Trump, cabinet members differ on foreign policy issues

Two controversial picks for US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration have commented on ties with Russia, Iran’s nuclear deal, US plans for building a wall on the the Mexican border and containing China. During their confirmation hearings before US Senate, Rex Tillerson, the nominee for secretary of state, and General James Mattis, the candidate for secretary of defense, made their stances clear, raising new concerns among domestic opponents and others across the world about the future of US policies.

Mark Sleboda, an international relations and security analyst from Moscow, told Press TV on Thursday night that Trump and his picks for cabinet have differences over their take on foreign policy issues.

Those differences are over US policies toward Russia, which may “lead to some fireworks or at least fight beneath the blankets in the White House,” Sleboda said.

It could be “problematic” in terms of US foreign policy, because the president-elect is pursuing “détente” with the Russians but there are some cabinet nominees who have a lot of problems with this policy, he added.

On Thursday, Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, James Mattis, put Russia at the top of a list of threats to the United States, but there has not been any major shift from Trump towards Russia and he insists on improving ties with Moscow.

Tillerson said he favored maintaining US sanctions against Russia for the time being. He also expressed views at odds with Trump's positions on nuclear proliferation, relations with Mexico and so on.

As for Iran, Mattis described a nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers – the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany – as an imperfect arms control agreement. Tillerson called for a full review of the nuclear deal but did not urge for an outright rejection of the 2015 accord.

According to Sleboda, Trump and his cabinet members have shown that the issue of talks with Iran over its nuclear activities is not settled yet.

The US secretary of state designate also claimed during his confirmation hearing that China must stop its island-building activities in the disputed South China Sea and be banned from them.

Sleboda said there is no indication from either Tillerson or from any serious military analyst or official how they would deny access to China without a full-blown war.

Trump has also said he is going to order the construction of a wall on the Mexican border as soon as possible, but Tillerson called Mexico a long-standing neighbor and friend of the United States.

There may be a reduction of US aid to Mexico, but it is not clear whether or not the wall on Mexican border will be built, he said.

Michael Lane, president of the American Institute for Foreign Policy from Washington, said Trump’s positions on foreign affairs are not strict.

“Trump’s opening statement is never his final position. It is his opening gambit as to where he wants to negotiate and bargain from,” he noted.

Despite accepting Russia’s alleged role in hacking the Democratic campaign’s emails, Trump underlined that Moscow and Washington still need to go forward and find areas of cooperation, he added.

Lane quoted Mattis as saying that Moscow and Washington were adversaries but they could cooperate to fight terrorism and other areas that Trump identified.

With respect to Iran’s nuclear deal, Lane said, Mattis is stating that the US would ultimate respect the agreement but it would be rather strict in terms of his interpretation of the agreement.

On the dispute between the US and China, Lane said, “General Mattis is very very concerned about the South China Sea and China’s alleged illegal militarization of two artificial islands out there.”

He added that China’s rise in Asia could “be a major area of conflict in the first term of the Trump administration.”