Trumps travel ban could make Rex Tillersons potential job harder, a former defense secretary says
Former secretary of defense Robert M. Gates said Sunday that President Trumps order to halt travel from seven Muslim-majority countries could make international affairs more difficult for Rex Tillerson, Trumps pick for secretary of state.
Gates, who served as defense secretary under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and as director of the Central Intelligence Agency under president George H.W. Bush, said he expects a number of countries will have a negative reaction to Trumps order. He said the order, paired with Obamas drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and Trumps America First platform, could signal that the United States is backing away from global commitments.
I would say that the actions and the rhetoric of the new president simply continue that drumbeat of giving the impression around the world that the United States is pulling back, Gates said Sunday on ABCs This Week. This creates, whether we want it or not, a vacuum, and that vacuum will not be filled by benign forces.
Gates said he thinks that any effort to strengthen national security by improving vetting of people seeking to enter the country is reasonable and legitimate, but that it has to be done in a way that doesnt risk creating more enemies than threats it deters. He said military officials are worried about the order.
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