As much attention as President Trump’s flurry of EOs and other actions has received since his inauguration, equally notable is the vigor of newly-confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At RealClearPolitics Philip Wegmann observes:
Shortly after taking the oath of office, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable to every U.S. diplomatic and consular post worldwide. The stark message from the new diplomat: Sweeping changes are coming to a department that had mistakenly emphasized “ideology over common sense” and “misread the world.”
The lengthy cable was sent shortly after Rubio arrived at his new post in Foggy Bottom and was obtained exclusively by RealClearPolitics. It signals a fundamental shift in foreign policy and a realignment of all diplomatic efforts toward putting American needs first.
Toward this end, President Trump’s new diplomat promised to focus on mass migration, terminate DEI policies within the department, end the “censorship of the American people,” and pursue “energy dominance.”
Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate the day before and is the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees on the job. Previously, he was a senior senator from Florida, and he served on the Foreign Relations Committee for more than a decade. He developed a reputation as a China Hawk and a fierce critic of the neoliberal foreign policy consensus that emerged after the Cold War.
Read the whole thing. This quote from Secretary Rubio’s “cable” to his department is particularly telling:
“Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions,” Rubio wrote. “The questions: Does the action make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous?”
I’m sure that some will see that as outrageous but the reality is it’s exactly what our notional allies, particularly France and Germany, have been doing for the last 80 years if not longer.
Sounds like what every nation should do, missionary work (i.e lecturing foreign governments on how to conduct their internal affairs) should be left to missionaries.
I still dont see how this energy thing is going to work. We are producing record amounts of oil and gas. Prices are close to inflation adjusted averages. If you increase supply unless there is some unmet demand it will decrease prices for oil, which seems to be what Trump also believes. Why will the energy companies decide to cut their profits? Is the plan to order them to produce more oil?
Steve
“Why will the energy companies decide to cut their profits? Is the plan to order them to produce more oil?”
Wow. Just wow. If it was that easy, companies would just raise prices and profits at a whim. It’s called competition, Steve.
You have lived a life in a subsidized industry. It shows.
Not just subsidized. Structurally, localized monopolies are the norm.
So because they have competition the companies will all produce more oil and drive down prices hurting their profits? Sorry guys, even in medicine if we have too much of something or some specialty prices go down. There was a perceived excess in my specialty years ago and pay dropped drastically.
So again, though I know you wont answer it because you cant, why would the oil companies pump a lot more oil if it will cut the price of oil, the stated planned for effect by Trump, thus hurting profits? If you can produce more oil while keeping prices steady, assuming demand is steady, why dont oil companies do it now? It’s an international market and we know the Saudis could pump a lot more if the wanted (and more cheaply than we can).
Steve
You believe they’re colluding, they’d love to be, but they’re also competitors, look at the success OPEC has had in driving up oil prices.
Also there’s the time factor. You don’t make money by NOT selling oil, but you can lose money by being last to the market with the biggest investment.
Internationally, Trumps been clear that this is about squeezing Russia and Iran financially. Wait and watch.
No, I don’t believe they are colluding. I believe they are trying to maximize profit. OPEC drives up prices by cutting production. How will US companies make more money by driving prices down? They actually do have a lot more land under lease and could pump more if they wanted if they really thought pumping more would increase profits.
Steve