame-putin-for-murders-of-political-opponents/[/url]

And this man is going to be our Secretary of State. He's clearly in Russia's pocket

That fucking Chechnya bombing, holy shit.

[QUOTE=Mio Akiyama;51656034]And this man is going to be our Secretary of State. He's clearly in Russia's pocket[/QUOTE] At this point nothing can surprise me anymore. "Putin selected as emperor of USA by president Trump".

[QUOTE]Tillerson said he didn’t have enough information to make that claim, and Rubio asked if he was aware that Putin’s political opponents “wind up dead all over the world” — and he asked whether those slayings were simply coincidental.[/QUOTE] Sounds reasonable?

Of course he's not going to start calling all these people war criminals. Rubio asked him about a bunch of different terrible leaders and he gave the same general response. He's not going to start calling people out before the administration even starts. Rubio was purposely cornering him with questions he knew would have a controversial answer. I'd chalk it up as nothing new, unexpected, or groundbreaking.

[QUOTE=KommradKommisar;51656056]Sounds reasonable?[/QUOTE] Yes, advocating freedom in oppressive countries is a sort of disease. People die when they do it, no idea how. At least we can fully agree the government is not to blame in any way, shape or form without ironclad proof? God, making that comment with your username is the best thing I've read on FP today, and I've read through the fucking GoldenGate thread.

i hate trump as much as the next guy, but god, rubio is a fool. i'm interested to see how desperately he ramps up his anti-trump campaign in the years to come. maybe he'll hit the right note one of these days?

[QUOTE=Vlevs;51656096]Yes, advocating freedom in oppressive countries is a sort of disease. People die when they do it, no idea how. At least we can fully agree the government is not to blame in any way, shape or form without ironclad proof? God, making that comment with your username is the best thing I've read on FP today, and I've read through the fucking GoldenGate thread.[/QUOTE] actually its usually some form of radiation poisoning, freedom just has that magic glow to it

[QUOTE=Vlevs;51656096]Yes, advocating freedom in oppressive countries is a sort of disease. People die when they do it, no idea how. At least we can fully agree the government is not to blame in any way, shape or form without ironclad proof? God, making that comment with your username is the best thing I've read on FP today, and I've read through the fucking GoldenGate thread.[/QUOTE] What are you talking about? What is the man supposed to say? "Man, Putin is a fucking nutjob who murders people that disagree!" He's Secretary of State. He's gotta at least, as that quote says, "have all the information" before he calls Putin out(on things put in is probably doing).

[QUOTE=KommradKommisar;51656234]What are you talking about? What is the man supposed to say? "Man, Putin is a fucking nutjob who murders people that disagree!" He's Secretary of State. He's gotta at least, as that quote says, "have all the information" before he calls Putin out(on things put in is probably doing).[/QUOTE] He isn't accusing Putin directly, while in the same breath acknowledging that people that speak against oppressive regimes wind up dead. He isn't directly saying that Putin is killing his rivals yet he acknowledges its happening.

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;51656169]i hate trump as much as the next guy, but god, rubio is a fool. i'm interested to see how desperately he ramps up his anti-trump campaign in the years to come. maybe he'll hit the right note one of these days?[/QUOTE] Frankly, there can't be enough anti-Trump campaigning the coming years if you ask me.